Colossians
Monday, June 21, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, thank You for making it so clear in Your word that Jesus is not only different from us in His sinless living, but in His divine nature as well! I thank You that Jesus did live as a human being, and thus, experienced all the temptations and difficulties of this life, and at the same time I praise You that He never succumbed to any of the temptations of this life, because He IS God. I pray that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may live boldly and confidently in Jesus’ name today, and that I may be a credible witness of all that He has done and continues to do for humanity in His role as God and man. Grant me wisdom to boldly and clearly share my faith in Jesus with everyone I meet today and through this coming week. This I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Colossians 1:15-23
15Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. 16Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. 17He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
18Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. 19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
Reflecting on God’s Word
What is the most amazing thing in all of God’s creation to you?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
According to today’s Scripture, what did Jesus create? (1:16-17)
According to today’s Scripture who is Jesus? (1:16-17)
Understanding God’s Word
Why do you suppose that Paul made it clear that Jesus created both things that are visible and those that are invisible?
What does today’s Scripture tell us about Jesus, and thus, about God?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What one action does today’s Scripture call you to take in your daily life, right now?
Thoughts...He Made the Things We Can See...
Once again in today’s Scripture the Apostle Paul equates Jesus with God, by attributing the process of creation to Jesus. It is important that Paul points out that Jesus made both the things we can see and the things we can’t, since in yesterday’s focus Scripture we read that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. Jesus doesn’t just exist in the everyday realm of space and time—He lives in it, and also beyond it. Thus both in His nature and creative activity Jesus demonstrates that He is, indeed, God—of the visible and the invisible. We have never seen Jesus—yet, unless God has given you a vision of Him, but one day all the world will see Jesus. He has promised to come again to claim His own, and He always keeps His promises. Until then we have the record of hundreds of faithful witnesses who experienced the reality of Jesus ministry on earth. We also have the evidence of His creative works all around us. We also have the Holy Spirit who lives within each of us who have trusted Him as Savior and Lord. The evidence of Jesus position as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of all is literally all around us!