Day 280: Colossians 3:1-17

“When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.'”- Colossians 3:4 ESV

One of my favorite Christian hymns goes like this (John Peterson, 1957):

Coming again, Coming again

Maybe morning, Maybe noon

Maybe evening, and maybe soon

Coming again, Coming again

O what a wonderful day it will be

Jesus is coming again!

Right now, honestly, it seems like a fantastic time for Jesus to return. Between sickness, scandals, and all the hatred surrounding us, we may long to see the sky split, time stop, and Jesus coming back to set all things right (see Revelation 21:1-7). We look forward to the moment of our Savior's return with anticipation and longing!

Yet this isn't all there is when it comes to being a Christian. We aren't kept here on earth just to sit and wait as escapists. We are here to put off our old selves (verse 8) and put on the new life (verse 12) right now and to witness God producing fruit in our lives.

The best way for us to prepare for Jesus' return is to hit darkness head-on with lives of light.

What drives us? We are those "whom He loves.”

Day 279: Colossians 2:8-23

“Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him.” - Colossians 2:12-14

If someone were to ask you what your life was like before Jesus saved you, what would you say? You might mention many of the stupid things you did, or you might mention how selfish you were. You may even use language like "lost" to describe yourself before Jesus made you new, as if all Jesus needed to do was to gently redirect you with the crook of his shepherd's staff.

Sure, sometimes Jesus uses this "lost" imagery in his parables. Yet Paul tells us what was really happening.

We were dead, shut off from eternal life. Jesus didn't just go on a rescue mission; He also went on a resurrection mission. Can you see why remembering your baptism is important? When our professed faith intersects with an all-powerful God, we experience salvation from all that is holding us back from becoming the people Jesus created us to be.

Let's let N.T. Wright, from his Colossians commentary, drive all of this home for us today: "As a Jew, Paul had believed in the solidarity of the racial people of God. In becoming a Christian, he transferred to the church the idea that the people of God was indeed a people—not now, indeed, drawn from one race only, but made up from every family under heaven. This people is not merely an invisible family known to God alone, but is an actual company of people in space and time, the church in which Christ is confessed as Lord: outward and visible entry into this outward and visible family is accomplished through the rite of baptism."

Day 278: Colossians 1:18-29, 2:1-7

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” - Colossians 2:6-7 ESV

Like any good host, when Jesus knocks, we need to let Him in (see Revelation 3:20). Yet we are caught off guard a little -- due to the fact that Jesus is no passive guest. We are charged to get busy walking in Him, thus obeying God.

When we decide to let Jesus have His way, He starts digging footers, causing us to be:

• Rooted — "to become strengthened" rhizoo

• Built-up — "to increase the potential of someone" epoikodomeo

• Established — "to increase inner strength" bebaioo

These three acts of investment cause us to overflow in thanksgiving. In them, we see that God is committed to seeing us succeed as we place our trust in Jesus. We are not left to fend for ourselves. Jesus is always after faithfulness, and He knows this will only take place as we let Him do His thing.

Next step?

Help others to hear the knocking of Jesus, encouraging them to let Him in for some rearranging as well.

C.S. Lewis drives this whole idea home:   "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

Day 277: Colossians 1:1-17

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” - Colossians‬ ‭1:15-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

How incredible is our Savior, Jesus Christ? He not only died to give us freedom (verse 14); Jesus also is credited in this verse with the creation of everything. And to make things even more impressive, we see that He is currently holding the entire universe together.

Jesus is our:

• Originator

• Redeemer

• Sustainer

So when you hear those who have walked with Jesus for a long time say, “Jesus is all you need,” they could not be more correct. This is not just a trite saying to put on a T-Shirt. We needed Him to exist. We needed Him to die and rise (when we placed our trust in Him), and we currently need Him to hold our lives (and all creation) together.

This should drive us to our knees today (with outstretched arms) in worship!

“No creature is autonomous. All are God’s servants (Ps. 119:91) and dependents (Ps. 104).” - N.T. Wright

Day 276: Philippians 4:1-23

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” - Philippians 4:6 NIV

Ben Witherington writes, "Verse 6 brings a further exhortation, this time to give up counterproductive anxiety, which in any case betrays a significant failure to trust the Lord."

Paul gives us the cure for anxiousness in every situation where we may find ourselves. The antidote is prayer. Yet he gives three different words to describe his prescription of prayer. The first term is the general word used in communicating with God (proseuche). The second word used speaks to the form of prayer that lays out all requests (deesei). The last word used (aitemata) probably speaks to the content of our prayers.

The point? We all need deep, consistent, thoughtful, and earnest prayer. Plus, we have to have a plan for prayer. These three words communicate that Paul believed we have to be intentional or we won’t be consistent in our prayer lives.

What are you anxious about today? What seems insurmountable? We see in the verses following that Paul had been worried about finances, and God had met him with what he needed every time.

Day 275: Philippians 3:4-21

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” - Philippians‬ ‭3:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In this section of Philippians 3, we get a great picture of what Paul thought about repentance. He uses the same form of a Greek word three times, zemia 2X and zemioo 1X, in two verses. The idea behind these words is freely forfeiting what you previously had.

We all fear loss. Much of what we do is positioning ourselves to avoid it at all costs. Yet when we lose our former lives of selfishness and pride, it frees us up to receive salvation from the hand of God.

