Bearing and Forgiving: The Example

 

“Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)

Bearing means to endure or tolerate a person and his or her actions, opinions, etc. It is a stance of not judging because of your respect for him or her as a creation of God, one loved by Him. Bearing comes from living out visibly and tangibly what God has put into you from His being and His indwelling Holy Spirit. Because we are “raised with Christ,” as Paul stated, we are enabled to bear with each person if we are willing to do that which God compels us. We can simplify this action and attitude of bearing with a slogan from the 1980s-2000s, “What would Jesus do”—WWJD.

Paul wrote we are to bear each other, our brothers and sisters in Christ—their various attitudes, actions, thoughts, words, etc. Still, he added to that. He specifically added that we are not only to bear but to “forgive any complaint.” Forgiveness is hard for any person, especially the unsaved. It should be easier for a Christian because he or she recognized and recognizes daily his or her own sins. Still though, without humility, forgiveness is hard to give. Without a willing heart, the forgiveness God puts within you will not be extended to others.

Bearing a person is easier to do. Sometimes we just grit our teeth and put up with a person (“grin and bear it”), probably while interacting very little with the person. Forgiving requires more of a person to be done. It requires humility, understanding, mercy, compassion, kindness, and acceptance of that person with whom you bear his or her opinions, actions, attitudes, etc. Forgiving is freely, willingly, and graciously extending favor, kindness, and pardon to a person who has harmed or offended you or someone else. 

Paul said forgiveness is a refusal to cast blame for “any complaint.” Forgiving is totally removing a harm from your memory of offenses, not harboring any grudges for later quarrels or arguments. Paul also recognized that forgiveness is a two-way street when he wrote, “against one another.” It takes at least two people for an offense to happen. The offense of one person by another may occur from interactions between those two people because of attitudes, words, or actions misunderstood or misstated. Therefore, forgiveness often needs to be extended by each person in the equation of offense and hurt. 

In considering offense and forgiveness, Paul summed up the ultimate example of forbearing and forgiving, in case anyone forgot and in hope they will remember it in the heat of the moment. Just as the word “bearing” should cause us to consider the ultimate reason to bear with another person and just as the word “forgiving” should cause us to think of the ultimate reason to forgive, Paul explicitly stated as reminder and prime example Jesus’ bearing with and forgiving of us, His followers. 

Even if you are so hurt or offended that you do not want to be with or think about the person by whom you took offense, remember, but for Jesus, you would not know or have freely received forgiveness. You would not have received salvation and the promise of eternal life. Your interactions with God read like a litany of charges of offense and rebellion against Him, but He extended and extends undue grace and forgiveness to you. He bears with and justifies you. God removes your sins from your name as far as the east is from the west. 

God did not have Paul write and teach that we are to do something impossible. He bore and forgave all your sins. God gave mercy and grace to you and pours into you the ability to be merciful and gracious toward other people. You can bear and forgive because of His love, of which you are the recipient and the channel to other people. 

So, be like God. By the love of God within yourself, bear with and forgive any complaint you have with one another. Are you willing? 

 

Are you forgiven and saved by Jesus? If not, now is the time to believe in Jesus, confess your sins, and receive His forgiveness.

Live It Out

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

— Colossians 3:13

 

The command from Paul to “bear with” means to endure by living out the faith God works in you and do it with calmness and composure. It’s not the “grin and bear it” determination just to get through a meal with someone who irks you. This “bearing with” is more of being a loving presence of God to the person by your example of patience, faith, and forgiveness. God bore with sinful humanity out of love. He planned the perfect method of salvation for humanity before time began, before day and night existed. One who loves so much that He plans our salvation before our sin shows great love and that love shows itself in many ways, two of which are patience and forgiveness. This kind of bearing is the example from God and Jesus that Paul commanded the Colossian church and all Christians to show each other. Without this example of bearing, we Christians would have a hard time relating to people who grate on our nerves. So, be patient— endure with love—the person who irks you or is difficult.

 

Paul then commanded them to “forgive” any complaint. Forgiveness originally comes from God. It’s a grace—a favor—He gives to us. Forgiveness is one of His characteristics and its source is God. Believers can forgive because they have received the example of forgiveness from God for their sins. They can forgive because, with that gift of forgiveness received from Him, they forgive and live in harmony with other people. Forgiveness is part of growing closer to God and growing to be more like Jesus. It’s a gift the Spirit bestows to us. God extended down to us forgiveness freely. Nobody who has ever lived or will live can ever do enough good things to earn forgiveness from God. In the same manner, believers in Jesus are to extend forgiveness freely to other people. That person who irks you shouldn’t have to do anything to earn it. 

 

The second part of this command says to forgive without complaining. Paul used a Greek word here in this verse that means forgive without casting blame or fault. Freely forgive, whether or not they know they’ve offended or hurt you. Freely extend forgiveness by living out your faith in Jesus like He modeled to and for humanity. Never did Jesus tell His Father people were unworthy. Never did He complain when people distrusted, betrayed, hurt, or spewed lies about Him. Jesus knew His task to live as God with us in daily life and God for us at His crucifixion. He did this because of His love for humanity. Jesus forgave people with His life.

 

Live out your faith in Jesus with the patience and forgiveness He has shown to you and gives to you. Live this way among people who are easy to love and those who are difficult. Do it without casting fault or blame on them in your heart, mind, words, or actions. To emphasize these commands to Christians, Paul reminded them to forgive as the Lord has done for you. You forgive others as Jesus forgave and forgives you—seventy times seven—ceaselessly and perfectly. 

 

Take time to ask God who you have not loved and forgiven as He loves and has forgiven you. Seek God’s mind and heart about this person. Live out your faith with that person first by asking God to correct your thoughts and heart about him/her. Then, in the quiet of your spirit, forgive that person without seeking that person’s fault or confession. Now, go and be with him/her as you worship, live, and minister, living as Jesus did by loving and forgiving people. Forgive as often as necessary, for bitterness in your heart can cause your relationship with God to become distant. Forgive seventy times seven. 

 

Live out in your life what God has given and keeps giving you.

