March through Colossians - 1:5b-8

Notice what Paul says about the gospel in these verses:

-It was how the Colossians first heard about the hope that is laid up for them in heaven.
-It is the word of the truth.
-It has come to them.
-It is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world.
-It is bearing fruit and growing among the Colossians (since the day they heard and understood it).
-It is something that is heard and understood by people.
-It involved understanding the grace of God in truth (notice: 2nd time Paul mentions truth, probably in light of the false teaching he addresses later).
-It is something they learned from a specific individual (Epaphras [same guy as Epaphroditus in Phil. 2:25, 4:18], who is a servant of Christ).

O’Brien says, “Fruit-bearing and increasing were marks of the gospel (Col 1:6). Paul then prays [next in Colossians] that fruit-bearing and increasing may be characteristics of the Colossians too – the fruit of good works and an increase in the knowledge of God (v 10) – that the dynamic of the gospel may characterize the lives of the Colossian believers themselves.” (italics mine)

Be encouraged that this is the same gospel that you have believed, and that God intends for it to bear fruit and grow today in you and around you.

1:9-14 tomorrow.

March through Colossians - 1:1-5a (Part 2)

Did anyone notice in vv. 4-5a the famous faith, hope, and love triad (“since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven”). I didn’t, but a commentary pointed it out to me.

Notice what’s true of these Colossian believers: their faith is in Christ Jesus, they have love for all the saints, and they have faith and love because of the hope laid up for them (by God) in heaven. And Paul thanks God for these things being present in them. This is kind of a summary description of what it means to be a Christian. These are the things we have, and we can thank God that we have them.

You and I could do worse than trying to think a little more today about faith, hope, and love, and to make a point to thank God that we have these things.

Extra note: as you read, keep in mind that Colossians isn't just a sort of magical document that we have to arbitrarily extract things from that we think will help us feel good or make sense of life. It is a real letter, written by a real person, to real people, inspired by a real God who both addressed those real people in it and addresses real people in it today. We have to submit ourselves to it. We have to submit ourselves to God in it, humbly asking Him to help us understand what Paul was saying to this church, and (by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) to all of God’s people, including you today.

March through Colossians - 1:1-5a (Part 1)

So, do you speed up when you are reading the opening verses of one of Paul’s letters? “Yeah, yeah, I know you’re an apostle, I’ve heard you say that before Paul.” Let commentator Peter O’Brien help you:

“The creative variations in the opening [stuff] regarding authorship, where Paul adapts his description of himself and his credentials to the circumstances of each particular letter, the various phrases he employs to describe his Christian readers, and the theological content poured into the greetings all indicate that his prescripts are far from being stereotyped introductions to his epistles.”

So pay attention to the nuances, to how Paul describes himself, to how he greets believers, and to the Grand Canyon of truth conveyed by the simple greeting: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”

By the way, if you are trusting in Jesus for salvation from your sins, you’re a saint. Think about that for a little while.

March through Colossians - Here We Go!

Well we didn't get started on March 1st, but I only thought of this idea on Sunday morning, so we all needed time to gather our thoughts! But here we go.

Hopefully you've taken the time today to read the whole book of Colossians straight through in one sitting. I'm wondering what that was like for you. It probably took about 10 minutes (if you weren't interrupted), and I'm guessing you felt some of the following:

• "Pretty cool. I can't remember the last time I sat down and read a whole book of the Bible straight through. Helps to see the big picture."
• "I'm feeling like I drank from a firehouse just now. I'm not sure what to think, and I'm not sure that I really understood what Paul was saying to say to the Colossians."
• "If I ever write a letter to a church, I'm going to pack all that I have to say in the first chapter and the last chapter, because I can pretty much guarantee that folks are going to drift off somewhere in chapter 2, and then wake back up somewhere in chapter 4."
• "What a joy to read about the preeminence of Christ, and about the blessings of having been raised with him. I look forward to growing in my understanding of these things."
• "I didn't know that so many verses I recognized were in Colossians!"
• "How come we aren't seeing more kids being named Aristarchus?"

Regardless of your initial reaction, I do know that your reading of the whole book today (remember: the forest) will help you make sense of your reading of the parts in the days ahead (remember: the trees). You will see connections you would not have seen otherwise. Your understanding of treasured verses will expand as you come to see them in light of the flow of the book. You will begin to grasp how deep and wide and rich and multifaceted God's written revelation is. And by the power of the Spirit working in the Word, you will be changed to be more like Jesus.

Keep it up. 1:1-5a tomorrow. Read slowly. Read prayerfully. Read expectantly. Read patiently. And read as if God were sitting across the table from you, speaking to you His life-changing Word.

March through Colossians (the HOW)

* Read the post below on the WHY first.

