Colossians
Friday, July 9, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, the Best News ever given is Your Good News that I have been made alive with Jesus, and that You have canceled the record of all my sins! Thank You for such grace and acceptance. I pray that You will fill me with the Holy Spirit afresh that I may live faithfully and obediently every minute of every day. Glorify Yourself in my life today, and let me be an encouragement to everyone I meet. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Colossians 2:6-15
6And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. 7Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.
8Don’t let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ. 9For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, 10and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.
11When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to a new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
13You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. 14He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. 15In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.
Reflecting on God’s Word
What is the most gracious thing that anyone has ever done for you?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
What did God do to take away our sins? (2:13-14)
What impact did this have on Satan? (2:15)
Understanding God’s Word
Why do you suppose that Paul makes the connection so frequently in Colossians between God’s victory and Satan’s failure?
What do we learn about God from today’s Scripture reading?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What one action does today’s Scripture call you to take?
Thoughts...Disarming Evil Rulers and Authorities...
The Apostle Paul puts the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross in the grand scale of the defeat—the “disarming”--of the evil rulers and authorities, meaning Satan and his minions. This reminds us that our sins are not just personal short-comings that need to be adjusted or tweaked or refined. These are the result of the fall of humanity way back at the beginning of time when Adam and Eve sided with Satan in rebellion against God. For the rest of our lives as followers of Jesus, we will be attacked by Satan, but we have the authority of Jesus in our lives, and He has already disarmed Satan. Satan has no power over us, unless we give it to Him. We don’t have to sin. We sin only when we choose to do so after Jesus has become Savior and Lord of our lives. That means as we start this day, or continue it (depending on when you’re reading this!), that we can live victoriously over sin, as we call on Jesus and live in the power of the Holy Spirit. We no longer need to fear any enemy, so long as Jesus is the Lord of our lives! Let’s live in Him today!