Thanksgiving in Colossians

In the second Bible study in this series on the Letter to the Colossians, titled Identification, we studied Paul’s introduction of himself and Timothy and his greeting to the church at Colossae. This greeting of Paul’s identified him as an apostle, a sent out one, of Christ by the will of God. Paul identified himself as a Christian and one who goes out to proclaim the Gospel. By this, the church of Colossae could recognize he was one to whom they should listen. Paul had credentials. Next in the greeting, Paul called Timothy “our brother.” With these two words, he identified to the Colossian believers that Timothy, too, was a believer and one who traveled with and learned daily from Paul. He was one they should consider highly, too. The people of Asia Minor, which included Colossae, knew of Timothy as one of their own since he grew up in their part of the world. The Colossians identified with Timothy as a man of Asia Minor. Paul, being from Tarsus, of Asia Minor, identified as one of their own, too. Between Paul and Timothy, their backgrounds covered people from Asia Minor who had Greek and/or Jewish backgrounds, just as the Colossian church comprised people from Greek and Jewish backgrounds. With the words of Paul’s introduction and greeting, he led the people to identify with him and Timothy and prepared them to listen and heed what he wrote to them in this letter.

With verses three through eight, Paul prayed about the Colossian brethren. This prayer was a thanksgiving to God for the faith of the Colossian Christians, love toward their brethren, and hope for their final reward. Notice, this prayer speaks of a multidimensional Christianity-upward to God, outward to other believers, and forward to eternity - shown by three words, faith, love, and hope.

Thanksgiving

To God

“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you…” (Colossians 1:3 [NASB])

Paul, as Jesus’ sent out one, who identified with Christ and the Colossian Christians, offered a prayer of thanks to God. The word “thanks” comes from the same Greek work from which eucharist comes. The Greek word is eucharisteo. It means to give thanks acknowledging God’s grace works well for our eternal gain and His glory. For God’s grace, Paul thanked Him. Each time a Christian partakes of communion/eucharist/Lord’s Supper, he or she gives thanks for the grace God gave him or her through Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is a time of remembrance of what Jesus did for believers and thanks for His grace He gave through it. Paul said the same thing in this opening of his prayer. He remembered with and for the Colossae Christians what Jesus did for them with His life, death, and resurrection, and he thanked God for the grace He gave them, which they accepted as His gift of love.

With the phrase “to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul began reminding them of who Jesus is. He alluded to the theme of this letter - Jesus, the Son of God, fully divine. Paul prayed to God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son who died and rose from death to give grace, mercy, and salvation. To this One, the One in whom Paul, Timothy, and the Colossian church had faith, he interacted. In this prayer, Paul pointed anew to the supreme deity of God. Because of God’s grace works in and for the Colossian saints, Paul thanked Him. He acknowledged grace and faith come only from God. Paul prayed in faith, praying in the way the Father desires, according to the Father’s heart, that the Colossian church would be persuaded completely and be full of faith in Him. He said he prayed always for the Colossian Christians. Paul prayed according to God’s will continually and in the way He moved him to pray for them. He was connected intimately with God and, through Him, intimately connected with the Colossian believers. He identified with God as His saved and sent out one. Paul identified with the Colossian Christians, too, as one who was a sinner saved by God’s grace through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Faith and Love

“…since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love, which you have for all the saints…” (Col. 1:4 [NASB])

Paul had heard of the faith and love of the Christians in Colossae. He would have heard it from the man he discipled who was from their region, Epaphras. Because Paul spent lengthy periods of time in Asia Minor on his second and third missionary journeys, he could have learned about the believers in Colossae at those times or from the people who wrote to him. What Paul heard is for what Paul thanked God. He noted their faith, pistis, in Jesus Christ. Notice, this belief is not in one’s self to do things, such as good works, or be things. This belief is in Jesus, the One who saves people from their sins and makes them righteous. Pistis means belief and true faith in Jesus as a gift from God. This faith gift from God is what persuaded them of the truth of Jesus Christ. As they acted on this faith, it produced more faith, so they grew in their relationship with God and in their service to Him. As any believer applies what they know, hear, and receive from God, more faith grows in them. They mature and bear fruit.

This faith and its growth in a believer leads to agape love. Agape love can only come from being identified with Jesus Christ. People cannot manufacture it. This love that is true and devoted; it is pure. Nothing changes it. This love is not hot one day and cold another. Agape love is the pure love from Jesus Christ. Each characteristic of God - Father, Son, and Spirit - comes from this pure love. The agape love Paul said the Colossians showed was love “for all the saints.” These saints of which Paul wrote were other people whom Jesus made holy through the redemption He gives. The Colossian believers enacted their faith in Jesus with pure love for other believers in Jesus Christ. They showed the love of God to other Christians. This shows the Colossian believers’ identification with God. Their faith in Christ led to love of Christ pouring out from them towards the saints. They identified with Jesus and with other believers. These Colossian Christians grew in their faith and showed Christ’s love to others. They had a vertical relationship with God and a horizontal relationship with people that was Christlike, from agape love. For their faith acted upon as agape love lived out among other saints, Paul thanked God.

Hope

“…because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel…” (Col. 1:5 [NASB])

Paul began this next section talking of the third aspect of believers, hope. The first two were faith and love. Paul said in verse five, “...because of the hope…” Hope motivated the believers in Colossae. Hope without substance isn’t hope. Without substance, this describes just possibility. Hope that has a basis, a foundation, such as the Christian hope in Jesus that leads to an eternal reward, is something onto which they could be sure. The Colossian believers could trust and put their confidence in this reward, not because people told them about heaven, but because they believed unto faith in Jesus Christ and received salvation by His grace given because of His shed blood. That truth is the basis for Christian hope. Jesus never fails or lies. He is victorious over sin and death as the fully divine Son of God. The believers in Colossae held onto this hope laid up for them in heaven, which they gained when they heard and trusted in the truth, the Gospel. They lived out their faith with God’s agape love toward other believers because of the hope they had in Christ. The Colossian Christians’ faith, as God gave to them, was genuine as acknowledged by their actions of faith and because they looked toward the future of their completed salvation and acted in the present.

 

Word of Truth’s Sufficiency

“…which has come to you, just as in all the world, also, it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing even as it has been doing in you since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth…” (Col. 1:6 [NASB])

Paul is famous for his unending and complicated sentence structure. This phrase begins with the last words in verse five. It speaks of the Gospel. The word “Gospel” comes from the Greek word euaggelion, meaning the truth of the good news of the Messiah. Paul stated the Colossians faith, love, and hope came from the Gospel, the good news of the Messiah. This Gospel that came to them and which they heeded was the word of truth. Remember, God is the definition of truth, the source of truth. His character is truth. So, if something comes from Him, it is the absolute truth. Understanding this was important for the Colossian believers because they lived in a city and region bombarded by Greco-Roman gods, Babylonian gods, Greek philosophical thought, and Jewish legalism. This combination of influences with bits and pieces of ideas taken from Christianity led to the beginnings of Gnosticism. The truth from God of the good news, the Gospel, is absolute. Paul inferred no other philosophical thought or faith system is truth if it differs from God’s truth.

