Questions

 I read the words at the top of the page:  

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you,”

 I was hooked. 

I couldn’t believe the exact words I was feeling were written out in black and white so many years before me.  

I was curious about the next few chapters, so I kept reading.

I was working through my struggle with Jinja Road, another one came at me. More questions.

How in world do we create any sort of real, lasting change for the gospel? 

 

How do we know people aren’t just saying they believe because they think 

we will give them money, food, or build them a house? 

 

How do we know people are not just taking what we say and 

adding it to the mix of all their other beliefs.

 

How does the truth of God and change get through here? 

The words at the beginning of this post are from Paul. He was writing to the Christians in Colossae. There was a lot of false teaching in their churches and society. Paul wrote this letter to encourage the Christians to remain true and stand together against the heresy. He wanted them to be unified in the truth and deepness of Christ. His desire was for the people to be rooted in their faith and not to be so wishy-washy. They were easily swayed by other philosophies and lies based on human tradition – based on culture. Paul points out the heresies that were being taught and then writes out the truth. It sounds just like today!

It was really encouraging to see Paul writing out these struggles and addressing them.  

Here are a few of my take-a-ways from chapter 4:

1.     Devote yourself to prayer and thankfulness:

Pray for the people of the church

Pray for local leadership

Pray for opportunities to share the gospel

2.     Watch your speech.

3.     Encourage others (and yourself) to be rooted in the Word.

4.     Your friendships are important – be wise in who you have for friends. 

5.     We are to “pay attention to the ministry we have received from the Lord, so we can accomplish it.” Chapter 4, verse 17. 

How do any of those 5 things help with my questions above?  Well, I need to pay attention to this ministry God gave us here. I devote myself to prayer and be rooted in the Word. I watch my speech and find deep friendships. We teach and live by the Bible and let God do the rest. 

There is a whole lot more to say about Colossians, but I'll let it rest here. Sorry to be so short and lacking in details. There is a lot to say. Too much to put here. Feel free search out more for yourself in Colossians.