Tag: Colossians
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The Blessing You Bring to the Place You Work – Genesis 30:25-27
Genesis 30:25-27And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I…
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Remember the Chains – Colossians 4:18
Colossians 4:18 (a) The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. At the end of the letter, Paul takes the pen. Most of the epistle was likely dictated. But here he writes with his own hand. Remember my bonds. Not feel sorry for me.Not send me gifts.Not protest Rome. Remember. Chains clink…
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A Church in the House – Colossians 4:15–17
Colossians 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. The church in his house. Not a cathedral.Not a campus.A house. Walls that heard laughter.Rooms that held meals.A table that hosted conversation. And within those ordinary walls, a church. If you have a family, you have…
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Feed the Fire – Colossians 4:14
Colossians 4:14 (a) Luke, the beloved physician… Paul calls him beloved. Not doubted.Not tolerated.Beloved. Luke was a physician. Trained. Educated. Skilled. And this is the same Paul through whom extraordinary miracles occurred. Handkerchiefs carried healing power. Diseases fled. Demons departed. Yet Paul did not say, “If you had enough faith, you would not need a…
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Until It Breaks Through – Colossians 4:12–13
Colossians 4:12, 13 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them…
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A Comfort in the Kingdom – Colossians 4:11
Colossians 4:11 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. Paul names them. Not crowds.Not platforms.Not achievements. Names. Justus.Mark.Aristarchus.Onesimus. Men who stood near him.Men who worked beside him.Men who strengthened him. “These only are my…
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Receive Him – Colossians 4:10
Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) There is a story behind that simple instruction. Receive him. That “him” is John Mark. If you read the account in Acts, you know he once walked away. On the…
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Faithful and Beloved – Colossians 4:7–9
Colossians 4:7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord. Three titles. Beloved brother.Faithful minister.Fellowservant. No spotlight.No platform.No recorded sermon. Yet Paul trusts him with his heart and his message. Tychicus carried letters that would shape the Church for centuries. He…
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Seasoned and Thirst-Making – Colossians 4:6
Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Paul is not talking about profanity. He is not saying, “Spice up your language.” He is talking about flavor. Salt preserves.Salt enhances.Salt creates thirst. Speech seasoned with salt is not harsh. It…
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Make the Minutes Matter – Colossians 4:5
Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. People are watching. Neighbors.Coworkers.Cashiers.Classmates. Those “without” are forming impressions about Christ based on how we move through ordinary life. That is why Paul says walk in wisdom. Not sprint. Not pose. Walk. Wisdom is steady.Wisdom is aware.Wisdom understands that time is not…
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Chained but Unstopped – Colossians 4:3–4
Colossians 4:3, 4 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Paul is in prison. But he is not asking for the prison door to…
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Breathing Gratitude – Colossians 4:2
Colossians 4:2 (a) Continue in prayer… Leadership without prayer becomes pressure. Whether you oversee a company, guide a classroom, raise children, or simply manage your own responsibilities, the only way to carry authority well is to kneel first. Prayer keeps power from hardening the heart. “Father, You send the bread. Help me distribute it rightly.”That…
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The Great Reversal – Colossians 4:1
Colossians 4:1 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. Heaven will rearrange everything. On earth, image often wins.Packaging persuades.Promotion elevates. Man looks at the outward appearance. God looks at the heart. That means some who were overlooked here will shine there. And…
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The Reward and the Reckoning – Colossians 3:24–25
Colossians 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. Most people work for a paycheck.Some work for applause.A few work for legacy. But Scripture says something deeper. You serve the Lord Christ. That changes the entire motive of your life. An observer once…
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Work With Fire – Colossians 3:23
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. There is no small work when it is done for the Lord. None. The issue is not the task.The issue is the heart. God uses men who know how to work. It was while Moses was tending sheep…
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Integrity When No One Is Looking – Colossians 3:22
Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. This is about more than employment. It is about integrity. Paul speaks to servants in a culture where many had little choice about their circumstances. Yet instead of fueling resentment,…
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Build Them, Do Not Break Them – Colossians 3:21
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. The word discouraged is heavy. It means to lose heart.To feel small.To quietly give up inside. A father has enormous influence. His tone, his expectations, his reactions shape the atmosphere of a home. When that influence is steady and loving, children grow…
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The Smile of Heaven – Colossians 3:20
Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. This is not complicated. It is not wrapped in theology.It is not buried in symbolism. Children, obey. Not because parents are perfect.Not because they always explain everything.Not because you always agree. But because it pleases the Lord. That…
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Guard Your Heart – Colossians 3:19
Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. The command is simple. Love her.Do not grow bitter toward her. Bitterness does not explode overnight. It seeps in quietly. It grows when expectations go unspoken. It hardens when dreams are misplaced. It takes root when a man looks to his wife to…
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Designed Order – Colossians 3:18
Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. There is protection inside that word own. Paul does not say, “Wives, submit to men.”He does not say, “Wives, submit to spiritual personalities.”He does not say, “Wives, submit to whoever has the strongest opinion.” He says, your own husbands.…
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Knit Together – Colossians 2:1–2
Colossians 2:1, 2 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to…
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The Indwelling Mystery – Colossians 1:25–27
Colossians 1:25–27 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:To whom God would make known what is the riches…
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Scarred Like Him – Colossians 1:23–24
Colossians 1:23 (c), 24 …whereof I Paul am made a minister;Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church. At first glance, that sounds alarming. Fill up what is behind of the afflictions…
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Grounded and Settled – Colossians 1:22–23
Colossians 1:22, 23 (a) In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard… The cross was not symbolic. It was flesh.…
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Reconciled – Colossians 1:20–21
Colossians 1:20, 21 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. Reconcile.…
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All Fulness – Colossians 1:19
Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. All fulness. Not partial strength.Not borrowed wisdom.Not delegated glory. All. The Father was pleased that everything necessary for life, meaning, stability, power, grace, and joy would reside in the Son. Nothing lacking. Nothing missing. Nothing needing supplement. Which means this is…
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Preeminent – Colossians 1:18
Colossians 1:18 (a) And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead… There were others who came back from death. Lazarus walked out of a tomb. The widow’s son sat up. A child stirred again under prophetic prayer. But every one of them returned to…
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Held Together – Colossians 1:17
Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Before all things. Before matter.Before motion.Before magnets push away from each other. And by Him all things consist. Coulomb’s Law tells us that like charges repel. Take two magnets and press their positive ends together. You will feel resistance immediately. They…
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Made By Him, Made For Him – Colossians 1:16
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. This is the secret of life. Jesus is not part of creation. He is the…