Paul continued explaining how they could know for sure this word of truth they received is the truth. He said a faith in the word of truth constantly bears fruit and increases. He said this word of truth is the same as what had been and was being presented in the entire world. The increase is the number of people from different tribes, nations, and tongues who believed in the truth of God. Know by its increase, its fruit. Just as it bore fruit in the Lycus River valley with actions of godly character and conduct, it was effective beyond there and bore fruit elsewhere, too. This fruit of the Gospel in believers’ lives didn’t just bud then die away, but word came of its growth and maturity. It increased and spread. So, too, did the faith of the Colossians grow richer and deeper. It matured in them. God’s truth didn’t need supplementation by other thoughts or religions. People need nothing else for the Gospel to save them when they believed in Jesus Christ. This word of truth, the Gospel, as the believers in Colossae listened to and understood it from Epaphras, is the grace of God. The Gospel preached to them, which they believed with the faith God gave them and the faith that grew and matured, is God’s truth and is sufficient for salvation from sins and receipt of eternal life with Him. Paul said no person needs to add anything to what they received from God’s sent ones to give them salvation and eternal life. Writing this in his thanksgiving to God foreshadowed what Paul's purpose was for this letter. Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient.

Faithful to Christ

“…just as you learned it from Epaphras, our bellowed fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf…” (Col. 1:7 [NASB])

Paul identified he knew from whom the believers in Colossae heard the Gospel. The verb Paul used is a prolonged verb. What they learned began at a point in time and they kept learning, so it became a part of their lifestyle, continuing to learn from experience as they walked with Christ each day. Paul acknowledged the believers in Colossae not only believed, but they kept on believing and grew in their faith. They matured and increased, as he said in verse six. They learned and kept on learning by living with Jesus every day. Paul mentioned Epaphras because he trusted what he taught and preached to them since he personally discipled him. He knew Epaphras taught the truth of God. Additionally, by mentioning Epaphras, Paul reminded the believers of Colossae to remember and hold on to the truth Epaphras told them. Don’t let anyone water it down with other philosophical thoughts or faith systems.

Paul called Epaphras a “beloved fellow bond-servant.” This phrasing meant Epaphras was one of them; they followed Christ together. Both Paul and Epaphras identified with Christ. He called him a bond-servant. A bond-servant is someone who voluntarily submits to another person. It doesn’t occur by force, authority, or monetary debt. Epaphras, like Paul and Timothy, accepted the truth of the word, the Gospel, and voluntarily submitted to Christ as His Lord and Savior. Wherever God told Him to go and to whoever God told him to speak, Epaphras would obey. God controlled his life because he gave it to Him. By this, Epaphras was a bond-servant of Christ. Besides being a beloved, fellow bond-servant, Paul said Epaphras was faithful. This word comes from the same root word as the word “faith” in verse four, pistos. Epaphras did not begrudgingly obey God. He did not say, “I’ll do anything, except not that, God.” He was a faithful servant. Epaphras, fully persuaded of the truth of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, lived a life of growing and maturing faith upon which he obeyed God. Inspired by Jesus, he carried out His plans for each person to hear the Gospel. Epaphras lived and breathed to tell the Gospel. He became a teacher of the Christian faith as a beloved and faithful bond-servant of Christ. Epaphras’ cause, his purpose for telling others about Jesus, was three-fold. He acted because of the call Christ had on his life. Epaphras identified with Christ. He, too, acted with other men and women to make sure each person heard the Gospel. Epaphras identified with other sent out ones. Finally, he acted out of agape love for other people. He did not want any person to die without knowing the grace, salvation, and eternal life that faith in Jesus gives. He identified with unsaved people because he had been an unbeliever. Because of Epaphras’ faithfulness to Christ, the Colossian Christians could trust completely in the truth Epaphras taught them. They didn’t need new teachers or to add other things to what Epaphras taught them. Epaphras’ faithfulness to God and to the people of Colossae shows pure love, agape love. Epaphras’ and Paul’s faith, hope, and love, resulted in proclaiming the word of truth and being faithful to Christ.

By the Spirit

“…and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.” (Col. 1:8 [NASB])

In verse three, Paul said he and Timothy had heard of the faith in Christ of the Colossian believers. He did not state from whom he gained that information. In verse eight, Paul wrote that Epaphras told them of Colossians’ faith. A young pastor reported to his mentor/discipler what was happening in the church he planted in Colossae. He wanted Paul to know what was happening in the Lycus River valley. Epaphras excitedly told what was happening in Colossae and the growth he saw in the believers. The first sign of belief in Jesus in a Christian’s life is the love that flows in and through him or her, outward to people and upward to God. Epaphras told Paul of their love. He didn’t tell them of philia love, deep friendship, but of agape love, a love for everyone that has its source in God. The Colossian believers, according to Epaphras, identified with Christ and identified with other believers. He said they did it in the Spirit. Identification with Christ and other believers is not recognizing them, but more than that. Identification is recognizing and loving them without considering their worth. Just as God loves each person. The Colossian Christians’ identification with Jesus and other believers came from love. The Colossian Christians did not love from their own capacity, but with the capacity and unselfish love of God. Epaphras told Paul of the Colossian believers’ maturing faith, Paul wrote.

Thoughts to Consider

Have you understood everything Paul said in this six-verse passage of Scripture? Paul was very precise in what he said. He packed much into his sentences with many dependent clauses. Paul, like any good teachers and mentors, began this letter and his thanksgiving to God for the Colossae church with the good news of the growth of these children of God in love, faith, and hope, the three aspects, or as R.E. O. White says, “the dimensions,” of Christian experience. He thanked God for the people of Colossae who had become Christians because of their faith, which manifested itself through the love and hope that comes from God. Paul recognized these co-heirs in Christ identified with God and with other believers. Paul briefly reminded these believers that Jesus is fully divine, and His sacrifice is sufficient for salvation. They did not need to add another philosophical thought or faith system to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection to receive salvation and an eternal inheritance in heaven. Paul encouraged the Colossian believers further by telling them what they had heard from Epaphras came from a fellow beloved bond-servant of Christ, just as he himself is an apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will.

