S- Colossians 2:4-5 "I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."
O- Paul doesn't want anyone deceived by false teachings that sound good. He is delighted to see them disciplined and firm in their faith in Christ!
A- Am I always standing firm in my faith and being disciplined? Or am I making it easy for Satan to deceive me? I need to be reading my Bible and learning more and more, so that I know truth from false teachings that may sound good and right.
P- Dear God, thank you for all you have taught me in the almost 4 years since becoming a Christian. You have taught me so much and am excited to learn even more! Thank you for showing me who you are and want you want from me. I pray that I will stand firm in my faith always. That my faith would not waiver. Please help me to know your truth from false teachings. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
From the blog HERE... This was a really good post about how Paul helps others to grow in maturity. I had a hard time choosing what to share here. It was a great read, you should check it out.
1. Warning
Paul “warns” everyone. What does he warn about? Throughout his writings we see Paul warn others about the wrath of God, the danger of sin, the lies of the world, and the deceitfulness of the devil. He warns that an alliance with the world will lead to our demise and that a life without God will bring about an awful judgement and ultimately eternal death.
But Paul laces everything with grace, always pointing back to Christ who is our salvation in all areas. He does not speak condescendingly or unkindly. He does not address others in a holier than thou manner, but instead always points to the hope of the gospel as a fellow sinner.
Do we do this as wives and mothers? Do we warn those whom God has placed in our path? This might be easier to do this with our children since we are around them all the time and they are so clearly in our care, but do we speak into the lives of our husband or our friends, even when the truth is hard to say? Do we speak directly, yet with compassion and love? Is kindness always on our tongue? (Prov. 31: 26)
2. Teaching
Paul doesn’t only kindly warn people, but he also teaches. His main message is Christ! His life, death and resurrection. He speaks about Christ being worthy, supreme, and the savior. He preached boldly without excuse or embarrassment.
3. Hard Work and Divine Power
All of this is hard work. Paul calls it a “toiling.” The mission is anything but easy and Paul does not attempt such a task in his own strength. He says, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
He knows that he is weak, prone to get sidetracked, tempted to give up and become discouraged or maybe even lazy (or maybe that’s just me). He is clear that the energy he uses is not his but Christ’s. It is Christ who works through Paul’s faithfulness and hard work. If we work in our own strength we will quit! We will burn out, lose interest and enthusiasm and grow very tired and discouraged. We must always do our work in the strength of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment