Colossians 1 - praying for the workers in Christ - Spiritual Growth

Powerful word.  Colossians 1:9-14

"For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.  May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.  We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him."  (Colossians 1:9-14)

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. ... Remember to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ as they labor.

We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. ... Ask God to fill them with wisdom and knowledge of His will so that they may bear good fruit in their ministry.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. ... Instead of tearing down your friends in ministry, complaining and criticizing them and their work, ask that they be strengthened, with endurance and patience and joy.  This is a difficult one.  Ask God to give you discernment and understanding as you pray for them.

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him. ... No matter what, remember that God has forgiven us of our sins and delivered us from the darkness of this world.

-Andy G.

What do you seek first?

Jesus said "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..."

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
²⁵
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  (Matthew 6)

So, consider a typical day for you. *seek first the kingdom of God*  You wake up in the morning, you get ready for work or school, you eat breakfast, you drive, walk or ride to wherever you are going... *seek first the kingdom of God*  ... you then go through the trials and struggles of your day.  *seek first the kingdom of God*  dealing with each challenge as you have been trained (for your job) and learning as you go (job, school, etc.).  You may stop briefly throughout the day to rest, recover, take a break. *seek first the kingdom of God*  after work or school, you hang out with friends, grab dinner, go home, workout, or watch TV. *seek first the kingdom of God*   Maybe grab a late night snack before turning in? *seek first the kingdom of God* 

Take an honest assessment of your heart in what you do.  How much of your busy life is spent seeking or going after God?  You may find that most of it is focused on yourself and getting through the tasks of the day.  These things are not in themselves "bad", but can you pursue them with the right heart and mind set? - A mind set on things above -  Jesus promises us that "all these things" will be added to us if we do seek Him first.  Ask yourself: can you put more heart and effort into this seeking?  *seek first the kingdom of God* 

-atg-

Jesus ... the Gold Standard

"When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  Then He began to teach them..."  Matthew 5:1-2

Have you ever thought of Jesus' sermon on the mount as setting the "gold standard" for human behavior?  In the financial world, the "gold standard" refers to a monetary system where the currency value is based on a fixed weight of gold.  This makes that currency very stable and solid as long as it is backed up by gold. 

When it comes to human behavior, who sets the standard?... who makes the rules?  It has to be based upon some standard of truth, and this is precisely what Jesus does in his "sermon on the mount" described in the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7.  This sermon covers nearly  every part of human endeavor and behavior, including:

• "the beatitudes" - blessings based on love and humility
• salt and light
• Christ fulfilling the law
• murder
• divorce
• adultery
• love your enemies
• giving
• praying
• possessions
• anxiety
• judging
• searching
• foundations

If you've never read the entire sermon on the mount, I encourage you to do so.  It can easily be read in a few minutes, but it has a lifetime of lessons and teachings.  If only we could take these to heart and live by them.  Consider how the world would be such a different place if we could do this...

-Andy G.

Click here to read the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5-7

Devote Yourselves to Prayer

Prayer is admitting that I am powerless to control the outcome and that I am asking God to step in.  Most of the things which concern us, bother us, give us anxiety, take away our thoughts and time, and generally rob us of enjoying the moment that we are in... are things over which we have no control. 

I am not writing about those things which are clearly a natural consequence to some decision that we have made (maybe that's a topic for another post); for example if I choose to walk across a busy freeway during rush hour, I am probably going to get hit by a car.  In those cases, prayer is probably a good way to help us recover from our mistake, and it may also be a way to help us not to make that choice in the first place... but now back to the main point...

Prayer is asking God to step in and change: hearts, situations, minds, outcomes, feelings, expressions, conditions, etc.  Prayer is accepting the fact that we can't do it alone; it acknowledges our dependence on God for life and for the outcome.  God honors prayer and according to the Bible he hears prayer and responds.

If this is true, how much do we rely on prayer for daily life?  Jesus sets the example for prayer.  He often got alone with God and prayed, but usually he interacted with people, sinners, those in need, and those seeking to know him... his life was a prayer and he has left us with the Holy Spirit while we await his return.