Consider these questions as you process today’s Bible study.

• Has your faith in Jesus shown in love for other believers?
• Have you lived out your faith by telling someone the word of truth?
• Do you look with expectation to receive the hope God laid up for you in heaven?
• Does your faith keep you strong and steadfast in your faith in Christ?
• Have you mixed anything else into your belief in Christ because it seemed like the right thing to do, things like ancestor worship, idol worship, sacrificing animals when you sin?
• When people look at you, do they see a faith in Christ that bears fruit and mature constantly by your heart, words, and actions?
• Are you continuing to learn and grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus?
•  If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, what keeps you from believing in Him as your Savior?

Paul wrote to the Colossian Christians to do more than boost their morale with his thanksgiving to God. He foreshadowed of the theme for this letter in his prayer we studied today. Jesus is fully divine, and His sacrifice is sufficient for the salvation of every person who repents and believes in Him as the Son of God. As always, Paul’s love for other people caused him to teach and correct them so Satan’s deceptions would not lead them astray.

Paul would later pray for these believers to have the knowledge of God’s will with spiritual wisdom and understanding, to live a life worthy of God, bearing fruit, increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with God’s might and power, ensuring and being patient with joy, and giving thanks to God, the One who qualified them to share in the inheritance of the saints. (Colossians 1:9-12)

For us today, we must ask ourselves if we are persuaded fully of the truth of the Gospel about Jesus Christ. Does it impel us to live a life of growing and maturing faith shown by obeying God? We should ask ourselves if we live a life worthy of God. Paul, Epaphras, and Timothy did. Where do you stand with Jesus now?

For next week, re-read Colossians 1:9-12.

If you want to talk about this Bible study or want to know about Jesus so you can receive the salvation from sins He offers, contact me through the contact form on my website. I will write back to you.

“[I] am giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” (Colossians 1:12 [NASB])

Identification

The people of Colossae lived in a mixed bag of cultures, philosophical thoughts, and religions. They lived in an area called Asia Minor, specifically the Lycus River valley, where a major crossroad traversed from east to west. The Babylonians, Romans, Jews, and Greeks influenced the lives of the people. To these people in the 1^st century AD, Paul wrote while imprisoned. About the Christians in Colossians, he heard good things and things about which he needed to teach and correct.

As Paul almost always did in his letters, he gives a foreshadowing of his teaching in the opening statements. He opens with by introducing himself (vs 1), giving a greeting (vs 2), then praying over the Colossian brethren (vs 3-8). That prayer of thanksgiving leads directly into the principal topic and teaching of this letter.

The Greeting

Identification with the Sender

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother…” (Colossians 1:1 [NASB])

Paul introduced himself to the believers in Colossae. Though he had spent extended time in Asia Minor on his 2^nd and 3^rd missionary journeys, he had never been to Colossae. It was during one of those journeys, probably the 3^rd journey, that Paul discipled Epaphras, the founder and pastor of the Colossian church. What is important about Paul’s introduction of himself to the Colossians are the credentials he gave? He told them first he is an apostle of Jesus Christ. An apostle of Christ is an ambassador of the Gospel commissioned by Jesus Christ to go preach. Paul was sent out by Christ. The authority for his apostleship came from Christ. Remember his Damascus road experience in Acts 9. Christ called and sent out Paul as an ambassador of the Gospel. As an apostle of Christ, Paul was identified with Christ.

The next part of verse one says he was an apostle of Christ by the will of God. Paul had not decided on his own to be an ambassador, an apostle. God willed it. He chose Saul even while he persecuted the people of the Way, the Jesus-followers. God had a purpose to use Saul, later known as Paul, to reach the Gentile world. When Saul met Jesus on the Damascus road, he became a completely changed man with a new agenda. His life turned around 180 degrees from persecuting Christians to proclaiming the Gospel, from taking the lives of believers to leading them to the Source of Life, and from enforcing every jot and tittle of the Law to reinforcing believers by teaching the Gospel as given to Him by God. Paul repented, he turned 180 degrees from facing away from Jesus to facing and following Him.

Paul never went alone to where Jesus led him to proclaim the “mystery of God.” Another believer traveled with him, whether that person was a believer before Paul met him or her or that believer became a Christian because of Paul’s proclamation. Paul dedicated his life to learning and mentoring other believers. On a journey in which men arrested him, Paul identified with the person who resided with him. On this journey, Timothy was with him. Paul called Timothy “our brother by God’s will.” The people of Asia Minor either knew Timothy or knew of him. Timothy’s family raised him in Lystra about 360 miles east of Colossae. His grandmother and mother, who were Jewish and later became Christians (2 Timothy 1:5), and his Greek father raised him with the knowledge of Jewish Scriptures. Paul took Timothy with him on his journeys and mentored him. Timothy was a companion, mentee, and co-worker of Paul.

Why was it important for Paul to tell the Colossian believers about himself and Timothy? Paul wanted these believers to understand that he identified with Christ. Christ appointed him as His ambassador. Paul wanted the Colossian believers to realize who Timothy was, too. Timothy identified with Christ, as one saved by Him and called to service for Him. 

Identification with the Recipients

“To the saints and faithful brethren who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (Colossians 1:2 [NASB])

Paul wanted the believers in Colossae to realize he and Timothy identified with them, as well as with Christ. How do we know Paul wanted the believers in Colossae to identify with him and Timothy?  He wrote to the “saints and faithful brethren in Christ.” Paul made known to whom he was writing. He wrote to the saints. Saints are people set apart by God, those whom He made holy by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus’ death. Paul and Timothy were saints, too, as he explained in verse one. Paul added the Colossian Christians were faithful brethren in Christ. “Faithful” comes from the Greek word pistos meaning one who is persuaded and who has the fullness of faith about Jesus. Paul wrote to the ones who received faith from God and believed it to the full, without doubt. He called them brethren, too. A person of the brethren is a person who is a member of the same religious community of others who believe similarly, in this case people who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. With these titles for the believers at Colossae, Paul said they identified with Christ as saints set apart by God’s redeeming grace. The Colossian believers identified as faithful because the faith they received they had in full and lived based on it. They identified as brethren who were actively part of the community of Christ in Colossae. The Colossian Christians, Paul, and Timothy identified with each other as followers of Christ. Saints identify upwards with God, and brethren identify horizontally with other Christians.

