Paul's Prayer of Thanksgiving

ONLY CHRIST CAN SAVE PEOPLE

Colossians 1

¹From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what
God wanted. Also from Timothy, our brother.

²To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ that live in Colosse:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

³In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, ⁴because we have heard about the faith you have in Christ Jesus and the
love you have for all of God’s people. ⁵You have this faith and love because of
your hope, and what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. You learned
about this hope when you heard the message about the truth, the Good News
⁶that was told to you. Everywhere in the world that Good News is bringing
blessings and is growing. This has happened with you, too, since you heard the
Good News and understood the truth about the grace of God. ⁷You learned about
God’s grace from Epaphras, whom we love. He works together with us and is a
faithful servant of Christ for us. ⁸He also told us about the love you have from the
Holy Spirit.

⁹Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we have continued
praying for you, asking God that you will know fully what he wants. We pray
that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things ¹⁰so
that you will live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way.
You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.
¹¹God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up
when troubles come, but you will be patient. ¹²And you will joyfully give thanks
to the Father who has made you able to have a share in all that he has prepared
for his people in the kingdom of light. ¹³God has freed us from the power of
darkness, and he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. ¹⁴The Son paid for
our sins, and in him we have forgiveness.

The Importance of Christ

¹⁵No one can see God, but Jesus Christ is exactly like him. He ranks higher
than everything that has been made. ¹⁶Through his power all things were made—
things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all powers, authorities,
lords, and rulers. All things were made through Christ and for Christ. ¹⁷He was
there before anything was made, and all things continue because of him. ¹⁸He is
the head of the body, which is the church. Everything comes from him. He is the
first one who was raised from the dead. So in all things Jesus has first place.
¹⁹God was pleased for all of himself to live in Christ. ²⁰And through Christ, God
has brought all things back to himself again—things on earth and things in
heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross.

²¹At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your
minds, and the evil things you did were against God. ²²But now God has made
you his friends again. He did this through Christ’s death in the body so that he
might bring you into God’s presence as people who are holy, with no wrong, and
with nothing of which God can judge you guilty. ²³This will happen if you
continue strong and sure in your faith. You must not be moved away from the
hope brought to you by the Good News that you heard. That same Good News
has been told to everyone in the world, and I, Paul, help in preaching that Good
News.

Paul’s Work for the Church

²⁴I am happy in my sufferings for you. There are things that Christ must still
suffer through his body, the church. I am accepting, in my body, my part of these
things that must be suffered. ²⁵I became a servant of the church because God
gave me a special work to do that helps you, and that work is to tell fully the
message of God. ²⁶This message is the secret that was hidden from everyone
since the beginning of time, but now it is made known to God’s holy people.
²⁷God decided to let his people know this rich and glorious secret which he has
for all people. This secret is Christ himself, who is in you. He is our only hope
for glory. ²⁸So we continue to preach Christ to each person, using all wisdom to
warn and to teach everyone, in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a
mature person in Christ. ²⁹To do this, I work and struggle, using Christ’s great
strength that works so powerfully in me.

The Holy Bible, New Century Version

SITUATION

Paul's letter gave tribute to the power and glory of Christ. While commending the Colossians for their actions, he reminded them that Christ's power comes not from what we know, but who we know Jesus Christ.

OBSERVATION

God provides salvation for anyone who will take it. God doesn't require that we know hidden secrets or certain inside information to accept Christ's message and enjoy eternal life.

INSPIRATION

When God chose to reveal himself, he did so (surprise of surprises) through a human body. The tongue that called forth the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And his tears ... oh, don't miss the tears ... they came from a heart as broken as yours or mine ever has been.

So, people came to him.

My, how they came to him! They came at night; they touched him as he walked down the street; they followed him around the sea; they invited him into their homes and placed their children at his feet. Why? Because he refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to be Jesus .

. . . There were those who revered him. But there was not one person who considered him too holy, too divine, or too celestial to touch. There was not one person who was reluctant to approach him for fear of being rejected.

Remember. It is man who creates the distance. It is Jesus who builds the bridge.

(From God Came Near by Max Lucado)

APPLICATION

Pray this week that God will spark new love for him in your heart. Don't let this next week pass without finding a way of telling someone else about the Good News of God's love.

EXPLORATION

Love-John 3:16; 13:34; Ephesians 3:15-18; 1 John 4:9-10.