Devotions - Tuesday, March 4

This morning I was reading from Colossians 1:9-14. It is another place in the New Testament where Paul lays before us the "process" by which we become who it is that God hopes we can become.

9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

God fills us with the wisdom and understanding necessary for us to become this new person. Verse 12 says it is God who has "enabled" us. We enter onto this journey as a result of God's invitation and we persevere as a result of God's having filled us.

These gifts are ours. We are encouraged/invited to make the best possible use of them. It is God's hope that we would lead lives worthy of His calling. That we would bear fruit in every good work. And that we would grow in our knowledge of God.

How appropriate that this passage would come to us, in this 4th week of Lent. These verses remind us again of the Lenten discipline. The hope that God has for us is the mission which occupies these 40 days.

Take a few moments this morning to celebrate the gifts of God. Receive them, into the very core of your being. Know that they are yours, freely given by the same God who would not withhold his own beloved son. After becoming fully confident that God is with you, consider where His presence might lead you. How can you live a life worthy of His grace? Where is the opportunity for you to bear fruit? How will you grow in your knowledge?

Pastor Chris