Paul added a blessing to his salutation. He said, “Grace to you and peace from God.” This blessing from Paul meant “May God’s undeserved favor be on you.” This quietness and rest of heart, soul, mind, and body is the peace that comes knowing, fully trusting, God will take care of you. This trust requires full faith as saints. It requires being identified with Christ through His life, death, and resurrection.

The Colossae church comprised Jews and Gentiles. Paul was a Jew from Tarsus in Asia Minor called by Christ to preach to the Gentiles and Jews. Timothy was a man raised as a Jew by his family and was a Greek because of his father. Yet, more than these, Paul and Timothy were Christians. They identified with Christ and with the Colossian Christians. The Colossian believers could identify with Paul and Timothy as saints and faithful brethren in Christ and as Jews and Greeks of Asia Minor.  Their identification was heavenly and earthly. Paul and Timothy’s identification with Christ and the people of Colossae gave them the right and privilege to preach, teach, and correct the heresies flowing around the Colossian believers. The Colossian believers would trust what Paul taught them as from God and out of love for God and them.

Thoughts to Consider

Paul gave the Colossian Christians his credentials. He showed them how he was like them in several ways, as a saint and part of the brethren. Paul included Timothy as part of his greeting to tell of his credentials, that he, too, is a Christian called by God and from Asia Minor. His blessing of this church in Colossae reminded them of who God is and for them. It served as a springboard for Paul’s purpose in writing this letter.

• Does God still call people to teach and correct the beliefs of others, especially Christians who have become lost in the whirlpool of cultures, philosophical thoughts, and faiths?
• Would people consider your credentials as highly as Paul’s, as saint and brother, because of your faith, and your actions and words that came from your faith?
• Are you like the Colossian Christians who heard the Gospel, but allowed other cultures, philosophies, and faiths to enter your reasoning and potentially water-down your faith?
• How do you think the Colossian believers will react to what Paul will teach them in this letter?
• How would you react since you have read this letter from Paul?
• Why do you think Paul put a heavy emphasis on brethren, faithful, saints, apostle, and brother?

Paul knew why God had him write to a people to whom he never physically preached or taught. His relationship with God prepared him to be His instrument even from prison to teach, correct, and proclaim the Gospel of Christ. With Colossians 1:3-8, we will learn of the Christian triad of faith, love, and hope. Were the Colossian Christians in danger of losing one side of this triad because of other cultures, philosophies, and faith systems? Paul prepared them for his correction of their confusion. What must we do so as not to be confused and or water-down the faith that we originally received and believed?

For next week, re-read Colossian 1:1-8. Be prepared to answer these questions again after re-reading those verses.

“May you give thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” (Colossians 1:9, 12 [NASB])

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Background of Paul's Letter to the Church at Colossae

"We give thanks for God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you…"           (Colossians 1:3 [NASB])

When considering any biblical letter written to a group of people, we must understand their history, geography, economy, the church to whom it’s written, the issues being addressed, and the person writing the letter. Before we dive into studying Colossians, we must understand who they are, why they think and act the way they do, and what was occurring in the church at that time. Paul expands for the readers of the Letter to the Colossians what issues the Colossae church experienced. He wrote about Christology to the Colossian Christians, specifically, the deity of Christ and fullness of life in Him. This Bible study will teach about the location and history of Colossae, the church at Colossae, how Paul’s relationship to it, and the date and purpose of this letter.

The Location and History of Colossae

Colossae was a thriving multicultural city in the southwest quadrant of Asia Minor on the Lycus River in what is now Turkey. It was about 9 miles from Laodicea and 6 miles from Hierapolis. Colossae was on a historic commercial and military route that allowed their economy to flourish.

The Babylonians ruled Colossae between the 6^th and 4^th centuries BC. Because of the trade route that went through Colossae, people from other nations influenced the city and region, Romans, Babylonians, Hebrews, Greeks, and the Phrygians. The Roman empire ascended in power and took Asia Minor from the Babylonians in the 2^nd century BC. Antiochus, the Hellenistic king of the Seleucid empire, transported 2000 Jewish families from old Babylonia to the Colossae region during the 2^nd century BC.

During Roman rule, Colossae and Laodicea developed a significant wool production and weaving trade. Additionally, the Romans built a road called Via Egnatia, which bypassed Colossae. Because of Via Egnatia, the Colossae trade dropped significantly, and Laodicea and Hierapolis became bigger economic concerns. An earthquake destroyed Colossae in the early 60s AD, turning it into a village that never regained its economic stature in the region. Between the Roman road and the earthquake, Colossae became a village as people immigrated to Laodicea and Hierapolis until it was abandoned in the 8^th century AD.

The Church at Colossae

Colossae had people of various backgrounds living in and traveling through it. These people brought assorted philosophies, faith systems, cultural backgrounds, and traditions. The people of Colossae experienced cultures, thoughts, and faiths like any major metropolitan city in the 21^st century. This often meant mixing them to make a new faith system. This mixing is called syncretizing.

The Greco-Roman world influenced the people of Asia Minor, as did the Jews and Persians. Greek philosophers rejected the idea of gods. Greeks, Romans, Persians, and pagans brought ideas of a pantheon of gods with their required appeasement and the unattainable hope of salvation. The Jews brought a monotheistic idea of faith and an extreme form of monastic Judaism. Monastic Judaism, called Essenism, contained a tiny minority of Jews. How each effecting culture worshipped a god or gods or intellectualized life without gods affected the residents of Asia Minor.

The people of Colossae lived with a cosmic mindset in that many cultures influenced their thought, faith, and daily lives. Paul, when writing to the church at Colossae, set forth Christ in a cosmic context. He taught that Christ is not way above us and unreachable. He explained the body and material things are not evil and the spiritual and intellectual are not the only good like the earliest form of Gnosticism. As Paul believed and taught, informed by the teaching and wisdom of the Holy Spirit of Jesus, Jesus created the universe (all matter), so that makes it good, just as God said in Genesis. The universe depends on Jesus, so He is near. All things were created for Him, for Jesus’ pleasure, purpose, and glory. All wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. Paul explained without Christ all things pass away, but that Christ came to earth to restore it. These mean Jesus is not subordinate to the world. Nothing more is needed to restore people and the universe to Him than what he has done and is doing.

• Neither negating the body nor believing in levels of spiritual beings (Gnostic thought).
• Neither angelology (mystic Judaism) nor other gods (polytheism).
• Neither the worship of stars, sun, and moon (paganism), or promoting intellect and reason (Gnostic thought and Greek philosophy) over faith.

