29 - Connecting w/ God
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 29 | BELIEVE AND STAND
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 29 | BELIEVE AND STAND
BELIEVE AND STAND
Colossians 1:15,18, 20-23
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation … And He is the head of the body, that is, the church … And through him, God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes YOU, who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.”
It’s hard to think of ourselves as once “enemies” of God. Yet, that’s what God says we all were “separated from him by our evil thoughts and actions.” (aka SIN… an old fashioned word which no one likes to hear, yet truth nonetheless.)
Paul also says, in this passage, that He (God) has “reconciled” those Christians (and us) to himself through the death of Christ on the cross. The result being that we can now stand holy and blameless before God… all our sins have been cleansed.
But – and Paul is always good at giving us the “but” or “however” – we must continue to believe this truth and stand in it.
Do you find it interesting that Paul teaches us that we need to continue to believe this truth? Perhaps you’re thinking – as I do from time to time – “Really Lord? I do believe … I continue to believe.”
Yet, God and His Word are perfect.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, TPT version, gives us a fresh take on a vital Scripture: “Every Scripture has been written by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you.”
Thus, when Paul tells us in Colossians 1:23 to “continue to believe this truth and stand firm and do not drift away from the assurance we have received,” we need to pay attention.
There are forces at work in our world today – evil forces – that are trying to distract you from following God, to discourage you from obeying God, and to decimate your desire to follow God.
Don’t underestimate them.
Prayer: Lord, I choose to continue to believe and stand firm in my relationship with You, despite what others do or the way the world goes at any moment. Help me, Lord, to saturate myself in Your Word, in prayer, in my walk with You and with my fellow Believers. I want to stay strong. Amen.
Colossians 1:15,18, 20-23
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation … And He is the head of the body, that is, the church … And through him, God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes YOU, who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.”
It’s hard to think of ourselves as once “enemies” of God. Yet, that’s what God says we all were “separated from him by our evil thoughts and actions.” (aka SIN… an old fashioned word which no one likes to hear, yet truth nonetheless.)
Paul also says, in this passage, that He (God) has “reconciled” those Christians (and us) to himself through the death of Christ on the cross. The result being that we can now stand holy and blameless before God… all our sins have been cleansed.
But – and Paul is always good at giving us the “but” or “however” – we must continue to believe this truth and stand in it.
Do you find it interesting that Paul teaches us that we need to continue to believe this truth? Perhaps you’re thinking – as I do from time to time – “Really Lord? I do believe … I continue to believe.”
Yet, God and His Word are perfect.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, TPT version, gives us a fresh take on a vital Scripture: “Every Scripture has been written by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you.”
Thus, when Paul tells us in Colossians 1:23 to “continue to believe this truth and stand firm and do not drift away from the assurance we have received,” we need to pay attention.
There are forces at work in our world today – evil forces – that are trying to distract you from following God, to discourage you from obeying God, and to decimate your desire to follow God.
Don’t underestimate them.
Prayer: Lord, I choose to continue to believe and stand firm in my relationship with You, despite what others do or the way the world goes at any moment. Help me, Lord, to saturate myself in Your Word, in prayer, in my walk with You and with my fellow Believers. I want to stay strong. Amen.
Posted in Connecting w/ God