Colossians 2:1-15

2:1 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
Even though I can't see missionaries or the other members of the Body, I hope that I keep them in the forefront of my mind. Let God bless them and their families. May He use them in a mighty way.

2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
How magnificent, how wonderful it would be if our churches were sewn together in love. Unity is key. I want to understand God. I want the assurance that will bring--the peace that will bring. I already have peace from knowing Him, but I long to know Him deeper.

2:3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Christ has all the the value. I want to treat Him like he does.

2:4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
There is no "higher truth" than knowing Christ and the fullness of his Resurrection. Done. Over. This truth, He, is the most profound, central core of what life really is.

2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
It comforts me to think I am part of an organization, a collection, a group of souls linked together for the highest purpose. And that one day, I will meet them, and we all will be perfect and worship God forever.

2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
"Walk in him." Every-Day-Obedience. It's not easy. It's actually really difficult. But it is worth it. Every second  of serving Christ and others is the fulfillment of life itself. 

2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Oh my gosh!!! God totally meant for me to read these verses today!! It's Thanksgiving break!! I have deep, deep roots in Chirst as does my family. That brings me joy. I have a heritage. I am full of gratitude.

2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Our guard must be up. Christ is not only our destination, but also our compass.

2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
He is these things because He, himself, is the ultimate being/power of the universe.

2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
This verse speaks so much to me that I cannot begin to even formulate my thoughts with words. "I am complete in Him." Not my dad, family, mom, girlfriend, grades, achievement, power, recognition, righteousness--only Jesus makes me whole.

2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
We are a DIFFERENT people. Set apart.

2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
A transformation has occurred. My old man is dead. My new man has risen. And you better look out forces of evil cause he is a BEAST.

2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
"Forgiven you of ALL trespasses." I am clean, righteous, holy, lovely, white, pure, spotless, beautiful, blameless, like Christ. Praise be to God. My thankfulness is as deep as the ocean floor.

2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
If you bring up my past, I'll point you to where it is now. The cross: the final symbol of hope to all creation.

2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
A show. Bring me to the show. The open procession of the winner. Jesus has won. Good has prevailed over evil. The curtain opens to show a performance that is over. Jesus Christ with arms wrapped around me and all whom I love and Satan, sinfulness, pride, evil, lust all face down dead.


Praise and worship be to Him, the just and wise king, Son of God, King Jesus.

Colossians 1:21-29

1:21

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 

The fact that our works--what we do--separates us from God is key. I've recently had a lot of contact with people that believe if what they do does not hurt themselves or others it's not a sin. This is an elusive concept because it takes faith. The laws at work in the spiritual world are real. We should pay them more attention.

1:22

In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 

Why did Christ die? Why did He suffer? So we could be blameless.

1:23

If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 

~IF~ this word lets us know there is that ever-present chance that we can slip away from God. We have to be grounded. How can I better ground myself? It seems like it would be a long thought process change that comes from seeing prayers answered and seeing how real God can be. I want my roots to grow deep.

1:24

Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: 

1:25

Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 

1:26

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 

This is kindof exciting.

1:27

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 

Christ-in-us. Do I fully understand that? The unity of the perfect, all-powerful, righteous master of the universe and me? It reminds me of when God went into covenant with Abraham and Sarah. The idea of my identity--my thoughts, character, actions--and God's merging is...awe-inspiring. I want to take on the nature of God almighty. Moreover, this unification is the hope. IS the hope.

1:28

Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 

This speaks to me in a way  that describes each member of a church. No man is left behind. This is a community effort. A support system of friends. This has been a major learning experience for me while I am at college. The Church is meant to function as a collective unit. It is SO much stronger that way. It's because God intended us to live, fight, and grow alongside each other. Truth.

1:29

Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Paul says he is working to help this fulfillment of his dream of the collectively prospering church. Real leadership. And once again, the sign of a genuine leader/man of God. He gives credit to the One who deserves all credit: Jesus.

Colossians 1:12-20

¹²Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Paul always keeps God first. Always gives Him glory. I want to be like that. "Saints in light" what a group to be associated with. What inheritance is he talking about? Surely the blessings of God and eternal life. Only sons and daughters get the inheritance. This makes me feel at peace.

 ¹³Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Delivered. That sticks out to me. Where would I be without the Lord on my side? Like really. Where would I be? I envision it now, and it is not a pretty sight.

 ¹⁴In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins

This may be one of the best verses in the entire book. Redemption. I don't want this word to become meaningless Christian jargon. I have been bought back because of the price paid by this blood. His very essence.

 ¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Christ represents God to us. God knew us humans needed some physical evidence so He humored us.

 ¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Created by Him, for Him. This is God's preeminence. Not His being 1st on the list, but Him being the centerpiece around which EVERYTHING else revolves. What does the mean for my life? Is HE the focal point?

 ¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

This practically makes me weep. I feel like the core soul of the fabric of my presence in the universe is linked to God. He is the invisible fiber holding everything together by His might.

 ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Doctrine alert! This should shape the way church authority is delegated.

 ¹⁹For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Doctrine alert! Jesus=God. Nothing more, nothing less.

 ²⁰And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Wow. My words can't articulate what this means to me. He bridged the gap. He brought peace to once was chaos. He restored the broken. He reached out to me and picked me up when I was down. The almighty saved the ugly, unrighteous, sinner--me--when I did not deserve it. How beautiful is the cross. In all the repugnance of the gore and shame and mockery, battery and bruises and blood, the tears thorns nails ripping through the wrist-veins, it still did what I could never do. It satisfied the sacrifice that I could not give, would not want to give. 'The ancient magic was pacified' -C.S. Lewis. Lion, Witch,...

He died for me.

Colossians 1:1-1

^{I've decided to do a verse-by-verse study of the book of Colossians. I was recommended to do so by an old mentor of mine that I've known personally for around 6 years. I want to not only intake the word of God but also digest it.}

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

 ²To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 ³We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

 ⁴Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

 ⁵For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

 ⁶Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

 ⁷As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

 ⁸Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

 ⁹For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
 ¹⁰That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
 ¹¹Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
¹²Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

In the first couple of verses, we see an attitude that Paul displays towards the Corinthians. I believe that by studying how he treats other Christians can see what true tact, wisdom, and spiritual maturity should look like from our leaders in Christ and from ourselves. First, I notice that we refers to them as brothers. I find personal comfort that we, the body of Christ, are connected in such a close fraternity. He makes them feel like they're important in verse 3; how crucial is it that we make the people under our leadership feel important. I like how he celebrates their conversion in verse 4 and how he has his eyes on the final prize in verse 5. Verse 6 is big. It is interesting to me that he adds a little sliver of accountability to what he says. He mentions fruit. How much fruit am I demonstrating in my life? I know that healthy fruits cause for the reproduction of the organism. I need to pray for more open doors to witness and to have the spiritual sensitivity to know when and how to witness. Verse 7 attributes to the all-too-often underplayed pillar of disciplineship in the church world. Wow my denomination is lacking in that. I wonder what I can to do either encourage leaders to view this in a new perspective or if I can try to discipline someone personally. In verse 9, I see something else that is SO vital in the church world: community. There is a reason why we go to church and don't just pray and worship at home. I believe it is for that uplifting of each other. God designed it that way. We all know a two-fold cord is not easily broken. Imagine what a church in complete unified community would be capable of accomplishing. Verse 10 is where it really gets good. I pray that I am walking worthy to be called a son of the Most High God. I hope that my words, my actions, my attitudes reflect well on His image. I hope my life is attracting people to the gospel and not repelling them. More fruit is mentioned; that must be important. It is an indicator of spiritual healthy I believe: fruit of the Spirit and sinners saved. Next point, he says that he hopes they are increasing in the knowledge of God. This is "anti-stagnant" to me; I want to continually be learning more about the Jesus I love so much.  Lastly, Paul gives thanks to the Father and talks about an inheritance that we can be looking forward to. This is really an uplifting opening part of a letter. It makes me excited to continue reading. I love zeal when it comes to serving God. It seems so appropriate. 

Riding the Fence

Today in Sunday school, an interesting point was brought up. Mr.Sullivan highlighted a contrast between how the church world once saw things and how it does now. He used a metaphor of a fence with the "world" being on the left side of it; the "world" represents living life without Christ, disregarding his commandments, and all-around not exemplifying His character. Mr.Sullivan remembered a time when he was younger and how church members would build their houses as far as possible from the left side, and consequently, from the fence. He spoke on how today's church members enjoy to have their houses planted right along the edge of the fence with a big "bay window" overlooking the world.

What a powerful metaphor this is. It made me do some major introspection. Not that I'm doing something wrong or living in sin, but what about the mainstream music I listen to? What about the movies I watch with cussing in them? Do I think the Savior who suffered and died to make me pure and holy like Him approves? Where is the line exactly drawn? I earnestly believe that if we love Christ like we say we do, then we will run from that fence. I know that the love of Christ compels me to hate sin. I want the same sensitivity of all things spiritual to permeate my mind, habits, thoughts, and actions daily.

James 1:15
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

James 4:7-8
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee.
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.