Colossians 2:6, 7 says...
Today's verses are Colossians 2:6, 7, which read,
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Paul is writing to the new Christians of the church in Colossae, actually praying for them on a regular basis, to continue in growth of their spiritual lives. A convert to Christianity under Paul's ministry named Epaphras brought the gospel to them and Paul is writing a letter of instruction in the doctrines of the faith. Many other voices are being broadcasted of many other doctrines to follow, as true today, that needed to be addressed with the gospel message they had heard and the Author and Finisher of that gospel, Jesus Christ the Lord.
To receive Christ Jesus the Lord is to take the hand of Him as Christ, the Messiah prophesied of the Old Testament to be the Savior and Sacrifice once and for all for sin. His physical name is Jesus, the Jesus born in Bethlehem. The position of Him in your life is Lord, the authority of your life that you submit to in every area. We might call them fully devoted followers of Christ.
To walk in Him is to have our daily conduct reflect Jesus in His ways and words. Our life is patterned after Him. He has changed the direction of our lives to the actual words that we say, places that we go, and deeds that we do.
Our faith is rooted firmly in Him but that faith like a plant needs to be nourished with sun, water, and good soil. Our faith needs to be built up in more of Him through the elements of the Word, the fellowship of other believers, service in His name, prayers, and worship both corporate and private. The plant is firmed planted and then it is nourished so that it will become established to endure ever changing conditions of the weather. Our faith is to be established so that when the spiritual climate is not so good around us that we will stand firm because of the nourishment we have received from Him over time.
The Colossian Christians were instructed in these matters and a good gospel presentation should include this process of life after the answering of the call of Jesus. We might call this discipleship today or Christian mentoring. We should be instructed to feed our new found faith with regular participation in worship, small group involvement, and daily devotions. Your faith needs to be fed on a daily basis just like your feed your body.
As we feed our faith that we have received and it is getting established what should come out of us is gratitude. Paul says that the gratitude should be overflowing. We are grateful for His Word and its instruction. We are grateful for those who shared the gospel with us. We are grateful for the opportunities God gives us to serve Him. We are grateful for communication with Him. We are grateful for brothers and sisters in Christ who rejoice with us and also weep with us. We are grateful for a way in worship to say back to Him, "I love You" and "Thank You for giving Your life for the glory of God for me." We are grateful for His daily provisions of our physical and spiritual lives.
The Christian is a reflection of Christ. The Christian's faith is from Him and growing in Him and standing upon Him. The Christian continues to receive instruction and therefore the Christian is very grateful that the faith received is being realized on a daily basis.
So, am I a grateful person? Is gratitude overflowing out of me? If not, could the answer be that my faith is not being nourished so it can be established to stand in those times when it is hard to be grateful? Gratitude and gratefulness comes out of a faith that is being daily nourished in who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Let's pray.
"Lord, many times my faith has become stagnant and the reason is because I have stopped giving it the nourishment it needs from You. I have forgotten or gotten to busy to water it or put it out in the presence of the sun or given it soil that is good. I realize that the result of an unfed faith is an ungrateful heart and life. May I see what I need to do today to be prepared when life throws me a curve ball to stand in the faith of my Lord overflowing with gratitude. Amen."
Pastor Adam
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
Paul is writing to the new Christians of the church in Colossae, actually praying for them on a regular basis, to continue in growth of their spiritual lives. A convert to Christianity under Paul's ministry named Epaphras brought the gospel to them and Paul is writing a letter of instruction in the doctrines of the faith. Many other voices are being broadcasted of many other doctrines to follow, as true today, that needed to be addressed with the gospel message they had heard and the Author and Finisher of that gospel, Jesus Christ the Lord.
To receive Christ Jesus the Lord is to take the hand of Him as Christ, the Messiah prophesied of the Old Testament to be the Savior and Sacrifice once and for all for sin. His physical name is Jesus, the Jesus born in Bethlehem. The position of Him in your life is Lord, the authority of your life that you submit to in every area. We might call them fully devoted followers of Christ.
To walk in Him is to have our daily conduct reflect Jesus in His ways and words. Our life is patterned after Him. He has changed the direction of our lives to the actual words that we say, places that we go, and deeds that we do.
Our faith is rooted firmly in Him but that faith like a plant needs to be nourished with sun, water, and good soil. Our faith needs to be built up in more of Him through the elements of the Word, the fellowship of other believers, service in His name, prayers, and worship both corporate and private. The plant is firmed planted and then it is nourished so that it will become established to endure ever changing conditions of the weather. Our faith is to be established so that when the spiritual climate is not so good around us that we will stand firm because of the nourishment we have received from Him over time.
The Colossian Christians were instructed in these matters and a good gospel presentation should include this process of life after the answering of the call of Jesus. We might call this discipleship today or Christian mentoring. We should be instructed to feed our new found faith with regular participation in worship, small group involvement, and daily devotions. Your faith needs to be fed on a daily basis just like your feed your body.
As we feed our faith that we have received and it is getting established what should come out of us is gratitude. Paul says that the gratitude should be overflowing. We are grateful for His Word and its instruction. We are grateful for those who shared the gospel with us. We are grateful for the opportunities God gives us to serve Him. We are grateful for communication with Him. We are grateful for brothers and sisters in Christ who rejoice with us and also weep with us. We are grateful for a way in worship to say back to Him, "I love You" and "Thank You for giving Your life for the glory of God for me." We are grateful for His daily provisions of our physical and spiritual lives.
The Christian is a reflection of Christ. The Christian's faith is from Him and growing in Him and standing upon Him. The Christian continues to receive instruction and therefore the Christian is very grateful that the faith received is being realized on a daily basis.
So, am I a grateful person? Is gratitude overflowing out of me? If not, could the answer be that my faith is not being nourished so it can be established to stand in those times when it is hard to be grateful? Gratitude and gratefulness comes out of a faith that is being daily nourished in who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Let's pray.
"Lord, many times my faith has become stagnant and the reason is because I have stopped giving it the nourishment it needs from You. I have forgotten or gotten to busy to water it or put it out in the presence of the sun or given it soil that is good. I realize that the result of an unfed faith is an ungrateful heart and life. May I see what I need to do today to be prepared when life throws me a curve ball to stand in the faith of my Lord overflowing with gratitude. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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