Colossians 4 - 02.08.24

SCRIPTURE -Colossians 4:2-4 NCV

“Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God. 

Also pray for us that God will give us an opportunity

to tell people HIS message. 

Pray that we can preach the secret that God has made known about Christ. 

This is why I am in prison. 

Pray that I can speak in a way that will make it clear, as I should.”

OBSERVATION 

Paul closes his letter to the church in Colossae with requests for prayer-

“Continue Praying….and—

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY”

“Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people His [Good News] Message.”

“Pray that I can speak it in a way that will make it clear—as I should.”

APPLICATION 

Pray for me—to share the Gospel and make it clear-as I should.

I. Prayer Precedes God’s Power

Today Paul’s prayer request caught my attention—

I need to ask people to pray for me.

Please pray that God will give me opportunities-

put people on my mind and in my heart—the People who HE is pursuing-

and cause me to hear HIS voice without distraction. (Jesus says the harvest is ripe)

Please pray also for me to be able to “share the Gospel in a way that will make it clear —to whoever God gives me to speak to. 

How I need these prayers—desperately.

It occurs to me—If the Apostle Paul

[who was personally commissioned by Jesus to spread the Gospel]

felt he-- needed Prayer for opportunities  AND 

Prayer to speak the Gospel in a way that will make it —“clear “

how much MORE do I-- need these prayers.

II.  Paul goes on to give us some practical advice when sharing the Gospel—

Be wise in the way you act with people—

make the MOST of every opportunity.

When you DO have a conversation with someone—

Be kind and gracious—

seasoned with salt—

SO you will Know how to answer everyone.”

(Colossians 4:5, 6)

Be Prepared:

to give the reason for our Hope, filled with the wisdom of God, careful that our actions line up with our words, and kind and gracious when answering questions—

Why did Paul say our conversation should be “seasoned with salt”?

AND what does that actually look like?

There’s a saying “Take this with ‘a grain’ of salt”. We should NEVER consider a grain of salt when speaking of God’s Kingdom and Salvation. We want to look for opportunities to  Add much SALT into the conversation. (Warren Wiersbe)

🤯 Of Course! This makes sense! Salt is a preservative!

We want what we say to be “preserved” into their minds and hearts!

““You ARE the SALT of the earth.” (Matthew 5:13 a NIV)

Jesus called us to BE the Salt of the earth—so we ARE—

We have the opportunity to deposit HIS Life-Saving Truth and Love INTO People’s lives wherever we GO…

PRAYER 

Jesus,

Thank You for Your WORD Today.

Help me to remember that someone had the courage to come up to me when they didn’t know me and share the Gospel Truth in Love. 

I was rude to her, and she will only know in heaven what her courage and boldness meant.

With some—we will never know the result of our words [testimonies]until heaven. May we never walk away defeated. Some sow, Some water—Only You LORD cause these seeds to grow.

Help me Lord to open my mouth with courage and boldness. 

You created me with a passionate heart for a reason. Help me not to shy away.

Lord—Help me to hear You and obey. 

Lord-Help me to find others who may want to come with me. YOU said Jesus that YOUR Harvest IS Ripe! Send MORE workers into YOUR Field LORD.

Send us all Lord—where You have planted us in our circle of influence.

Everyday is a Good Day for Your Kingdom to Come.

Please Pray for me to have opportunities to share the gospel-and to be able to speak it in a way that makes it clear.

In Jesus Name. Amen.

Tina L Kudelka  

Colossians 3 - 2.7.24

Scripture

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16, KJV)

Observation

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.."  In Chapter 3 of Colossians, we are given practical instructions on how to live a Christian life. First of all, prioritize and seek the things of God (verses 1-2). Put to death the sinful cravings that do not glorify God (verses 5 to 9). Put on God's nature and love and forgive each other (verses 12 - 14). This is followed by instructions on how to order ourselves in the family and workplace that God has placed us - wives to submit to their husband's leadership, husbands to love their wives, children to obey their parents, and employees to to do their work as to God and not their bosses (verses 18 - 22). For us to be able to do all this, we need to be rooted in Him, and have the word of Christ dwell in us richly.

Application

We need to be filled with God's word everyday. We need to abide in Him, and let his words abide in us. That is the secret of answered prayer (John 15:7). God's word is milk for his children, without which we cannot grow (1 Peter 2:2). God's word is meat for us, that gives us sustenance (Heb 5:14). To live a life that pleases God, we need to be filled with God's word and God's spirit every single day. It takes effort, obedience and discipline to allow God's word to dwell in us richly. That means spending time with God reading his word and praying everyday. Let that be a non-negotiable priority in our life.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I pray that your word will dwell in me richly. Help me to make time with your word a priority so that your word will go deep into me, and I will be rooted and grounded in your word. Help me  to seek you first. I pray that you will help me to be consistent and obedient in seeking you. May your will and purpose be fulfilled in my life. In Jesus's Name. Amen.

- Asha Chacko George

Colossians 2 - 2.6.24

SCRIPTURE:  Colossians 2:8-10  “Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ.  For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by Him, Who is the head over every ruler and authority.”

OBSERVATION:  Paul was dealing with the hearsay that had crept into the Colossians church.  It appears that false Jewish teachers had been attempting to convince the Colossian believers that salvation was based on more than grace through faith.  Paul indicated that most of the Colossian believers had resisted this wrong doctrine, but he was still very concerned and encouraged them to be on guard and remain true to what they had been taught so they could remain firm in their faith. 

APPLICATION:  One way to allow our spiritual roots to grow deep is by hearing, studying, and meditating on the Word of God.  The more we know the truth of God’s Word, the easier it becomes to identify false teachings. We are taught that the door of salvation is open to all people, but unfortunately there will be some who will ultimately reject the gospel message.  Since Jesus is the ONLY way to God, this means that the ones who reject Jesus and deny He is Lord will be choosing to be deprived of God’s saving grace; salvation. 

One of many false teachings I’ve heard is that there is no hell, because a loving God would never send anyone to hell!  God is a loving God, but He is also a just God, and because He’s just, He MUST PUNISH SIN!  The punishment for sin is DEATH! (Separation from God!). God Who created us and loves us has given us a very important message, and He has revealed HIS ONE AND ONLY PLAN OF SALVATION, which states that if we confess Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved.

The law does not save us, religion does not save us, our good works do not save us, but… “EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE SAVED.”  (Romans 10:9,10,13).

PRAYER:  I pray we will KNOW the truth of God’s Word so that we will be quick to DISCERN what is NOT the truth. I also pray, that as we have heard and responded to God’s plan of salvation, that we in turn will reciprocate by sharing His message with others so that they can come to know the truth of what Jesus has done for them! I pray we will go out, be prayed up, and filled up with all the love and courage God has given us to boldly proclaim His love and truth to them.

- Robin Orefice