Jewish ideas of faith sometimes mixed with pagan ideas in Colossae. This nontraditional Jewish thought and faith included angel worship, entrance into the heavens, and heightened spiritual experiences. The Jewish thoughts on faith stressed the sabbaths, circumcision, the law, prohibition of certain foods, and keeping religious festival and new moon holy days. The pagan influence came from a idea that relies on ways of reasoning based on human traditions, such as believing in angels. They had a fear of heavenly beings. Pagan ideas of worshipping created elements such as sun, moon, and stars occurred. These ideas included animistic elements of worship. Paul taught Christ has superiority over “thrones, demons, and authorities” (1:16) to combat these false teachings in Colossae.

Gnosticism was in its very earliest form in the 1^st century AD.  It was a philosophical dualism that considered the body and anything material as evil while all thought, knowledge (gnosis), and spiritual things were good. Salvation for these Gnostics came by knowledge where they considered the enlightened few as “advanced” Christians. Only an elite few had the secret “advanced” knowledge of God and salvation. Gnosticism was a mix of intellectual thought and spiritual elements. Only these few would be saved, and they despised all other people. Gnostics liked to use the words “secret”, “mystery”, “fullness”, and “knowledge”. They denied the full incarnation of the deity in Jesus. Because they deny the full deity in the incarnated Jesus, Gnosticism supposed Christ’s sacrifice was insufficient. Paul taught the deity fully dwelled in Jesus’ incarnate body and His sacrifice reconciled all things to Him. (1:19-20)

Paul explained to the Colossians an “advanced” (elitist) Christianity, as proposed by the earliest thought system of Gnosticism, is false and unnecessary. He said the syncretizing of intellectual thought with Christ’s sacrifice as an “advanced” Christianity is false. Paul wrote to deal with a reported problem with false teachers who taught a mixture of Christianity influenced by Greek philosophy (an early Gnosticism), Jewish legalism, paganism, and Greco-Roman worship of gods. This was the Colossian heresy. Paul wrote to the Colossians to teach them how to settle and correct these problems and influences on the people in the church and in their community. In brief, the Colossian heresy was a mixture of Jewish mysticism, a very early form of Gnosticism, Greek philosophy (which helped form the ideas of the Gnostics), pantheism, and paganism. Paul challenged these false worldviews that some Colossian believers proclaimed.

Paul’s Connection to the Colossae Church

Though Paul never visited Colossae on his missionary journeys, his connection to them was strong. During two missionary journeys, he spent extended time in Ephesus and the surrounding area so that “all Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:10 [NIV]) Archippus, Epaphras, and Philemon heard the Gospel during Paul’s time in Asia on his third journey. Epaphras was probably the founding pastor of the churches in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis (1:7). Epaphras, short for Epaphroditus, was Greek and so the church most likely was Gentile with possibly Jewish believers, too. Though Paul had probably not visited Colossae, he had close connections to them through these men who came to believe in Jesus during his earlier visits to Asia. Because of his great love for the Christ, his desire to share the Gospel and train people as disciples, and because of his close ties with Epaphras, Archippus, and Philemon, Paul cared deeply for the Christians of Colossae. 

The Date and Purpose of the Letter

Bible scholars posit a couple possibilities for the date Paul wrote this letter because he dealt with imprisonment a few times during his ministry. In the letter to the Colossians, he told the Colossians he wrote while imprisoned (4:10). Did Paul write this letter during his confinement in Rome, Ephesus, or Caesarea? Local judicial leaders imprisoned him in each of these cities. If he wrote the letter to the Colossians while imprisoned in Caesarea or Ephesus, the letter would date to the mid-50s AD. If Paul wrote it during his Roman imprisonment, then it would date in 59 or 62-63 AD.  Good reasons for each dating exist, but none of them are definitive enough to end the query. Most commentators opt for the 62-63 AD dating. That means the order of Paul’s writings puts the letter to the Colossians between his letters to the Romans and the Ephesians.

Paul’s purpose for writing to the Colossian church consisted mostly of addressing the Colossian heresy as noted above in “The Church at Colossae”. In writing about this heresy, he strove to confirm what Epaphras taught them about Jesus, who He is, His nature, and His works, including His time before and after living on earth. Paul reaffirmed the deity of Christ and fullness of life in Him, as he said in Colossians 2:6-7. “Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” [NASB]

Thoughts to Consider

The time of Paul’s writing of Colossians is from over 2000 years ago. Is it relevant for today? Consider the thoughts on life, faith, death, beings with supposed power, and the afterlife that people proclaim as their ideology. Use these questions to guide your thinking.

• Do any of the things you hear or believe align with what Paul wrote about to the Colossians?
• What belief do you have that falls into categorizing material as bad and spiritual as good?
• Do you think there are levels of spiritual beings before the ultimate level of God’s kingdom?
• Have you heard of people praying to their ancestors or some lower god to plead for them before a supreme god?
• Do people you talk to consider faith irrational and shut it out of their minds and lives?
• Based on your answers to the above five questions, how would you approach the person with a biblical response?

Each of these questions address the elements Paul wrote about in his letter to the Colossians. We will study in detail what Paul said regarding them and then will consider how it can direct us as we sift through our own ideas, thoughts, and faith. To prepare for our next Bible study, read through all four chapters of Colossians, then re-read Colossians 1:1-8.

"…may you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…" (1:9b-10a [NASB])

Stagnant, Stingy, or Streaming

Jesus said to them, ‘My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its deeds are evil.’ (John 7:6-7 [NASB])

As you read this conversation between Jesus and His brothers, did questions arise in your mind? Was your heart pricked? Did what Jesus say to His brothers hit home for you? Let’s consider this passage and a few others. First, let’s consider a metaphor.

Have you ever been in or heard of a boat that sprung a leak? What emotion do you think the people on the boat felt? Fear? Panic? Confusion? Doubt? Security? Faith in the boat’s ability to get you to shore? If we allow waters to flow into us that are not Living Water, we will sink. If we allow things of this world, deceiving teachers and preachers, and other religions to invade our mind and take residence there, we will sink.

