Sunday – May 23rd – Colossians 4:12-15 ----
4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
13 For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.
14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.
15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
DO NOT PRAY THAT THE POOR BE FED UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO PROVIDE THE BREAD.*
Good Sunday to you! What an interesting inspirational thought for today. I admit it caused me to take a pause and reflect on my prayer life. What commands do I direct God’s way and then step back and wait for God to respond to my demands? Am I simply a reporter telling God what the situation is around me and then fully expect God to do something about it? What I read today is that I need to be praying that God will use me and the resources God has blessed me with to make a difference in people’s lives. As we gather on this day to worship may our prayers be ones that make each of us available to be used where and when God needs us the most.
In our pick verses for today Paul continues to name-drop people who would be familiar to the Colossian believers. In doing so, Paul understands the importance of the connectivity within the body of Christians. There can be times when a believer feels like they are going it alone, especially in first century Christianity when the only means of communication were letters written and delivered at times months apart. Paul’s mention of Epaphras was to lift him up as one of the tried and tested leaders in the church at Colosse. Paul saw him to have displayed the traits of faithfulness and a willingness to follow the nudging of God to be complete in living a life within the will of God. Paul is especially encouraged by Epaphras’ zeal and passion to evangelize people from neighboring towns. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal to share Jesus to people from other places, back in Paul’s time there were often competitive hostilities between neighboring towns. For Epaphras to set aside the potential rivalry between towns and witness to Jesus was something to note. I wonder who I might be shutting out from my witness opportunities because they are not like me?
Blessings
Pastor Jim
Monday – May 24th – Colossians 4:16-17
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Location 26984). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
13 For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.
14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.
15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.
The Daily Walk Bible inspirational thought for today:
DO NOT PRAY THAT THE POOR BE FED UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO PROVIDE THE BREAD.*
Good Sunday to you! What an interesting inspirational thought for today. I admit it caused me to take a pause and reflect on my prayer life. What commands do I direct God’s way and then step back and wait for God to respond to my demands? Am I simply a reporter telling God what the situation is around me and then fully expect God to do something about it? What I read today is that I need to be praying that God will use me and the resources God has blessed me with to make a difference in people’s lives. As we gather on this day to worship may our prayers be ones that make each of us available to be used where and when God needs us the most.
In our pick verses for today Paul continues to name-drop people who would be familiar to the Colossian believers. In doing so, Paul understands the importance of the connectivity within the body of Christians. There can be times when a believer feels like they are going it alone, especially in first century Christianity when the only means of communication were letters written and delivered at times months apart. Paul’s mention of Epaphras was to lift him up as one of the tried and tested leaders in the church at Colosse. Paul saw him to have displayed the traits of faithfulness and a willingness to follow the nudging of God to be complete in living a life within the will of God. Paul is especially encouraged by Epaphras’ zeal and passion to evangelize people from neighboring towns. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal to share Jesus to people from other places, back in Paul’s time there were often competitive hostilities between neighboring towns. For Epaphras to set aside the potential rivalry between towns and witness to Jesus was something to note. I wonder who I might be shutting out from my witness opportunities because they are not like me?
Blessings
Pastor Jim
Monday – May 24th – Colossians 4:16-17
*Tyndale. The Daily Walk Bible NLT (Daily Walk: Full Size) (Kindle Location 26984). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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