What are your thoughts on prayer?  Why is it such a powerful tool but yet so under-utilized in the Christian walk?

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."  Colossians 4:2

-Andy G.

Waiting...

Are you impatient?  Do you have trouble waiting on the Lord... for him to reveal what is next, to help that friend or family member, to restore a relationship, to restore a person mired in sin, or to restore you?  Consider this:

We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with you.  Indeed, everything is for your benefit, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving to increase to God’s glory. Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.   2 Corinthians 4:14-18

I am encouraged by reading the scriptures and learning that God's timing is not our timing, and seeing how many of the saints had to wait for years or even a lifetime for their prayers to be answered.  In the meantime, they continued to serve God wholeheartedly in life, in service to their community, and in their families, and in prayer.

The founder of Voice of the Martyrs, Richard Wurmbrand (1909-2001) apparently knew about waiting.  He spent over 14 years in prisons in communist Romania because of his faith and his ministry.  He endured horrible conditions and torture.  By his faith and waiting on the Lord, his ministries have reached millions of people and continue to this day.  Read about him here...  http://www.persecution.com/public/ourfounders.aspx?clickfrom=c2lkZWJhcg%3d%3d

Can you think of other examples of people who have waited on the Lord?  How is their story encouraging you to stay the course and to continue to serve as you wait?

Two contemporary Christian songs also lend encouragement:
(1) Everlasting God "...strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord..." (click link for youtube video)
(2) While I'm Waiting (click link for youtube video)

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Peace,

-atg-

Spontaneous

"...So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say. On the contrary, whatever is given to you in that hour—say it. For it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. ..." 
Matthew 13:11

Is spontaneous prayer, singing, or spoken word evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence and leading?  I think so...  Last night I attend a prayer and worship service where the Holy Spirit clarified something for me.  Have you ever heard a worship leader, singer, or person praying where they are obvously being led to sing spontaneously with words of wisdom, lyrics, scriptures or prophecies?  This spontaneous singing is difficult to rehearse and even more difficult to fake, especially when the spontaneous lyrics fit so well with the song rythym and chords and even more when those words or lyrics speak directly to hearts and minds of those hearing them.  I believe this sponteous singing is the result of a heart and mind which have submitted to the power and leading of the Holy Spirit.  There is no other way to describe it.

The result is a breakthrough in peoples lives.  Those in the room at time will experience a presence, a longing which has been fulfilled, a breakdown of barriers and perhaps a breakdown of strongholds.  I believe that in prayers of intercession, this spontaeous prayer will even impact those remote from the prayer meeting... regardless of where in the world they are.  When we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our life... when we get ourselves out the way, there is truly an affect which will make a difference.

Praise God for this wonderful, spontaneous word.  I encourage you to get connected to the Holy Spirit: spend time in prayer, in the Word, in songs and hymns.  Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to His leading.

Be blessed...

-atg-

Praying for your Neighbors

For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.  Galatians 5:14

 

How often do you pray for your neighbors?  How often do you wish you could have a positive influence on the world around you and make a difference in your community and in the lives of others?  Blend those two questions and thoughts together and it makes for a very simple proposition which can have everlasting effects: Pray for your neighbors.

 

It works like this:

1. Open your prayer time by acknowledging God, His greatness, and His wonderful powers;
2. Confess your sins, ask the Lord to reveal in your heart those areas in your life which need the light of the Word, His forgiveness, and redemption;
3. Thank God for those blessings which you've received.
4. Now, think about the neighbors which live on either side of you.  Lift up one and then the other neighbor to God by name, asking for His grace to cover them, for them to know Him, to have knowledge of His saving grace, for provision in their life.  If you know of specific struggles that they are dealing with, ask for our Heavenly Father to help them through it.
5. Repeat daily.

 

"...being watchful..."  Observe and pay attention to how the Lord changes your relationship with your neighbors... how does he answer your prayers... do you see His hand in their life?

 

Simple!

 

Grace and peace to you...

 

-atg-