Colossians {Day 3}

Colossians 1:1-14

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. 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. 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.

Paul begins his letter with encouragement for the Colossian Christians.  He tells them how He thanks God for them (3-8.)  He tells them what He prays God will do for them (9-12.)  He reminds them of the Gospel (13-14.)  He doesn't start by launching into a treatise on how they can avoid being corrupted by false teachers.  Nope.  He first encourages them: tells them he thinks of them, praises God for the work being done in them, and prays that God will do wonderful things in and through them!

But it is of note that he hints at what he is going to get to, regarding the mystical schools of thought and practice in Colosse.  The word truth appears a couple of times in the first paragraph and he prays later that God will fill [them] with knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding (v. 9.)  He then mentions knowledge of God again in verse 10.  He's pointing the Colossians to God as the source and center of the truth of grace, and also reminding them of the importance of growing in knowledge of that very God.  (Side note:  Is it not remarkable that the God of the universe, the Author of creation, has made Himself known to us?  We can get to know the One True God.  Astonishing!  And Hallelujah!!)

I don't believe Paul is in any way trying to manipulate or butter the Colossians up by sharing either his joy and thanksgiving in them or his prayer for them to grow in the faith.  While he might be setting the stage for what he'll talk about later, and therefore hones in a little on truth and knowledge of God, the main reason I don't think he's manipulating them is verses thirteen and fourteen, which lay out the Gospel truth for the first of three times in the first two chapters of the letter.

Paul gives thanks to God when he hears of their faith because he knows God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in who we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul prays to God to sustain their faith and make them pleasing to Himself, because he knows that God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in who we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul was supremely concerned with, driven by, and in awe of the Gospel that had so changed His life.  In I Corinthians 15:3, he says What I received I passed on to you as of first importance, going on then to share the basic gospel truth that Christ died and Christ is risen.  That was of first importance to Paul and is what drove him not only to deal with problems in new churches quickly and boldly, but also drove him to passionately love, care about, and pray for them - even those he'd not personally planted.

*     *     *

We'll pause there for tonight.  I don't want to go running away from this section without expositing it a little more and getting into some application, so we'll spend a day or two more here in 1:1-14.  I haven't even read the commentaries on this yet, so there will certainly be more to add!  But these comments should give you some things to think about over the next couple of days.  This morning I was praying that as we walk through Colossians the Lord will be so good as to let us see how it intersects with our lives.  I think He'll do that.

Sundays will be blogging Sabbath days, so I'll "see" you again on Monday!  Have a blessed Lord's Day.

Colossians {Day 2}

A Little Background

Entering the world of Biblical commentary is always quite enlightening.  When I read the first verse of Colossians - Paul, and apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother - I trust that means that the book was written by Paul, with Timothy.  But delve into a scholarly commentary, and you find there is disagreement among modern scholars about who wrote Colossians, siting its relationship to Ephesians and the other Pauline writings!  I like being a simpleton Bible-lover, unconcerned with these things, but thought you might be interested to know this as we begin.

Also up for debate is what the "Colossian heresy" against which Paul was warning the Colossians.  The short story?  There seem to be some links to Jewish regulations (especially since the Sabbath is mentioned) but not of the same nature as issues addressed in the letter to the Galatian church (circumcision and all that jazz.)  Thus it has lead scholars to think it was some kind of mystic and ascetic form of Judaism, "for a spiritual elite who were being urged to press on in wisdom and knowledge so as to attain true 'fulness.'"*

Here's where Colosse was, located in modern day Turkey, near the Lycus River.  Scholars agree on this!  :)

credit: http://ebbcolossians.blogspot.com/

While there are alternative thoughts (you surprised?), many believe this letter was written around 60 A.D. during Paul's imprisonment in Rome.  Also, Paul did not evangelize Colosse, Epaphras (who heard the Gospel in Ephesus) did.  (1:7)  It could be that Paul heard of the false teachings threatening the Colossian Christians from Epaphras himself.

My Take

Here's my take on all of the disagreement among scholars.  Their job and goal as scholars is to discern - using their training and access to resources - as best they can, what was really happening, who was really writing, where they were, what time it was in history, and why things were written.  I do not want to dismiss any disagreements lightly, but I also don't want us to get hung up there.  God's Word is living and active.  My main concern as a Christian and as a writer is to delve into how we can connect to God's Word, (specifically this month in the letter to the Colossians) and let it

• introduce us to new things about God

• drive "old" truths home, and 

• challenge and change us as we interact with it.

I look forward to getting into the text with you over the next twenty-eight days!

*New Bible Commentary , IVP   p.1261 ( In addition, I'll be reading F.F. Bruce's commentary on the book.)

