Scripture.

For God, wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

Observation

Paul says, he is glad when he suffers for the church in his body. He is participating in the suffering of Christ for the church. God has given Paul the responsibility of proclaiming the entire message. This mystery was kept secret for generations, But now is openly proclaimed.

The mystery is that the riches and glory of Christ are for the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. The secret is that Christ is alive in us.

So Paul tells everyone and warns everyone with all the wisdom he has. He wants to be able to present them, the Colossians, to God perfect in their relationship with Christ.

Application

What seemed amazing at that time was always God’s plan for the world.

Salvation was never meant for the Jews alone. It was a corruption of their revelation that led the Jews to believe that they were special to the exclusion of Gentiles.

The fact is that God loves the entire world. Jesus came to set every person free from satan’s clutches and from the bondage of sin. In him, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, just people needing salvation.

Now Christ lives in every person who receives Him. The Holy Spirit is Christ in us. This is a profound mystery.

From the beginning, humans were meant to live in close and intimate relationship with God. Sin took this away. Now in Christ, that relationship is restored.

Every single person who says, “Yes” to Christ has God’s Spirit living within them.

How awesome is that?

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for releasing me from sin’s power and for dwelling in me. Amen.

Scripture

As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Observation

The words of the preceding hymn apply to us. We were once far away from God, enemies even. Our evil thoughts and deeds alienated us from Him.

But God has reconciled us to Himself through the death of Christ. We stand in God’s presence, holy, faultless, and without a single sin.

As for us, we must cling to the truth by faith. We must not drift away from the assurance that came with the Good News. This Good News has been preached to the whole world.

Application

My standing before God is entirely by grace.

I was in the darkness, but He shone the light. I could never repay the debt I owed him. Even eternity is not enough time to pay for the crime,

Here is Grace. I was a sinner lost in sin, deserving punishment and condemnation. But God reached down, shared His Good News, and then gave me the faith to believe it. He lifted me out of the mud and set my feet on the solid rock.

He calls me holy and blameless. It is not because I am perfect. No, the blood of Jesus covers every sin, past and future. There is no record.

Love does not take offence. God loves me so, He is not offended when I fail to act appropriately.

Because I know His love and want to love Him back, my motivations for thinking, speaking, and doing change. God says I am without fault and I am growing into His declaration.

Prayer

Nothing I can do will earn your favour, Lord. Thank you for loving me, regardless of my sin. Amen.

Scripture

Christ is the visible image of the invisible Guard. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.

Observation

Jesus Christ is not just a man. He is God. He is the One who shows us visibly what the invisible God looks like.

God created everything through Christ – the heavenly realms as well as on earth. He made the things we can see and the spiritual things we cannot see.

Christ was before all things and He holds all things together. He is the head of the church, supreme over all who rise from the dead. Through Him, God reconciled the world to Himself.

Application

When we look at Jesus described so accurately in the gospels, we see the Father. He only did what He saw the Father doing and only said what He heard the Father saying.

All humans were made in the image of God, but this was spoilt by sin, obliterated by evil. So when we see Jesus, we see the possibility of what our own lives might look like if we learn to walk in humble obedience to God.

This is what it means to follow Jesus, to walk in His paths. We imitate him one day at a time by the grace of the Holy Spirit. He purifies us, convicting of sin and teaching us the ways of holiness.

Gradually that tarnished image of God becomes clean and shiny again.

Prayer

Father, thank you for setting me on the ways of Jesus. Please help me to be faithful to you each and every day. Amen.

Scripture

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins

Observation

The Colossians learnt about the good news from Epaphras, Paul’s beloved co-worker. Paul continues to pray for them asking God to give them knowledge, wisdom, and understanding

The christians of Colossae will grow as they learn to know God better. Paul prays also that they will be strengthened by God’s glorious power.

God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness, and transferred us into the Kingdom of Jesus, who purchased our freedom.

Application

Before I was saved, I did not know that I belonged to a kingdom, much less the kingdom of darkness. I thought I was free, a sovereign citizen who could determine my own destiny. When I came to know Jesus, I realised that what I had thought was freedom was actually bondage. I had been a slave to my sin and didn’t know it.

So I was once in a kingdom subject to a king who sought my destruction. I now pledge allegiance to a King who loves me so much He laid down His life for my freedom.

As I reflect on this, it makes me think of the Lord of the Rings, where the battle for men’s souls is depicted in an epic story.

Every born again christian has been rescued by Christ from the flames of hell and lifted up to the place of glory.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for all that you’ve done for me and in me. Please help me to serve you in every part of life. Amen.

Scripture

This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first believed and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

Observation

Paul says he always prays for the Colossians and gives thanks to the Lord for them. He has heard of their faith and their love for all God’s people.

The same Good News that came to them is going out all over the world and changing lives just as it did for the Colossians from the day they first believed.

Application

The Good News, the gospel of Jesus Christ, is going global Paul says. All over the world, even beyond the Roman Empire, the gospel was preached and was bearing fruit in the form of changed lives.

Sin is universal and God’s solution to sin is also universal. Any person, regardless of race, sex, age, or previous activities can be saved and accepted into God’s kingdom.

When people enter into salvation, God changes them and the gospel bears fruit. God changes us radically from the inside out. Our hearts are transformed by God’s love and everything changes.

Sometimes people try to change from the outside by going to church and doing the things that christians do, This does not work. The gospel has to take root in our hearts and then God cleanses us from sin and even the desire to sin.

How amazing is that!

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the changes that you are bringing to my life because the gospel has taken root in my heart. Amen.

Scripture

From Paul chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

Observation

This is obviously just an introductory greeting at the beginning of a letter.

Paul, an apostle of Christ is writing to “God’s holy people” or the saints of the city of Colossae. He describes them as faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.

He prays for them the double blessing of grace and peace.

Application

Paul was aware that he was chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

In human terms, Paul was not really suitable to be an apostle of Christ. He had a history of persecuting Christians.

This is typical of God. He chooses those whose past should disqualify them for ministry and He calls them, appoints them, and overlooks their past failings.

In recent years, the ministry of apostle is being rediscovered by the church.

An apostle is not just a denominational leader, but someone who exercises loving authority over ministers of the Gospel. True apostles are trans-denominational, because they’ve been chosen by God not by men and not by an institution.

Although it is trendy in the church, at the moment, to call yourself an apostle, this office must never be self-appointed.

Because it is Christ who appoints apostles, no man, can appoint them and no man can stop them.

Apostles carry an innate ability to serve others as a spiritual father. This gift cannot be bestowed or faked, educated or trained for.

The ministry of apostleship is worked out in relationships, both with Christ and with the church.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for appointing, apostles in your church. Grant us all the grace to distinguish between true and false apostles.Amen.