so. funny how God works. apparently He really wants me to study the book of colossians. it began with one of my friends suggesting i read it for my quiet time. then last sunday's sermon talked about colossians and now for my d-group, we will be studying colossians for the next 6 weeks. i'm not going to lie. i was a little disheartened when i was told what our group would be reading this semester, but i just keep telling myself that the Lord has a purpose and obviously wants me to spend time on this book of the bible and that i will never graduate from the gospel. i can read the same passage 50 million times and still not know everything. so for all 2 people that read this: pray that i might be open to the Lord working in me through the book of colossians.
with that being said...onto chapter 4!
colossians 4 pretty much addresses personal matters and then final greetings from paul. in verse 2 he calls the colossians to: "devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." when i read this it was kind of a punch in the gut. this summer i was really convicted about my prayer life and then again at a conference i attended over new year's. although my prayer life has significant grown since this summer, it is still not where it should be. reading this verse felt as if the Lord was saying "look sarah, I haven't forgotten your promise." so of course i just gave a big "hmph!" because i knew He was right!
verses 7-18 address the people in which paul wants to contact or explain their presence. these people include:
-tychicus: paul's messenger not only to colosse but also to ephesus and philemon
-aristarchus: companion, coworker, and fellow prisoner with paul
-mark, cousin of barnabas: author of the book of mark, companion of paul and peter
-epaphras: native of colosse and coworker with paul
-archippus: a contemporary of paul whom paul encouraged to fulfill his mission
i have decided the next book i want to look at is daniel. i don't know much about the book and therefore the blogs about it might be lame, but blogposts don't matter in the long run :)
there's nothing fancy about the way i love You
but it sure is fancy how You love me
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
set your mind on things above - colossians 3
so before i get started on colossians 3 i just wanted to share some cool things the Lord has been doing in my life! on sunday, the sermon at church was on worry. being a senior in college during my final semester has definitely brought about its fair share of worries and so this sermon was exactly what i needed to hear. things like this just reaffirms my faith and trust in God. He knows what i'm going through, and He knew that i would be at that service in kentucky on that sunday. it's just so cool to see God's sovereignty through little things like sermon subjects. to top off the church service, they ended the service with "be my everything" by tim hughes, the same song that i used in my first blog post on colossians 1. before writing out the lyrics i wrote: "some call it a coincidence, i call it God." hearing this song on sunday felt as if the Lord was just proving that fact to me, like He was saying "Sarah, here is your proof it is not coincidence." i just sat in my seat with a smug smile on my face the entire sermon. i'm sure the people around me thought i was creepy.
alright, colossians 3
i have a soft spot for this chapter. this summer i had the wonderful opportunity to attend summer project in sandusky, ohio. it is a 9-week summer program for college students to help them grow in their walk with the Lord. our theme for the summer was colossians 3:17, "and whatever you do, whether in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him." because of this we spent a lot of our time examining all of chapter three.
the focus of this chapter is to emphasize the personal relationship with Christ. paul addresses the church of colosse and tells them in verse 2: "set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." i believe as humans we have the tendency to do the exact opposite of what this verse is telling us. we get so wrapped up in this world that we forget we are only visitors here! and praise God for that right! but instead of getting caught up in worry and relationships and money, paul calls us to set our minds on the things above because that is where our eternal home is. he continues in verse 3 to say: "for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." skip with me quickly to another letter paul wrote. 2 corinthians 5:17 says: "therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" paul is explaining that we are no longer of this world. we are no longer citizens here. we no longer are bound by sin. we are no longer defined by our past actions. but instead...we are a new creation! there is no longer a need to keep our eyes on earthly things.
in verse 5 paul gives examples of some of the earthly things that we should put aside such as:
-sexual immorality
-anger
-slander
-lust
-greed
-lying
of course these aren't all of the earthly matters that consume ourselves today, but just a few from the gamut. he explains that we are all part of the chosen body of Christ. there is no differentiating between any of us. therefore as a part of this body paul calls us to replace our worldly thoughts with things from verse 12:
-compassion
-kindness
-humility
-gentleness
-patience
verses 13 and 14 are very powerful verses. they say: "bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. forgive as the Lord forgave you. and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." isn't it great to know that no matter how terrible you once were or how far from God you think you might be, that the Lord, in all His glory and power, has forgiven you!! if the Lord can forgive me and you for how much we have disobeyed and spat in His face, don't you think we should do the same for others who have committed petty sins against us? they are nothing in comparison of what we have committed against God. paul then furthers this idea of unconditional forgiveness to add in love. and friends let me tell you that the Lord knows a little something about love. paul writes in romans 5:8: "but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us." God gave His only Son for us to experience an eternal relationship with Him.
if this is not love, i don't know what is.