Colossians {Day 1}

Last month many bloggers participated in a National Blog Posting month.  This blogger did not have it in her.  I always have the desire to plan ahead and be ready, but when the time comes, I haven't.  Last year, when I did participate and did not have an infant, I had a great time!  So this morning, when I wrote the date in my journal I thought, Hey, maybe, since I've been in a bit of a blogging lull, I should blog every day this month.  To make it interesting (read: to keep you coming back!) I wanted to pick a theme.  Then, after more thinking and unfocused prayer, I came to the conclusion that it might be fun to take a stab at going through a short book of the Bible this month.  I've been flying through the Epistles in my daily reading plan (as well as slowly, but really enjoyably, making my way through Jeremiah) and been really encouraged by all of the reminders of the Gospel and who God is, challenged by the call to live for Christ, intrigued by the descriptions of orderly worship and what kind of people church leaders should be.

Flipping back through the pages of my journal, I decided it would be wonderful to spend more time looking at Colossians.  Doing a quick read through the four chapters confirmed it as a good choice.

So, here we go.  I have not planned ahead.  I'll be reading commentaries and meditating on passages as I go along.  I may not even get to post every day.  I do, nevertheless, think this could be really fun.  Perhaps it could even turn into a series of talks for a future retreat or women's gathering at your church!

That is all for today, friends!  I look forward to learning together with you this month.  I wonder what God's going to press home for us?!

*    *    *

Hey, did any of you make a Thanksgiving Tree today?  Here are some photos of the kids working on leaves and what ours looks like this year.  I'm thankful that you drop in to read at Life in the Valley; it means the world to me!

Thanksgiving Tree

(This is a repost from 2010.  We're going to make our tree today.  I really love this simple tradition!)

It's November.

At the end of the month we celebrate Thanksgiving.

While we should give thanks year round - God is good, isn't He? - November can be a special to time to talk with your kids about giving thanks: why we are thankful, to Whom we give thanks, and all the things for which we can give thanks.

Last year I hung a long piece of paper on the wall and we wrote things on it through out the month. This year I came across this cool idea in a book: make a tree and write things your thankful for on leaves, adding them to the tree as the month goes by.

This is quite simple and yet so profound. Elizabeth and Brian have gotten into it, excited to add leaves, and it's a blessing to see E coming up with things she's thankful for at random times of the day. (American Girl is up there, along with warm pajamas and church; her first three leaves in reverse order.)

If you'd like some instructions for making your own tree, check out this Google Doc I created. My apologies that I don't remember which book I got this idea from; I noticed it thumbing through a Thanksgiving craft book in the children's section at the library. The process I wrote down is my own; I *only* stole the concept!

May your month be full of days of thanksgiving as you prepare for Thanksgiving Day!

Because I Cling So Very Tightly to the Wrong Things

Thoughts were woven together in my head and heart today.  Ideas for a post from this morning collided with an experience later in the day and now I get to write.  Yay!

Maybe you've taken a child to a park sometime and they've climbed up a ladder or other structure. Beginning with confidence, suddenly fear envelops them when they realize the heights they've reached.  Little by little they work their way down until they are not that far from the ground.  But they can't get their foot to touch.  So despite your encouraging, they are unwilling - toes 3 inches from the ground! - to let go.

Unwilling to let go.

Somehow they prefer to cling tightly to the metal bar in that uncomfortable place, rather than trust your word: they are not far from safety, solid ground, freedom from fear.

I am that child at the playground.  The Heavenly Father is my  caretaker.  I climb a little too high, beyond my capabilities, qualifications, and strength.  Working my way down, I never seem to reach the ground.  Gently the Good Shepherd tells me to let go, the ground is just below my toes.  Or, He'll catch me.  But I cling to the cool metal bar of my idol-of-the-moment, my pride, my self-sufficiency, my non-negotiable desires.

Unwilling to let go.

But, man, that place is so full of discomfort, discontent, and distress!

Rest, relief, and redemption are found only when I let go.

*     *     *

Over the last month or so, now that Katherine is an older infant and life is more predictable and I have more energy, I've been working harder at keeping house, engaging more with my family, tackling long-ignored projects, and fighting my lazy tendencies.  There are rewarding moments, when something is done.  But the truth?  It's not fulfilling me as I must have hoped it would; there is ALWAYS [more] work to do and much of the tasks I do are repeated daily or weekly.  This week I have been discouraged and wanted to throw in the (dirty dish) towel.

I've been clinging to a bar, toes *just* above the ground, unwilling to let go.