After Jesus told His brothers He would not go to the feast in Jerusalem because it wasn’t His time yet, He stayed in Galilee a while longer then made His way to Jerusalem in secret. When Jesus went to Jerusalem during the feast, He entered to the temple to teach. The Jews were astonished at His teaching because the Rabbis never educated Him. Jesus challenged the religious leaders on why they wanted to kill Him. The crowd thought He had a demon. Jesus challenged both these groups of people. Others in the crowd questioned among themselves why the religious leaders had not killed Jesus yet. After that, Jesus began to teach He was from God and sent by God. The religious leaders became more fervent to seize Him while some of the crowd believed in Him. This latter caused the Pharisees to send officers to capture Jesus. Jesus challenged them again when He said, “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” His proclamation perplexed them even more.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus told the people if anyone was thirsty to come to Him and drink. He then proclaimed, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:38) This Living Water, John explained, was the Spirit of God who would live in everyone who believed in Jesus. The questions from above about the boat with a hole fit with this idea. Do we have Living Water flowing through us, keeping us buoyant, giving us direction, teaching and guiding us, and encouraging us? Or, do we have water flowing into us, overwhelming us, and causing us to sink? If the answer to the first question is yes, then we won’t sink, but what the Spirit, the Living Water, does in us proceeds from us to others. This Living Water is not from a stagnant, non-flowing pond or lake. It comes from a continually flowing source of water, from the throne of God, and it brings nourishment to us and to others we meet. Jesus meant this when He said “rivers of living water” will flow. Will flow is a continuous verb. It starts at a point in time when a person believes in Jesus and continues forever from God.

What are we doing with the water that arises in our lives? Are we grabbing a pail to bail it out of our boats? Or, are we allowing the Living Water, not the world’s idea of water, complete reign in our lives so when people see, listen to, or receive help from us, they recognize God and see, hear, and receive from Him? If we don’t believe in Jesus, all we have is stagnant water by which we can quench our thirst, but not grow or have eternal life. If we believe in Jesus, we will have Living Water and eternal life with Christ. Our water, the Living Water within us, will stream. That stream won’t be stingy, but vibrant and flowing.

Consider John 7:6-7 again. Jesus told His brothers who did not believe in Him as the Messiah their time was always opportune. The people of Jerusalem would not harm them because they did not hate them; they did not testify about Jesus being the Messiah. The world could not hate because they did not testify about Christ with their words, thoughts, or actions.

It is our time to go to our Jerusalem and proclaim Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Do you believe in Him? Do you have Living Water living in you? Or, do you just have ordinary water? If the latter, the world will not hate you because you are of the world and, like them, you do not have eternal life. If you answer yes to the first two questions, what is keeping you from allowing the Living Water to continue to flow through you?

Are you stagnant, stingy, or streaming?

Be a living witness of Jesus Christ as your Savior

by allowing the Living Water to flow inside and from you.

Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.   (Colossians 2:6-7 [NASB])

Lord, so many times I have failed to be a living witness to You as I go through my days. I allow my to do list to keep me from seeing You work or obeying You. I’ve allowed my plans and agendas to master me instead of allowing You to be my Master. When this happens, I become easily frustrated in the day and my emotions become my master. Lord, help me continually to be aware of You each day. Grow me from the root You planted in me so I continue to walk in You. Establish my faith in You so nothing formed against me will make me fall and fail You. Lord, build me on the foundation Christ became for me so I stand strong for You. Use me as Your instrument to share the Living Water to other people so they will come to know You and grow in their faith in You. I have failed You, Lord, but make me grow so I fail you less with each new day coming. Thank you for Your love, grace, and mercy. Without these from You, I would fall. Thank you for being Creator, Savior, and Master of all things. In Jesus name, Amen.

More than Prayer

“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2 [NASB]

Paul wrote this verse is written in the letter to the church at Colossae. He wrote it because of a heresy that was causing problems in this Gentile Christian church. Paul wanted to expose the heresy, stop it, and encourage the church in their faith.

Notice Paul did not write to them and command them to keep praying, being vigilant and thankful when things were good. He commanded these three things when things were gray and troublesome in the Colossae church. What Paul specifically told the Colossian Christians is very important.

He told them to devote/persist, that means to persevere steadfastly. This command uses an active verb. Don’t let something or someone cause you to stop praying. Don’t make your request to God once. Be persistent. Pray and keep on praying. Once you have a relationship with someone, you don’t just suddenly stop relating to that person. That is not relationship. Relationship requires work from humans. It requires commitment and determination to keep on relating. Prayer is relating with God. It is seeking Him, speaking to Him, and asking for His will to be done. Therefore, from the first part of this verse, Paul commanded the Christians of Colossae should pray and keep on devoting themselves to prayer. Don’t stop when you ask once. Keep praying because you are in a relationship with God. Keep praying because God hasn’t answered your prayer yet. Keep praying because asking is not the only part of prayer.

Next in this verse, Paul said, “keeping alert in it.” Again, this is an active continuing verb. This command means you don’t just make your request then go about your business. It goes along with persistently devote yourselves to prayer. Pray and keep praying. Keeping alert or being watchful is an active verb that means to be on the alert, be awake, expect God to act upon your prayer to Him. When you pray, God hears and will answer. Expect Him to answer and wait and keep on waiting expecting Him to answer. This vigilance is like the watchman on the wall of a fortress. He knows the enemy is out there and so he will keep watching so he is not caught off guard. When we pray, we know God is there listening to us and with that knowing-our faith in God-we can expect and should keep on expecting that He will answer in some way. Don’t ask and then walk away. Don’t ask and say, “Oh well, God doesn’t really love me.” He does love you. God might have a bigger plan in action than what you asked for. Watch and He will often surprise you in how He answers your prayers.

The final command of this verse Paul wrote in his letter is “keeping an attitude of thanksgiving.” This verb denotes activity, too. It comes in relation to “keeping alert.” If one does not expect God to answer, one does not anticipate having to give thanks. Keeping alert anticipates God answering prayer. Keeping alert gives an impetus for us to be thankful. As we pray, we can be thankful we have a relationship with God. As we pray, we can be thankful for what God is going to do, though we may not know how He will do it. Devoting ourselves to prayer and being alert should mean we are ready to give thanks when God answers and for how He answers. Finally, being watchful and alert means we thank God afterwards for hearing our prayers and being faithful to His relationship with us.

