Moments in the life of a Pastor

Walking with God

Tag Archives: christianity


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6. Pleasing, Powerful Prayer – Part 2 

Colossians 1:9-14 

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you,we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his willthrough all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father,who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

  1. Will of God – “filled with the knowledge of His will”

How are you going to do God’s will if you don’t understand what it is that God would have you do? Paul didn’t want people guessing at God’s will for their lives, we can know God’s will and fulfill the purpose He has planned for us. You do not have to meander through life hoping your life is counting for something. You can know it is. We ask for them to be filled with the knowledge of His will, which means to have “full-knowledge”, that His will would pervade their being – thoughts, affections, purposes, and plans. God desires the knowledge of His will to be grasped and to penetrate deeply into our lives, to take hold. Have you asked God to fill you with the knowledge of His will, to be full of His will means there is no room for yours. Are you willing to submit your will to go wherever He wants you to go, will you surrender your time, talents and treasures. Paul is reminding us here that our life belongs to God, whose will are you following, don’t hold anything back this year, give your life back and let Him use you all of you.

  • Word of God – “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding”

Not just reading the Word but responding to it, living what you learn by putting into practice the principles found in the Bible.

  • You may just be learning how to read. Read the Bible: Basic instruction before leaving earth. It will guide you as you start through grade school. 
  • You might be in your teen years when all of your friends have turned their backs on God and the church. They think the Bible is a boring book and unpopular read your Bible, it will get you through the years when you want to wonder away from God, home, the church, and guide you past the pain.
  • You might be in you twenties when the teen-age years have left you standing alone. It might not be popular among your friends to stand for God. Read your Bible. It will give you wisdom above your years and lead you into a life of significance.
  • You might be in your thirties or forties raising children, teen-agers or young adults. You are going to need the encouragement and inspiration the Bible provides. Your children are still watching you. They may not come to you with their problems, but they are watching to see how you handle the pressures of life. Your Bible will help you be a wise testimony to them beyond their adolescent years.
  • You might be in your fifties and beyond. Read your Bible. All generations need the guidance of godly grandparents. Leave a legacy of godliness. Pass on your passion for the Bible.


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4. Taking Time to Give Thanks – Part 4

Colossians 1:1-8

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,and Timothy our brother, 2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on ou]behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.”

The vertical dimension of faith then leads to the horizontal element of love. 

LOVE

Because of what Jesus had done in their lives, they were able to love “all” God’s people. This love is agape, which has sacrifice as its key character and is displayed in actions. Love is a transforming act because it is really faith in motion as Galatians 5:6 says, “…the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Live in love, ….and love to live! 1 Corinthians 13 concerning the love we should portray. Love is patient; …. love is kind; ….love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; …. it is not irritable or resentful; ….. it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, ….but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, ….believes all things, …..hopes all things, …..endures all things. …… Love never ends. Do we put this love into practice? Do we allow this love to permeate our very being? Do we really consider it a thriving aspect of living. Well God does and the time we stop loving is the time we stop living. Jesus loved Judas so what’s your excuse?

HOPE

Our shared faith and mutual love result in our common “hope that is stored up for you in heaven.” Faith and love spring from hope because hope is the root, faith is the plant and love is the fruit. Because God has “laid up” hope for us in heaven, we can have full confidence in our faith and express our love without holding back. We don’t have to vaguely wish for something better to come when we have complete confidence in the reality of heaven. Why have faith in Christ if there is no hope for a glorious future? Why love others if it doesn’t matter in the end? Hope makes all the difference because we have a confident expectation that everything God says in His Word is true today, or will come true in the future. Hope is stored up for us like a treasure and one of the blessings of hope is it allows us to sacrifice the present on the altar of the future. Colossians introduces us to God’s trilogy of virtue—faith, love, and hope. Faith is the soul looking upward to God; love looks outward to others; hope looks forward to the future. Faith rests on the past work of Christ; love works in the present; and hope anticipates the future.