A Post From Pastor Ben

What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. –A.W. Tozer.

Why should we look to the book of Colossians for insight when speaking about leveraging our life, even the seemingly mundane details, for God's glory. Colossians is one of the most Christ-centered books of the Bible. This is the case because the apostle Paul was writing specifically to the believers in the church of Colossae and Laodicea to inform them of the significance of remaining focused on the teachings of Jesus, the gospel, while there were competing philosophical and theological ideas that were circulating and gaining popularity in their community. From this we can see that the book of Colossians is relevant to us as believers right now in our world and in our community. Also, Laodicea was a small town with little economical significance to the Roman empire. However, at some point it began to become a hub of economic activity during the writing of this letter. Sounds similar to our area with the Fort Rucker community being part of Alabama culture, doesn’t it…ya’ll?

As a result of this, different philosophies and worldviews began to permeate the culture of their community.  The apostle Paul, being the responsible Christian leader that he was, found it necessary to address these issues (Col 2:8).

What I find really interesting and also very assuring about this book is that even the early Christian had struggles with their faith. Not necessarily struggles with, “is Jesus the Lord?”, but just getting distracted with the details of everyday life, while also being influenced by other voices in the world around them,  and consequently not necessarily holding fast and “remaining” in the teachings of Jesus.

This happens to us all the time, and it's something that we have to be aware of.

So, the book of Colossians served as an important reminder to those Christians, as well as serving as a reminder to us. Paul gives some very practical advice to the believers in chapter 3 in regards to all of the competing voices and distractions in their lives.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. -Colossians 3:16 ESV

In this passage he is encouraging the believers to allow, or be aware of, the teaching and character of Christ. To “let” Christ’s character influence our character. It almost sounds like he is describing a Sunday morning service at Crossroads. We come together, sing some songs with the worship band and celebrate our God and Savior, while also receiving teaching and admonishment  from the message. This is why attendance on Sunday morning is important for Christians. The next passage takes a different turn. It looks at worship as being even more practical, taking it into our neighborhoods, places of work, and our homes.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. –Colossians 3:17 ESV

This is of paramount importance because if we see this then we see God in our lives. Not in a Bible story, not in an article of a newspaper, or a story we read online, or in a chain e-mail from our cousin that we have to send to 10 other people or else.

No…we see God in OUR life.

How important is this? Can you put a value on how important this is? I don't think you can. Don't you want this for your spouse? How about for your children? This is one of the reasons why ministers for years have used the term “personal relationship” when speaking about accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. 

Jesus Christ is in you and with you.

To be continued…