Colossians 1:24-29

Paul is saying that he has been commissioned by God to bring the full story of salvation by grace to everyone.  He is now a servant of the body of Christ.  He carries the answer to a mystery that had been kept secret until now.  Christ in you the hope of Glory.  The twist in the story, at least for those of Jewish decent, Gentiles are included as well.

Paul’s words are powerful. But when you step into the past and take on the mindset of the times, his words jump to life.  The coming of Messiah was a greatly anticipated event that was also greatly misunderstood.  The power of the Messiah would be over sin more than Cesar.  To the Jew covering of sin was a daily ritual and regular trips to the temple to sacrifice animals.  The message of Paul was that this was no longer necessary as the Messiah/Christ now covered sin.  The hope of glory, or purity and good standing before God rested no longer in human hands but in Christ Jesus the hope of Glory.

Salvation is a wonderful gift. It should always be held up in high esteem, shared freely with others and we should seek to have the fullest understanding from the scriptures as possible.

Colossians 1:15-19

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

This passage is about the supremacy of Christ.  It is also about why we exist.  All things were created by him and for him.  That means our meaning is wrapped up in him.  He created us and we were created for him.  While no one has seen God, Jesus is the manifestation of God in human form for all mankind.  All the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus.

He has conqured death.

Colossians 1:9-14

⁹For 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. ¹⁰And 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, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[a] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption,^[b] the forgiveness of sins.

Paul was single minded about the growth of believers.   Even though the early part of this verse may seem to imply a need to live worthy in order to please God, the latter reminds us that it is the “Father who has qualified you.”  There is always a tension between our standing in Christ that has nothing to do with our works, and our behavior as Christ followers.  To please God in every way by Paul’s definition is to : bear fruit, grow in knowledge of God, gain strength, courage, endurance and be joyful in the fact that God has qualified us to stand in His presence.  Again this list is more of a list of what we gain because of our relationship with God than a list of things we must do to please God.  God is pleased when we are dependant upon Him.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

³It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴that each of you should learn to control his own body^[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; ⁶and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. ⁷For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

The will of God is sometimes viewed as mysterious.  It is not, Paul tells this church in clear terms what the will of the Lord is.  When we are in His will, living as we have been clearly instructed, the other decisions in life will not seem so “mysterious” either.

1 Thessalonians 3:1-5

So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens. ²We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker^[a]in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, ³so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. ⁴In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know. ⁵For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

Persecution was anticipated by the disciples and those who followed Christ.  Paul was concerned for the people that their faith was being stretched.  He did not want to find out that some had been led astray.

Being Proactive in the lives of others is not so much socially acceptable today.  In the body of Christ though we are to be involved in each others lives.  Not meddlers but concerned brothers holding one another up.  I need to be more bold in helping and coming along side others.  I need others to hold me up as well.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

The apostle Paul explains thier motive for coming to the church in Thessolonia.  Paul describes the tender way they brought the gospel to them out of love.  They did not excercise autority or burden the people.  They carried the gospel message without regard to personal gain.

As a missionary we need to be careful not to take advantage of anyone, but focus on being a servant to all.

Proverbs 12:11-19

Some proverbs are obvious truisms.  A man who works his land will have abundant food.  The contrast is to one who chases fantasies.

Wicked people envy evil men who have money.  This is in contrast to the right man who has a foundation that flourishes.  This indicates long term success.

The rest of these deal with words and lips reckless words and prudent words.  Truthful lips and lying ones.  We need to be very careful what we say.

Proverbs 12:1-10

We need to be open to correction or we cannot grow.  Being a crafty (sneaky or cunning) person may help you get ahead at work, but you will not have the favor of the Lord on your advancement. Wicked ways will not create a stable life, a righteous person will not be moved.  There is high value to a good wife, a bad one on the other hand is makes for misery.  5-7 contrast wicked men and right men.  Verse 9 tells us to be real.  10 tells us to be kind.  Application:  Reliance on God and His ways always pays great dividends.  The way that seems right to us, reliance on our own abilities gets us nowhere.

Proverbs 11:22-31

These proverbs deal mostly with financial gain.  Verse 22 the exception, very funny, like a gold ring in a pigs snout is a woman who shows no discretion. 

The pursuit of money is a common desire both then and now.  But, greed and a pursuit of gain over the pursuit of God will not prosper.   It is a law of the universe.  Given by it’s creator God. 

A generous man will prosper;
       he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

It is a change up in thinking.  Most of us expect the greedy to gain and those who are generous to loose.  This is sometimes true for a season, but not so in most cases.

Proverbs 11:12-21

Proverbs offer wisdom in contrast.  Each verse stands on its own as a series of contrasting wisdom. 

Of note to me vs 16

A kindhearted woman gains respect,
       but ruthless men gain only wealth.

Interesting contrast between a kindhearted woman and a man who is ruthless.  It is different than the other wisdom verses in this chapter.  It admits to ruthless behavior having a gain.  In fact ruthless men do well in financial affairs more often than not.  The proverb points out that it is ONLY wealth that is gained. 

Proverbs are not mere musings that we wish where so, but truthful in thier exploration of the laws of living. 

Verse 21 is an excellent example:

²¹ Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
       but those who are righteous will go free.

This is a fact, God will not allow the wicked to go unpunished and conversely the righteous will go free.