Without anticipation of God hearing and answering our prayers, we don’t stay alert and watchful and we are not thankful for whatever happens in life. Sometimes God appears not to answer prayer. Sometimes God’s answers seem contrary to that for which we asked. Other times, God’s answers are so beyond anything we could think or imagine, and we are amazed at how He answered our prayers. The first scenario when it seems God does not answer our prayers reveals that we have either not been alert after we prayed, or we have not been thankful and so are blinded by our lack of growth in relationship or self-centeredness. The second scenario when God seems to answer our prayers in ways contrary to what we want or expect reveals the smallness of our thinking and pettiness of mind. We have not grown enough in our relationship with and faith in God to see that how God answered was for our good, though it may have hurt when He answered because He was growing us. The third scenario reveals a person who prayed and kept on praying, stayed alert and watchful expecting God to answer, and was always ready to thank God for who He is, what He was going to do, and what He did to answer our prayers. God answers prayer in ways we expect, in ways we can’t fathom and leaves us amazed, and sometimes waits to answer so that we can grow in our faith and relationship to Him.

Paul taught the Colossian Christians to steadfastly and persistently pray. He taught them to be ever watchful and expect God to answer prayer. Keep alert, he commanded. Finally, Paul taught the people always to be ready to give thanks to God because of His faithfulness to you. You can do this knowing that in whatever way He answered, His love for you and His will are perfect. God is to be thanked and praised for being omniscient, omnipotent, loving, merciful, and faithful to you.

Let’s put this lesson of Paul’s into perspective. This year has been one of the hardest, if not the hardest, my family has endured in almost twenty years and possibly the whole 30 years of my family’s life. We’ve experienced eleven major life stressors this year-illnesses, surgeries, torn ligaments, three deaths, family members walking away from their faith, and a handful of other things. Going through each of these stressors is hard. Going through them back to back is almost life-crushing.

As the year unfolded, we periodically looked back at the year at what happened. We saw where God’s hand entered into our lives to undergird, sustain, protect, guide, and provide for us. We didn’t enjoy going through the stressors. Some of them were downright painful to our hearts and minds. Still, we kept up our relationship with God. We persistently devoted ourselves to prayer daily minute by minute. We know Who reigns over all and Who will always be victorious. We trust God completely. That is how we were able to stand up during this year. We knew God would answer. We didn’t know how, when, or where, just that He is faithful and would intervene. We watched and waited for Him to answer and intervene. It did not seem at times as if He had, but those times of looking back helped us gain perspective to see where God had walked with us and sometimes carried us through the storms. Because of this year, our faith in God is stronger and our relationship, love, and trust of Him has grown exponentially.

Our faith in God made us persistent pray-ers and made us stay alert because we knew God had a plan and would answer. Our faith in God meant we could be thankful even before God answered prayer because He is always faithful to His children. He always does what is best for us though at the times it may hurt and seem not to be the best way. Perspective often comes when you look back over that time and recognize God’s hand intervening in places. Only then can you see a better picture of what God was doing for you and in you.

We could thank God for what He would do and Who we know He is. We could also thank God for how He was going to get us through the stressors. When we think we have it all figured out, God often surprises us with His ways because our view is so limited. He sees all possibilities and knows what is best for us, which is to grow us closer to Him and for us to be more like Him. Finally, we can be thankful after going through these stressors because God led us to the stressors and through them. He did not shelter and pamper us from hardships. God loves us enough to want us to grow and allows trials and testing to come into our lives to mold us and make us stronger. He does it because He is stronger than the trial and expects to help us go through them. You see, often people can’t get through hard times because they have forgotten to hold onto the One Who is greater than the trial. We humans lose focus and see the storm instead of the Master of the storms. When we lose our focus, we become like Peter who began to sink into the sea as he looked at the magnitude of the storm instead of the love and power of the Savior. He let troubles blind him to the power of God.

Paul did not teach the Colossians, “Do as I say and not as I do.” He taught from his personal experience with God. Paul had lived through persecution, flogging, imprisonment, and a myriad of other things. Yet he could still say, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Paul still had a relationship with God as he went through a trial and afterwards. He expected God to answer his prayers and so he kept alert. Paul even praised and thanked the Lord before He answered his prayers. He was bold as to preach while in prison knowing preaching the gospel was what got him put into prison. Paul had learned the reality of an active alert, and thankful relationship with God. He prayed without ceasing because he knew Who is Lord and Master over all things and people. As some say today, Paul had an “attitude of gratitude.” He expected to thank God and so began immediately.

Have you kept your relationship with God during everything that has occurred in your life this year? Have you persistently prayed? Have you actively watched for God to work and answer your prayers? Have you thanked God for what He has done and, even before that, for who He is and what He was going to do? Each of part of this verse, these three commands, is active and continuous. They do not exist in isolation from each other. I encourage you to look back on your year and see where you kept up your prayers to God, where you actively sought Him to work, where you stopped expecting Him to answer your prayers, and where you have given or not given thanks for what He did. If at no other time in this year, this time of Thanksgiving should strongly encourage us to reflect on this year to see how we fared in our relationship with God.

Dear Lord, I am so fallible and sinful. I am selfish and see only my needs and my ways of fixing them. Please forgive me of my sin of self-centeredness. Forgive me of my laziness in relating to You. Forgive me of my lack of thankfulness and praise of You. Teach me, nudge me, remind me to devote myself to our relationship, to actively wait and watch for You, and to keep thanking You even when it seems You are silent. I thank You now for what You have done this year, and what You are going to do now and in this next year. I trust You completely. Let Your will be done.

The Hope of Glory

Want a better year than last?

Follow Jesus,

Give thanks to Him, &  

No matter what comes, hold on to the hope you have because of Him.

Maybe the last year was hard. - many times you struggled to keep pushing on, friends and family left you or died, or God seemed nowhere near you.

Remember, if you are a child of God, God promises He will never leave you or forsake you.

Remember, as James said, God allows trials to come into each of His children's lives to make them stronger and to help them to grow in Christlikeness. 

v  Celebrate that you are a child of God and He loves you so much He wants you to grow to be more like Him.

v  Celebrate you are a child of God and He has prepared a place for you.

v  Celebrate you are a child of God and you have an eternal hope that this world is not all there is. There is more! This world cannot keep you nor can it take away your promised place in God's kingdom.

v  Celebrate in the end, God wins and you are His child!

This year take a stand for God. 

      Stand firm in the hope Jesus lived, died, and rose from the grace to give you. 

      Proclaim God and His glory for His is the glory and He gives the hope of glory.

      Remember the saints who went before us.

      Become a servant of God and His body.

"I (Paul) have become its (the body of Christ, the followers') servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:25-27 [NIV])