So, what's the plan for how we're going to read through the book of Colossians together? Well, I think that how we choose to read through it should reflect (as best as we can) the nature of this book.

• It is a letter. We want to read it as a letter and not be so focused on the trees (the individual verses) that we miss the forest (the whole letter). Therefore I'll be including a couple of chances for us to read the whole thing in one sitting (don't worry, it's only 4 chapters which will probably take about 10 minutes).
• It has a flow and an argument or point (or arguments/points). We're not just going to read the first 2 verses, then the next 2, then the next 2, woodenly. I've broken down the daily readings based on the flow of thought in Paul's writing.
• It is the Word of God. The very words that Paul wrote on papyrus or parchment were the God-breathed words of God (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:19-21). Therefore we will be taking our time, reading only a small chunk of verses per day, so that we can take in as much of what God has given us as we can.

The details:

• I'm not sure how to put a nice calendar together on the blog, so I'll just list the readings (see below).
• We'll start on 3/2 by reading the whole book in one sitting that day (again, 10 minutes). We'll do this again on 3/9, 3/16, 3/24, and 3/31.
• Not counting the whole-book readings, we'll cover an average of 3.8 verses per day (min: 2; max: 6).
• There is a reading every day (no breaks), but it's easy to catch up given the shortness of the readings.
• We'll end up reading through Colossians 6 times total.
• I'll post something every day here on the blog, like a teaching point, a key question to ask, an application, something for further reading, a way to encourage someone else with what you are reading, etc.

Here's the schedule:

-3/2: whole book.
-3/3: 1:1-5a.
-3/4: 1:5b-8.
-3/5: 1:9-14.
-3/6: 1:15-20.
-3/7: 1:21-23.
-3/8: 1:24-29.
-3/9: whole book.
-3/10: 2:1-5.
-3/11: 2:6-7.
-3/12: 2:8-12.
-3/13: 2:13-15.
-3/14: 2:16-19.
-3/15: 2:20-23.
-3/16: whole book.
-3/17: 3:1-4.
-3/18: 3:5-8.
-3/19: 3:9-11.
-3/20: 3:12-15.
-3/21: 3:16-17.
-3/22: 3:18-22.
-3/23: 3:23-4:1.
-3/24: whole book.
-3/25: 4:2-4.
-3/26: 4:5-6.
-3/27: 4:7-9.
-3/28: 4:10-11.
-3/29: 4:12-13.
-3/30: 4:14-18.

So, carve out some time to read the whole book in one sitting on March 2nd, and check back here on the blog for a brief post that day and a reminder of the next day's passage.

March through Colossians (the WHY)

* Note: I am doing this primarily for folks at the church where I'm a pastor, but feel free to join in if you'd like.

Many of my ideas come to me while I'm in the shower (what's the deal with that anyway?), and this one is no exception. I'm really excited about this simple idea: I'd like to take the month of March and read through the book of Colossians together. We'll read just a few verses a day, and I'll post something brief each day here on the blog (I'll explain the HOW in another post).

You might ask, Why this idea? And why Colossians? Here are a few reasons:

• As for the idea, I think there are some advantages to having a group of people read through a portion of Scripture at the same time who are in community together (e.g., a cool sense of "we're in this together," the chance to encourage each other in conversation about what we've been learning, allowing the Holy Spirit to work some of these same truths into us at the same time).
• Doing this during the month of March provides some accountability (which none of us are above).
• Doing this during the month of March allows for us to have a clear goal.
• As for doing Colossians, honestly that's just the next book in some New Testament reading I've been doing, and I thought it would be nice to have some fellow readers!

Here's the bottom line reason though. You and I so desperately need to see Jesus Christ for who He actually and objectively is. Not who He is in our subjective and small view of Him, but who He really is. Colossians holds that beautiful picture up for us to see. This book, being the living and active Word of God, can wake us up each day with the good news of who Jesus is, what He has done for us, what He is doing today, and what He will do.

So come revel in the gospel with me during the month of March as we go deep into this book together, and as we let it go deep into us.

How to benefit from the book of Proverbs

Let me suggest a great way to spend 10 minutes of your day sometime soon: go grab your ESV Study Bible (or go buy one if you don't have one yet), and read the "Introduction to Proverbs" section right before the book of Proverbs. I did that today, and I experienced a growth spurt not only in my understanding of the book of Proverbs and how to interpret and apply it, but also in my understanding of the general flow of Scripture and how/where Proverbs fits within the total biblical revelation that centers on Jesus Christ and what He has done for us and in us.

I've been trying the thing where you read 1 chapter in Proverbs and 3 Psalms each day (taking you through Proverbs and Psalms in a month), and it's been enriching so far. I know this isn't the only factor in reading the Bible profitably, but having so much Bible intake has been super helpful.

"My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart." -Proverbs 3:1-3.