Seated with Christ

Read: Ephesians 2:1-10

God... who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 2:5-6

Why do people sit? They sit because they’re done. We sit after shoveling the snow or cutting grass. We sit when we’re done. They also sit because they’re in charge. They are ruling over all things, like a king on a throne. It’s a position of rest and power. Christ sits because he is both done and King. Paul says we are seated with him in the heavenly realms. Do you get what this means? This means that we, too, are finished, and we rule. All of this is with Christ!

Lord Jesus, you have raised me from death and have seated me with you in the heavenly realms. All things then serve me. Help me to know my strong position with you. To live my life from this position of strength, as I sit with you, is an incredible to consider. I do not live from a position of weakness. This is all because of you and your grace to me. Amen.

Valued Friends and Co-workers

Read Colossians 4:7-18

Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant. Colossians 4:7

Paul had such a love for so many people, both the people to whom he wrote and the people with whom he worked. Look how he described Tychicus. Read the rest of this section (Colossians 4:7-18) and see how he describes other co-workers. He loves them. He values them. He wants them world to know. He wants them to know. Who do you value as a brother or sister in Christ? Who do you treasure as a fellow worker and a servant of Christ? Let them know!

Lord Jesus, thank you for those whom you send to me to support and strengthen me in my faith. Thank you for ______________ who is a gift to me. They encourage and strengthen me in my faith and they don’t gief up. Thank you. Amen.

Be Devoted

Read Colossians 4:2-6

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

The Christian life is a constant. We never turn it off. Oh, we do turn it off. We stop praying. We stop working. We stop doing this or that. But Paul would have us make it a constant, an always on and a never off kind of thing. That’s the idea behind the word “be devoted.” He wants us to stick with it and to never give up. He urges us to have a never-give-up attitude toward prayer. But is not this to be our attitude toward all things? To persevere? To never ever give up. To not quit. But to keep on living in and by the Spirit.

Lord Jesus, give me strength and wisdom from your Spirit to keep on living for you, always living, never quitting, never giving up. Help me to be devoted to prayer. Help me to be devoted to my fellow believers and to my fellow human beings. Help me be so devoted to others that I am always looking for opportunities to serve them and to speak to them of your grace. Help me. Amen.

Real and True Power

Read: Colossians 2:16-23

These are a shadow of things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:17

There is a temptation to value the rite, the ritual, the practice, the habit, etc., over Christ and the power of the gospel. These things have their place, but they are not more powerful or more important. In fact, they only serve beneficially when they direct us to Christ and show Him to us. His life, death, and resurrection are our power. His gospel is our life. The real deal is Christ! It’s time to stop looking at shadows.

Lord Jesus, teach me to lean into you and to cling to you as my highest treasure and most important thing. Help my daily practices to drive me to you. Keep them from becoming my be-all and end-all. You have all that I need and you give it generously. You are all that I need to live a godly life now and with you forever. Amen.

Jesus is Supreme - Colossians 1:13-23.

Read Colossians 1:13-23

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:19-20

Paul asserts as strongly as he can how supreme Christ is. He is the image of God; all the fullness of God dwells in him. He created all things, and he still holds all things together. He is before all of those things. He is the head of the church, the first born from the dead. On top of all of this, he has reconciled all things to God through his cross - even you!

Lord Jesus, you have reconciled me to God. He is now my Father. He is now my friend. He is now my Counselor. He is now my Protector. He is now my helper. This is your mighty work for me. Thank you. Amen.