Colossians 1:21-29
December 30, 2006
Paul’s Goal in Ministry
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, 1:22 but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him – 1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body – for the sake of his body, the church – what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God – given to me for you – in order to complete the word of God, 1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. 1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 1:28 We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ. 1:29 Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me.
In the previous passage, Paul talked about reconciliation between a holy God and sinful man. Before they knew the Christ, the Colossian Christians were enemies of God in their minds as witnessed by their actions. This revolt against God is the natural condition of every human born since the Garden of Eden. Only faith in Jesus Christ can turn this emnity into love for God and man. This is the heart of the gospel. The apostle Paul chose a life of suffering to proclaim it.
Until I understand my need to be reconciled with God, I cannot understand what Jesus did for me on the cross. Paul calls this a mystery that was unlocked by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul poured his life into helping the Colossians (and me) understand how yielding to Christ’s call allows us to be reborn and become “mature in Christ.” -sdg-
To put the new year into proper perspective…
December 29, 2006
Think we’re pretty big stuff, do we? Just step a billion miles to one side and take another look!
Bad Astronomy Blog » The Top Ten Astronomy Images of 2006
Here is the number one image for 2006, but you’ll have to go to the link for the fascinating narrative that goes with it. The comments are also worth reading.
Dave, suddenly feeling mighty insignificant.
Colossians 1:15-20
December 22, 2006
The Supremacy of Christ
1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,
1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.
1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.
1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.
1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son
1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
This passage is the crux of Paul’s message to the Colossians, and he waxes poetic in his paean to the Christ. Here you find the mystery of the Trinity, Jesus’ role in the Creation, his headship over the Curch, and reconciliation of God with humanity. There is no way this amateur commentator can do justice to these themes, and I won’t try.
Each of these verses has helped mold my faith over the years. Verse 15, for example, is teaching me that when I wonder about the God I cannot see, I have but to look at Jesus, who I can see through the gospel accounts. There I find all that I need to know about God. -sdg-
It’s turnaround time
December 22, 2006
It’s winter solstice time. to be precise it happened at 00:22 UTC this morning, 22 December, 2006. You already know that the solstice marks the fewest hours of daylight until this time next year (9 hours 20 min in Central Illinois; we gain 1 second of daylight tomorrow), but I bet you don’t know that the sunset has been getting later since December 11, nor that the sunrise won’t start getting earlier until January 13. The things I tell you!
Dave, heading back into hibernation until spring training.
Those northern lights
December 9, 2006
We lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at about 42 degrees north latitude, for a time in the 60s. At the peak of the eleven-year sunspot cycle we occasionally were treated to aurora displays in the northern skies. At spaceweather.com you can learn all about it and see what the “northern lights” look like.
Looking for a Christmas present for that scientific-minded geek on your list?
Spaceweather PHONE is an astronomy alert service from the creators of Spaceweather.com. Sign up for our service –for yourself or as a gift for someone else– and we’ll phone you when things are happening in the sky.
When auroras appear over your hometown, your phone will ring. When the space station is about to fly over your back yard, your phone will ring. When planets align … you get the idea. The voice you hear will be Dr. Tony Phillips telling you what to look for and when.
Each phone call comes with a simultaneous email message, so if you miss part of your call or can’t remember the details–just check your email for the full story!
If you lived in Finland, here’s what you would have seen last night:
This is but one of the many spectacular photos in the gallery at SpaceWeather.com. Much better than the Fourth of July, yes?
Dave, thinking that he would much rather view aurora from the tropics via Internet.
Colossians 1:9-14
December 9, 2006
Paul’s Prayer for the Growth of the Church
1:9 For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 1:10 so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Paul’s theme in his letter to the Colossians is to prove the supremacy of Jesus Christ and how this fact plays out in the life of the Church. Taken with the words of Jesus himself in the gospels, Paul’s letters provide almost all the insight a Christian (or a person curious about the Christian faith) needs to know in regard to the role of the Christ in God’s redemptive plan.
In this passage at the beginning of his letter, Paul reveals how he prays for the church at Colossae. It is the very picture of a pastor’s heart. The key points in his prayer are:
- God himself is the source off spiritual wisdom and understanding.
- There is a direct connection with what we believe and how we live.
- Knowledge of God is a growing process.
- This growth moves us to praise God as the source of our new-found strength and knowledge.
- God has delivered us from the darkness of this world to a new kingdom.
- This kingdom was bought for us by God’s own son and redeems us from the natural result of our sinful nature.
There it is: the gospel in a nutshell, all confirmed by the words of the Christ himself in the gospels. -sdg-
Colossians 1:1-8
December 3, 2006
Salutation
1:1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you from God our Father!
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church
1:3 We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave – a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Paul writes to the young Christian church at Colossae, a church he had never visited. Inland 100 miles from Ephesus, it may have been started by Epaphras, who was converted by Paul at Ephesus. To Paul, the Colossian Christians were evidence that the gospel was bearing fruit as it was being proclaimed by increasing numbers of converts.
In some parts of the “two-thirds world” today, the gospel is still bearing new fruit because of the labors of many new converts, mostly out of sight of the church in the western world. But not out of sight of God!
Verse 5 is the one to remember: “Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you.” The gospel is still spreading after almost 2000 years. -sdg-
Wimp shots
December 1, 2006
Yesterday we went out to lunch in 70 degree sunshine. At sunset it was light sleet and 23 degrees. This morning it was 18 with 5-6″ snow. Hello December! Here are some views from our bedroom window. (Well, you didn’t expect me to actually go out for photos, did you?)
A little before sunrise it looked like this.
And a little later…
It’s still a work day on the water.
Dave, snug at the lake
