Colossians 1:21-2:5 (NLT)
21 This
includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies,
separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22 yet 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. 23 But 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. 24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am
completing what remains of Christ’s sufferings for his body, the church.
25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by
proclaiming his message in all its fullness to you Gentiles. 26 This
message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has
been revealed to his own holy people. 27 For it has pleased God to tell
his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too.
For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance
that you will share in his glory. 28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone
about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has
given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their
relationship to Christ. 29 I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ’s
mighty power that works within me. 1 I want you to know how much I have
agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other
friends who have never known me personally. 2 My goal is that they will be
encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have
full confidence because they have complete understanding of God’s secret
plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. 4 I am telling you this so that no one will be able
to deceive you with persuasive arguments. 5 For though I am far away from
you, my heart is with you. And I am very happy because you are living as
you should and because of your strong faith in Christ.
This reading starts from the time when the Colossians
were far away and separated from God because of sin [v21], and ends with
the present when they are strong in their faith and living as they should
[2:5].
Å
God has come and brought us back to friendship with him by means of
Jesus death on the cross [v22]
Å
God has made this truth known to everyone [v26-27].
Å
Paul has worked hard to make sure that everyone hears about this Good
News [v23,28,29].
Å
The Apostle wants to do this so that they grow strong and deep in
Christ—and not just chalk up another statistic! [2:1-5]. All this is at
some personal cost to himself [1:24,29,2:1]
Þ
Think—Is it costing you anything to be a Christian?
Þ
Where do you think God is challenging your commitment right now?
Å
Talk to God about this.
Go to Day Four
