Colossians
Saturday, June 12, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for another week of life! Thank You for the seconds, minutes, hours and days that pass by in an unending flow leading to eternity! I praise You for the Apostle Paul’s reminder that every moment we are to be looking forward to the joys of heaven, because that is, indeed, our final destination as followers of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. I pray that as I go about this day, I will consider the joys of heaven, so that whatever I face, I will keep Your perspective on life. The earth is truly not my home—heaven is my ultimate and permanent home. Let me live in all areas of my life through the power of that freeing reality! Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that my thoughts, words and actions will glorify You, and identify me to others around me as a citizen of heaven. This I pray in the powerful name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, who lived, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and promised to return to assure me and every believer of the reality of the joys of heaven! Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Colossians 1:1-6
1This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
2It is written to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.
May God our Father give you grace and peace.
3We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4for we have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus and that you love all of God’s people. 5You do this because you are looking forward to the joys of heaven—as you have been ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. 6This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners.
Thoughts...Tempus Fugit...
Time Flies! Another week has come and gone. The longer I live, the more surely I recognize that time is the most precious resource that God calls us to steward (manage) in this life. While most Americans focus an inordinate amount of time and energy and producing and conserving the material resource of money, we CAN make or even borrow more money if we have to, but we cannot make or borrow more time. Each of us has only 24 hours in a given day, and seven days in a given week. No one can manufacture more time, and each of us will one day run out of time here on earth. The reality is no one knows the day or the hour when our time will run out—which is probably one of God’s greatest graces in our lives! In the introduction to the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossian Church, he never directly mentions time, but he implies that we are to use our time wisely in two ways: first, he tells us that we are to look forward to the joys of heaven; and second, he tells us that the Colossian believers have been changing (being changed by Jesus!) ever since the “very first day” they heard and understood the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners. In our day, so much emphasis is placed on “here and now,” that our ultimate future with God is overlooked. The world believes that here and now is all there is, or will ever be, so it makes sense that they ignore the “looking forward to heaven” part of life, but what about us? Have we become so indoctrinated in our culture’s ways that we think only of the here and now, and forget the future joy of life in heaven with God? How many times in any given day do you think about heaven? In a given week? Perhaps, the answer to that question may be tied in to some degree with our ages? An 85 year-old is more likely to think about heaven (perhaps) than a 25 year-old? On the other hand, if we have recently lost a loved one to death, or if we are struggling with a life-threatening illness, then we may also be more aware of the brevity of time here on earth, and may be considering the joys of heaven often.
The reality is once Jesus Christ becomes the Savior and Lord of our lives, and only then, we become citizens of heaven, rather than citizens of the world. From that moment on—from that very first day as Paul put it—our lives are different in kind than they were before. No longer is making money, or being a success, or getting the best grade, or finishing first the most important reality for us. Now the most important reality is the joys of heaven. As we go about our days, it is natural to focus on our work, or our play, or the friend or family member with whom we are talking, but as a follower of Jesus, it is equally as natural for us to consider the eternal context in which our lives are lived! We are bound for heaven. At the age of forty-seven, it is likely that I have lived more years here on earth than I have yet to live. I am aware that my days “are numbered.” The same is true, though, regardless of one’s age. So, the key question is how are we INVESTING the time, how are we being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us? Are we looking forward to the joys of heaven by praying for our brothers and sisters in Jesus, and praying for those who don’t yet know Him? Are we living with joy here and now, so others will recognize that heaven IS a place of joy we will all one day attain? Are we investing in those of younger generations so that our influence in Jesus’ name will live on after we are gone? Life is an incredible gift, and time is such a precious resource given by God that we may glorify Him, and share the Good News with others! Time flies. Let’s use it well!