the rest of the chapter really focuses on verse 17: "and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." paul address all people: husbands, wives, children, fathers, slaves. he urges them to work to glorify God. no matter what the task is at hand or who you are working for, it is ultimately the Lord who you are serving. a very practical application of this for me would be my grades. i had always been told in church to glorify God in all i did. however, i didn't understand how not reading the bible or not talking of Jesus to others was truly glorifying the Lord. i finally came across this verse at a Christian conference i attended and everything seemed to click. i realized that getting good grades glorified the Lord i was working in the name of the Lord - He was who i was serving, not my teachers or my parents or my future colleges/grad schools. once i came to this realization i found myself with a great stress taken off my back. it was no longer the approval and pleasing of man that i was seeking, but rather merely to glorify the Lord.
beginning the first semester of the last semester as a college student, i pray i may continue to have this mindset of my grades and my schoolwork and not allow myself to be caught up in the earthly paul spoke of in colossians 3. when i am rejoicing with the angels in heaven, i will look down at the stress caused by school and grades and i will laugh at how petty those things were, and how silly it was of me to set my mind on my temporary home instead of my eternal resting place in heaven.
You are holy great and mighty
the moon and the stars declare who You are
i'm so unworthy, but still You love me
forever my heart will sing of how great You are
alright, colossians 3
i have a soft spot for this chapter. this summer i had the wonderful opportunity to attend summer project in sandusky, ohio. it is a 9-week summer program for college students to help them grow in their walk with the Lord. our theme for the summer was colossians 3:17, "and whatever you do, whether in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him." because of this we spent a lot of our time examining all of chapter three.
the focus of this chapter is to emphasize the personal relationship with Christ. paul addresses the church of colosse and tells them in verse 2: "set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." i believe as humans we have the tendency to do the exact opposite of what this verse is telling us. we get so wrapped up in this world that we forget we are only visitors here! and praise God for that right! but instead of getting caught up in worry and relationships and money, paul calls us to set our minds on the things above because that is where our eternal home is. he continues in verse 3 to say: "for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." skip with me quickly to another letter paul wrote. 2 corinthians 5:17 says: "therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" paul is explaining that we are no longer of this world. we are no longer citizens here. we no longer are bound by sin. we are no longer defined by our past actions. but instead...we are a new creation! there is no longer a need to keep our eyes on earthly things.
in verse 5 paul gives examples of some of the earthly things that we should put aside such as:
-sexual immorality
-anger
-slander
-lust
-greed
-lying
of course these aren't all of the earthly matters that consume ourselves today, but just a few from the gamut. he explains that we are all part of the chosen body of Christ. there is no differentiating between any of us. therefore as a part of this body paul calls us to replace our worldly thoughts with things from verse 12:
-compassion
-kindness
-humility
-gentleness
-patience
verses 13 and 14 are very powerful verses. they say: "bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. forgive as the Lord forgave you. and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." isn't it great to know that no matter how terrible you once were or how far from God you think you might be, that the Lord, in all His glory and power, has forgiven you!! if the Lord can forgive me and you for how much we have disobeyed and spat in His face, don't you think we should do the same for others who have committed petty sins against us? they are nothing in comparison of what we have committed against God. paul then furthers this idea of unconditional forgiveness to add in love. and friends let me tell you that the Lord knows a little something about love. paul writes in romans 5:8: "but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us." God gave His only Son for us to experience an eternal relationship with Him.
if this is not love, i don't know what is.
the rest of the chapter really focuses on verse 17: "and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." paul address all people: husbands, wives, children, fathers, slaves. he urges them to work to glorify God. no matter what the task is at hand or who you are working for, it is ultimately the Lord who you are serving. a very practical application of this for me would be my grades. i had always been told in church to glorify God in all i did. however, i didn't understand how not reading the bible or not talking of Jesus to others was truly glorifying the Lord. i finally came across this verse at a Christian conference i attended and everything seemed to click. i realized that getting good grades glorified the Lord i was working in the name of the Lord - He was who i was serving, not my teachers or my parents or my future colleges/grad schools. once i came to this realization i found myself with a great stress taken off my back. it was no longer the approval and pleasing of man that i was seeking, but rather merely to glorify the Lord.
beginning the first semester of the last semester as a college student, i pray i may continue to have this mindset of my grades and my schoolwork and not allow myself to be caught up in the earthly paul spoke of in colossians 3. when i am rejoicing with the angels in heaven, i will look down at the stress caused by school and grades and i will laugh at how petty those things were, and how silly it was of me to set my mind on my temporary home instead of my eternal resting place in heaven.
You are holy great and mighty
the moon and the stars declare who You are
i'm so unworthy, but still You love me
forever my heart will sing of how great You are
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