Trusting instead of Fretting

Scripture Read: Colossians   1:13  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Application: This day has been a hard one. Everything seems to be pressing in on me. I want to just run away and start over. I feel like I can’t catch up much less stay ahead. There are certain things also that I really desire to do – yet it appears they will not happen. This is life and I need to receive the bad with the good. This verse helps me keep things in perspective though. He is the one that controls everything. I need to lean more on Him then worry about these issues. I need to spend time talking with Him about these things instead of fretting and feeling overwhelmed. He alone can supply me peace. He alone can give me the wisdom on what to do and how to deal with all this pressure. Please God help me cling to this truth. You alone control the events of my life. Let me be active in discovering those things but deliver me from worry and the weight of these pressures. Help me to remember that You are for me, Your thoughts are good thoughts and You desire to give me the desires of my heart. Let me trust You and just take each moment and every item one at a time. Thank you for reminding me of these things.   

Forgetting to Pray

Scripture Read: Colossians 1: 7  You learned it from Epaphras,   our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8  and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10  And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12. giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Application: This verse really convicts me in a hard way. I need to be honest here and ask myself why I have not continued to pray for the ones I work with the way I used to. Is it laziness or is it self confidence. If it is laziness all I need to do is discipline myself and make a prayer list and schedule it into my calendar. If it is the latter problem I am in trouble. Do I think that what I do is more important then what God can do? Have I become so busy that I misplaced this priority? Is it possible that, deep down inside, I really do not believe prayer is important? Remember – in the end – you do what you really want to do! Intellectually I believe in the power of prayer, but my lack of practice brings my belief into question. So what can I do? I will make a prayer list today. I will insert times into my schedule for this kind of prayer. If that does not lead to a stronger intercessory prayer life then my problem is not laziness. I also will not allow Satan to produce guilt through exaggerating this problem. Many areas of my prayer life are very good. Thanks God for this gentle reminder. Help me to place back into my life the dynamic of intercessory prayer. You can accomplish much more then I can. Help me Holy Spirit to listen and follow your lead in this matter.

No Dominion

Scripture Read: Colossians   1:13   For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14  in whom we have redemption,  the forgiveness of sins. 15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Application: The word that really caught my attention was “Dominion”. It means far more then only a place. But many times that is the way I view it. I understand that salvation means much more than just a change of destination and I embrace that truth. But for some reason I do not seem to digest the same truth when it concerns what I have been delivered from. Yes – from the destination of hell, but in reality much more then that. I am not under the power of any other Domain except God’s! Whatever evil clouds hang over my head, whatever dark corners entice me to follow – they have no power over me. I have been rescued from all that satan controls, owns and is. I may yield myself to that darkness – but it can not overwhelm me. This is very important because it expresses clearly the freedom I have, the power that is mine, the victory that is guaranteed and the responsibility that I am entrusted with. This actually makes the weight of my sin greater because I have no excuse. But it also solidifies the possibility for more and greater victories. Thank you God for your grace. Help me to live in the freedom you have given me.   

The Roots

Scripture Read: Colossians   1:1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2  To the holy and faithful  brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 3. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4  because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-- 5  the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6  that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.

Application: Here we see that the qualities of faith and love have their roots in hope. Perhaps that is a good measuring rod to judge by. If my love is small or my faith is small that might be a clear indication that I have a hope problem. The more hope, the more real it is, the greater potential for love and faith. This is where our salvation becomes real. Some say they have the hope but when tested it is exposed as very weak. If hope is real hope it will impact how we live and act which will show itself in my love and faith.

Where's the Fruit?

Scripture Read: Colossians 1:9-10  For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  [10] so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 

Application:  Can there be good works that do not bear fruit? The fruit I would think of here is that which is eternal. Whether it be in ourselves or in other’s lives, that which is accomplished must be eternal. Buildings, programs and ministries are not eternal. So they cannot be considered fruit. They must be some of the good works. So, again, I must ask what is the fruit, and how can we have good works without fruit? The issue here must be faith. Whatever is not done in faith cannot please God. If God is not pleased then fruit cannot be produced. So with all my good works there must be faith involved. Faith that says the Lord wants me to do this. If my good works are motivated by faith for God then I will see fruit. So a good way to evaluate my ministries is not by outside results, but by getting Gal 5:22-23 out and seeing where in my life, and those I work with, do I see that fruit. If I don’t then I need to question what I am doing. This helps especially in the wilderness times. When results are bare bone – fruit does not have to be. If by faith I strive to fulfil God’s desire in my good works, then no matter the circumstance there will be fruit. Fruit is not dependent upon circumstances – in fact much of the fruit of the Spirit is produces during times that are the worse circumstances. Help me Lord to keep my eye on the fruit. Thank you Lord!