A hymn came to mind this afternoon as I herded another bundle of warm, clean clothes from the dryer into the basket: I Surrender All.*  Even the work I do, no matter how many times I do it, must also be surrendered unto the Lord.  The work is not an end, it's a means.  A means by which I'm molded and shaped by my Father, a means by which I can look to His hand for all I need to complete the task at hand.  I can keep working because I can let go and work to His glory.

*     *     *

I wonder where this might apply in your life today?  What bar are you clinging to, white knuckled and stubborn today, unwilling to let go?

Let's let go together on 1 ... 2 ... 3!

Heavenly Father, thank you for making a plan to save our souls.  Sweet Jesus, thank you for never letting us go.  Holy Spirit, thank you for your whispers and screams of truth, even in the mundane.  Or, especially in the mundane?

Change our hearts.

*I Surrender All

1. All to Jesus I surrender;
all to him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust him,
in his presence daily live.

Refrain:
I surrender all, I surrender all,
all to thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

2. All to Jesus I surrender;
humbly at his feet I bow,
worldly pleasures all forsaken;
take me, Jesus, take me now.
(Refrain)

3. All to Jesus I surrender;
make me, Savior, wholly thine;
fill me with thy love and power;
truly know that thou art mine.
(Refrain)

4. All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to thee;
fill me with thy love and power;
let thy blessing fall on me.
(Refrain)

5. All to Jesus I surrender;
now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to his name!
(Refrain)

Got Baggage? Unload It Here.

I'm in the middle of Jeremiah at the moment and I've really been enjoying reading this book of the Bible.  Jeremiah had the difficult task of prophesying the exile into Babylon and he was often mistreated by the people, his own people.  God is having him share of destruction and sorrow, but what has struck me most are all of the undertones and sometimes overtones of grace and mercy.  They're going into exile, God is using pagan nations to destroy Jerusalem, but after those seventy years God already has the plan for wiping out the pagan nations and gathering His people back to their land.

In chapter 31 today I was reading about God's plan to bring Israel and Judah back into the land to be His people and Him their God, and God speaks of a new covenant He'll make with them, where He'll write His law on their hearts and they'll know Him.  He concludes that little declaration with these words (31:34b)

"For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more."

Of late, God is trying to impress upon me that His love for me is real, that His grace is no joke, that I belong to Him and my sin is no obstacle for His mercy.  Reading Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the epistles has been hammering home this truth.

And joy of joys!  This truth is for all people who would turn to God, ask Him to forgive their sin, and turn their lives over to Him.

According to these verses, when God forgives our wickedness, He remembers it no more!  All of those regrets and all that shame I hold on to?  Yeah, God's not doing that, so why should I?  He really forgives our sin.  I don't forgive that way, so perhaps that is why believing God does is so difficult.

If you're one of God's children and He is your God, he has flung your sin as far as the east is from the west.  He really does not remember, because Jesus' perfection and glory is the lens through which He looks at you. You.  Are.  Forgiven.

That means you are free!

If you do not yet believe this good news, it is a gift for you to take.  Nothing you've done or left undone is beyond the reach of God's grace.  Jesus died for our sin so we don't have to and so we could have new life, a new life with the God who made us, both here and now and through eternity.

You, too, can be free!

As you begin this week, I share this word with you again:

"For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more."

Because Sometimes We Don't Want to Go to Church

Do you ever wake up surly on Sunday morning?  Or you are fine when you wake up, but by the time you're walking out the door and something (or some people) are holding things up, and crankiness and anger well up within you?

There is so much to celebrate on the Lord's Day!  We've been brought from death to life because of what God has done for us in Christ.  We have an inheritance that will never spoil, perish, or fade.  God has placed His Spirit in us to guide, convict, and encourage.  Being a child of God is amazing.  Nothing short of amazing.

But there are grumpy Sunday mornings, aren't there?

You arrive at church to all those beautifully dressed people with their smiling faces and you hope they don't realize what a jerk you are, how much you don't want to be there.  You slump into your seat, hoping the sermon is short so you can get home and into clothes that better express your mood (sweats and slippers!)

But you know what, grumpy one?  You're in exactly the right place: with the people of God in the presence of God.

Worship takes our eyes off of ourselves - our troubles (petty and real) and our mood (good or bad) - and focuses us on God.  The One who saves, because without that we have no hope.  The One who is majestic and holy and beautiful, and calls us His own children through Christ.

Grace melts the hardness within.

I do hope you're not feeling grumpy this morning!  If you are, however, you're in good company.  I venture to guess that I've sinned big time most Sundays before getting to church - even when I'm in a good mood!

Thankfully God does not change like our moods.  His love is steadfast, His salvation sure, His forgiveness real, His desire to change us relentless.

God bless you as you enter the sanctuary this morning.

These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng. 

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:4-5