Scripture

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand.

Observation

We have been raised to new life with Christ, so therefore we should keep our eyes on Him, in heaven next to God. We should concern ourselves with the things of heaven not of earth.

We have died to this life, and our real life is with Christ. When Christ is revealed to the world we will share in His glory.

Application

Migrants to a new country can find it hard to fit in at first. They may have to learn a new language. They have to learn new customs and navigate a culture that seems alien, and yet everyone around seems to accept it as the only reality.

Even a relatively small change like moving from England to Australia is fraught with a big learning curve of different road rules, different names for everyday objects and different world views

We have been called to a much bigger leap. As followers of Jesus, we have been raised to a new life in heaven with him. This means we have a new citizenship, a new culture, new values.

Unlike a migrant to a new nation, we are surrounded by people living in the worldly culture. We can be tempted to cut ourselves off from the world to stay clean, or to give in to the temptations of the world and live like everyone else.

Jesus wants us to follow Him, to live for Him, and to focus on heaven, all while living in this world with all of its responsibilities and distractions.

The key is to keep our focus on heaven even while we live in the world. We remain as ambassadors of God’s Kingdom, representing Jesus to our friends and co-workers.

Prayer

Lord please help me to keep my focus on the things of heaven , even while I live in the world. Amen.

Scripture

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptised. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

Observation

When we came to Christ, we were spiritually circumcised. We were buried with Christ in baptism and raised to new life through the mighty power of God.

We were dead in our sins, but God cancelled our sins and brought us to life. In doing this, God disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities.

So now we are free from condemnation. People try to impose rules on what we can eat or touch and rules about religion. This comes from sinful minds of people who are not connected to Christ.

We have died with Christ, and He has set us free from spiritual powers. Do not go back to the rules of this world which do not help us to overcome our evil desires.

Application

When we were baptised into Christ, we were baptised into his death and resurrection. We are new creations in Christ, born again by the mighty power of God.

A new life means a new body that is not subject to the rules and regulations of the old life.

We are conquerors, which means that Satan no longer has any hold over us. He could trick us into sinning in the old flesh, but in this new life, his only recourse is to make us forget our position in Christ.

I am baptised into the death and resurrection of Christ. The old life of death of death and sin no longer controls me.

Prayer

Lord, I praise you! You have given me a new life in Christ. Hallelujah! Amen.

Scripture

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Observation

Paul agonises for those believers he has never met personally. He wants them to understand God’s mysterious plan, that is, Christ.

Just as we accepted Christ as Lord, we must continue to grow in Him, putting deep roots into Him so that our faith is strong.

Empty philosophies and high sanding nonsense come from demonic powers, not from Christ. We should ignore these because Christ is the one who completes us.

Application

How can I put my roots down into Christ?

Firstly, I need to talk with Him regularly. Prayer and listening, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me deepen my relationship with Him.

Secondly, I must read the Scriptures. The Bible is God’s word, my daily bread.

Thirdly, in fellowship with other Christians, I can worship, pray, and share in faith.

Fourthly, obedience to Christ is essential. I must continually turn away from sin and towards Christ. I must learn to love my neighbour as myself, and to love God with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my strength.

There are many ways to draw near to Christ. The cares of this world and its distractions can lead me to neglect these things, so I need to build them into my daily life and monitor my spiritual temperature.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, please help me to build my life on you alone. Amen.

Scripture

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. 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

We were once far away from God, separated by our sins. He has reconciled us to Himself through the death of Christ. Now we are in His glorious presence – holy and blameless.

But we must continue to believe that truth. We must not drift away from the assurance we received in Christ.

Paul has the responsibility to proclaim the whole gospel. He works and struggles, depending on Christ’s mighty power within him.

Application

I was once an enemy of God, separated from Him by my evil thoughts and deeds. I have been redeemed by Christ’s death on the cross.

Christ’s death was real and it was physical. We must never down play this or spiritualise it. It is the death of Christ in his physical body which atoned, or paid the price, for our sins.

Christ died physically on the cross and He rose from the dead physically three days later. It was a real event.

My salvation is not about how I feel or how good I am on any day. It is not on a theoretical or spiritual process in heaven. No, it is a physical act that happened at a specific place and at a specific time.

I can’t change that. I can’t add to it or take away from it.

All I can do is receive this most awesome gift of grace from God.

I was separated from God by my sins. He brought me close by paying for my sins. His love is limitless.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the amazing gift of salvation. Please help me to always stand in the truth of the Good News. Amen.

Scripture

Christ is the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme overall who rise from the dead.

Observation

Christ the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before everything and reigns over everything. He made everything, whether visible or invisible, including the demonic principalities and rulers.

Christ is the head of the church, which is His body. He is supreme over those who will rise from the dead. In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, making peace with everything.

Application

Christ is the head of the church, not the human hierarchy that dominate its earthly form.

In all things, Christ is in control.

There are times when the church, at least part of it, seems week, unspiritual, and even ungodly. People use and abuse the church for their own ends.

Regardless of all this, the Lord Jesus Christ is in control. He reigns over all of creation, but especially the church.

How can this be, when there is so much evil in both the world and the church? God is able to use even gross sins for His glory and for our good. This does not justify anybody’s evil deeds, but it does give us hope that our suffering will carry some redemptive value.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that you are the head of the church. You are the king over all things, blessed be your name. Amen.

Scripture

We also pray that you will be strengthened all his glorious power so that you will have all the endurance and patience you need.

Observation

Paul’s co-worker,Epaphras, taught the Colossians about the Good News, and he also reported back to Paul about the love for others that the Holy Spirit gave them.

Paul continues to pray for them always. He asks that they will receive complete knowledge of God’s will with wisdom and understanding to be able to honour and please the Lord. He also prays that they will be strengthened to endure and be filled with joy. The Father has transferred us from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son who purchased our freedom.

Application

We all need the “glorious power” of the Holy Spirit. This is the power manifested in various gifts of the Holy Spirit such as words of knowledge, wisdom, faith, healing, and miracles. We should earnestly seek these things.

Paul here speaks of this glorious power leading to endurance and patients. When we know that God is with us and in us, we can endure anything. The power of salvation leads to the power to overcome opposition.

God calls us to stand firm in Him. He is the one who gives us the ability to persevere to the end and through to eternity.

Endurance and patience are underrated qualities in our culture. It is not how we start the race that matters, but how we finish it.

Prayer

Lord, grant me your glorious power so that I can endure all things and remain victorious in you. 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 for the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

Observation

Paul and Timothy are writing to the believers, the saints, of Colossae.

They always pray for the church there and give thanks for them. The Colossians are legends of faith and love.

The Good News that transformed the people of Colossae is now going all over the world, bearing fruit everywhere in the form of changed lives.

Application

Sometimes it is hard to see the big picture of what God is doing worldwide. We see our own little bubble, our own neighbourhood, and we think that is all there is.

Just as in Paul’s day, the Good News is continuing to transform people all around the world. It is happening in the cities and in remote rural areas, in every continent and every country.

People are being saved by Jesus everyday.

It is like a huge army that is intent on world domination spreading through every nation. Unlike a normal army, they bring new life rather than death.

In Africa, whole nations coming to the Lord. in some communities in the USA, crime rates are plummeting and decaying neighbourhoods are being renewed by business investment as a result of prayer and people being saved.

Nobody can stop the gospel because it is God’s plan of salvation for all people.

Prayer

Thank you Father for the gospel that transforms lives. Give me boldness in talking to people about the Good News. Amen