Augustine said it well: "God gives where he finds empty hands."

Are you looking back on your past as something you wish you still had? It is so tempting to live on the energy of our past experiences, even if they were completely misdirected.

Paul said, "I am focusing all my energies on this one thing:  Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead."

All of our successes and failures don't deserve our attention. God is doing a new thing. Do you see it? Trust Jesus to give you something even better for today and then for eternity (see 2:21).

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” - Isaiah‬ ‭43:18-19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Day 274: Philippians 2:19-30, 3:1-3

“Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.'”- Philippians 2:27 ESV

One time as I was going through a music rehearsal at church, I noticed that one of our musicians seemed troubled. This sweet lady had just recently overcome a cancer diagnosis and was healthy (and is to this day). We had prayed for her and wept with her through it. Yet she was still in tears. I had to inquire as to why. She mentioned that she didn't know why she'd been spared and so many others hadn't. I assured her that none of us knew the answer to that question, but I did know that God apparently had more for her to do here. There are more songs to play. There are more people to reach with Christ's love. I can still see her smile through her tears.

Epaphroditus was spared, and Paul chalked it up to God showering mercy (also translated as compassion) on him.

C.H. Spurgeon, writing on this verse, said it beautifully, "Lazarus of Bethany, Dorcas, Epaphroditus, and Trophimus are a few of that great host of sick folk whom the Lord loves in their sicknesses, for whom the promise was written that the Lord ‘sustains him on his sick bed. In his illness, you restore to health (Psalm 41:3).”

Even still, the compassion of God is expressed in so many ways. "Why?!" is the question we may never get an answer to, but "What?!" is the one God will answer each time. Jesus can turn any circumstance, no matter how hard, into something that can make an eternal difference. We know this because we've seen many who weren't as fortunate as Epaphroditus, Paul being one of them himself (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-12).

Even so, we must always remember that if we are spared, it is an opportunity for us to reflect God's glory. For we know that He is the great Redeemer of time.

Day 273: Philippians 1:27-30, 2:1-18

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” - ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The word used for attitude here is φρονέω phroneō. Jesus uses the same word in Matthew 16:23 when he calls Peter “Satan,” and says that he doesn’t have his mind (phroneo) set on the things of God but on the things of man.

So what does it practically look like to think like Jesus thought when He was on this earth, in the flesh? Verses 6-18 lay it out for us.

It has to do with a whole lot of selflessness. It isn’t a downgrading of our value. Instead, it is using all of our worth to pour ourselves out for the sake of others. It is an ego removal surgery of sorts.

When we think like Jesus thought and thus live as Jesus lived, we will stand out like stars in the darkness.

There will never be a shortage of crooked and perverse (selfish) people. So when we put this all into practice, everything we do will be a strong witness of the gospel.

Yes, it will be a lot of work, but God will give us the desire and power to see it through (verses 12-13), and this ability comes directly from the shed blood of Jesus on the cross.

John Calvin, commenting on this verse, masterfully wrote, "There are, however, two departments, in the first of which he invites us to imitate Christ, because this is the rule of life: in the second, he allures us to it, because this is the road by which we attain true glory."

Day 272: Philippians 1:1-26

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:6 ESV

An inability to finish has to be one of our most significant flaws as humans. We start a book, only to never make it past the second chapter. We get into a home project, only to run out of steam when it requires getting on a ladder. We resolve to read our Bibles and pray daily, then a week goes by, and we realize we haven't read a single word or prayed a single prayer.

God isn't just a starter; he's also a finisher. Yet the way he finishes is a little different from the way we usually think of checking something off of our list. He sees what he is doing in us as a process. The Bible calls this sanctification (see 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5).

C.H. Spurgeon, writing about this verse, put it this way: "Granted an immutable God, we may be sure that grace will complete what grace begins."

God is committed to our growth, and He will never grow tired of that work.

As we close, it is also worth noting that Paul isn't checking out as God carries this out to completion. As God continues to do the work, Paul is fervently on his knees for these Christians in Philippi. What a great reminder for us that God wants to include us in the work He is doing in the lives of others.

Day 271: Ephesians 6:1-24

“And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.” - Ephesians‬ ‭6:9‬ ‭NASB

Slavery in the Bible is something that is difficult to stomach, especially as we read the New Testament. Why didn’t Paul say, “Alright! Enough! Slavery is done among Christians. Let them be free!”?

Here in Ephesians 6 we see what Paul (via the Holy Spirit) was doing in the area of slavery (and for all who were marginalized). The groundwork was laid for every culture to recognize the intrinsic truth that all have been created equal in God’s sight. For the first time in human history, we see here equality proclaimed among those who were societal unequals.

Jesus doesn’t favor anyone more than another (never has). All are fit to put on every piece of the illustrious armor of God.

This was a revolutionary thought in the first century, and it is still splitting heads today. The rich. The poor. Male. Female. The famous. The forgotten. All of us matter to God. There should be no ranking system in play within Christianity.

Abolition of slaves was initiated by verses like these.

God doesn’t play favorites.

Darrell Bock, in his Ephesians commentary, brings us into focus even more as we close: “No matter what the social status of people may be, the response that honours God respects other people as those made in God’s image. There is a hint of the mutual submission of 5:21 here because the point is that all submit to the Lord.”