Colossians
Friday, June 18, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for purchasing my freedom with the blood of Jesus, and for forgiving all my sins. I pray that You will empower me by the Holy Spirit today to live out the freedom that You purchased for me at such a great price. May everything that I think, say and do today bring You glory and honor. May each person I meet be encouraged and challenged to follow You more fully as a result of our interaction. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Colossians 1:7-14
7Epaphras, our much loved co-worker, was the one who brought you the Good News. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place. 8He is the one who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
9So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. 10Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.
11We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, 12always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light. 13For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. 14God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.
Reflecting on God’s Word
What is the greatest benefit of the freedom that Jesus purchased for us on the cross?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
Who does Paul say purchased our freedom with His blood? (1:14)
Why do you think that Paul used the term “God” rather than “Jesus” in today’s Scripture?
What does blood have to do with our forgiveness? (1:14)
Understanding God’s Word
What does today’s Scripture teach us about the relationship between God and Jesus?
What do we learn about God from today’s Scripture?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What does today’s Scripture call us to be or do?
Thoughts...God's Blood, Our Freedom!
Once again in today’s reading the Apostle Paul attributes to God something that Jesus did. This reminds us once again that though there is only one God, He reveals Himself to us in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The reality expressed in Colossians 1:14 is so significant that we could write volumes about it---God purchased our freedom from sin and death with His blood. By God’s own standard of justice, the only means to forgive sin is the shedding of blood. Before Jesus’ great sacrifice on the cross, that required the sacrifice of animals on an altar in the temple in Jerusalem. Now, no more sacrifices are required, since Jesus death purchased our forgiveness and our freedom ONCE AND FOR ALL. That Paul credits God with this great sacrifice, simply underlines that God is one—and that the work of Jesus is, indeed, the work of God. May we go about this day rejoicing every time we remember that God loved us so much that He poured out His blood for us that we could have a new and eternal life filled with God’s great freedom and perfect forgiveness. What an incredible blessing!