May 31 - Colossians 1:28-2:1
“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.”
When you teach about Jesus, or even talk about Him to others, do you pray for wisdom first? One of the things Paul was dealing with in Colosse was a great deal of false teaching regarding Jesus. He was so sensitive to the fact that if he didn’t use wisdom in his words, he would press people away from Christ rather than to the cross. Do you think about that in everything you do and say?
The other day a friend told me that she had chosen not to rush through traffic because she had borrowed a company car and didn’t want to have someone cursing at her and her company. She felt responsible to the company name. Do you feel that same type of responsibility toward the name of Jesus? Wisdom is offered to us freely and in enormous amounts if we just ask. It seems easier to operate on our own and not ask, but when it comes to spreading the word of Christ throughout the world, I think we’re safer if we trust in Him to give us the right words rather than our own understanding.
Paul also did not depend on his own strength and energy. He never could have done all that he did, traveling, teaching, writing, praying, etc.; were it not for the strength and energy he took from God. He knew that.
We tend to whine and complain a lot about how tired we are and how we can’t do one more thing because we’re completely worn out. We go, go, go and then go some more to meet all the deadlines in our lives. When we finally drop in the middle of the night, we don’t have anything left.
Paul recognized that God’s energy flowed through him as he worked to teach people about Christ. He wasn't working to build a building, or present a program, get his kids to a ballgame, rush them to Sunday School, write a proposal, take a meeting, complain about how his needs weren’t being met by the church, schedule lunch, design a presentation. He spent his energy teaching others about Jesus and God kept him filled with energy.
“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.”
When you teach about Jesus, or even talk about Him to others, do you pray for wisdom first? One of the things Paul was dealing with in Colosse was a great deal of false teaching regarding Jesus. He was so sensitive to the fact that if he didn’t use wisdom in his words, he would press people away from Christ rather than to the cross. Do you think about that in everything you do and say?
The other day a friend told me that she had chosen not to rush through traffic because she had borrowed a company car and didn’t want to have someone cursing at her and her company. She felt responsible to the company name. Do you feel that same type of responsibility toward the name of Jesus? Wisdom is offered to us freely and in enormous amounts if we just ask. It seems easier to operate on our own and not ask, but when it comes to spreading the word of Christ throughout the world, I think we’re safer if we trust in Him to give us the right words rather than our own understanding.
Paul also did not depend on his own strength and energy. He never could have done all that he did, traveling, teaching, writing, praying, etc.; were it not for the strength and energy he took from God. He knew that.
We tend to whine and complain a lot about how tired we are and how we can’t do one more thing because we’re completely worn out. We go, go, go and then go some more to meet all the deadlines in our lives. When we finally drop in the middle of the night, we don’t have anything left.
Paul recognized that God’s energy flowed through him as he worked to teach people about Christ. He wasn't working to build a building, or present a program, get his kids to a ballgame, rush them to Sunday School, write a proposal, take a meeting, complain about how his needs weren’t being met by the church, schedule lunch, design a presentation. He spent his energy teaching others about Jesus and God kept him filled with energy.
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