You’ve probably heard someone say that an athlete who exceeded expectations took his game to “a whole ’nother level.”
Starting this Sunday, let’s commit to do that with how we understand and practice our faith.
God willing, across the next few months we’ll work verse by verse through Paul’s letter to the Colossians. It’s a little book—just four short chapters. But in his quick note, the Apostle Paul takes us to…
…a whole ’nother level of just how glorious Christ is,
… a whole ’nother level of how united our lives are with that glorious Christ, and
… a whole ’nother level of how we ought to live since we’re in union with that glorious Christ!
We begin this Sunday with Colossians 1:1-14. Here Paul demonstrates for us how to pray for those we love.
In his book on prayer, Richard Foster wrote:
“People desperately need the ministry of prayer. Marriages are being shattered. Children are being destroyed. People are living in dark depression and misery. And we can make a difference if we will learn to pray. If we genuinely love people, we will desire for them far more than is within our power to give them, and that will lead us to prayer.”
So, what should we pray when we pray for others? In Colossians 1:10, Paul wrote, “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord, pleasing him in every way.”
But what does a life worthy of the Lord look like? Paul describes a life worthy of Jesus in four parallel phrases. It is a life that is fruitful in good works, intimate with God, resilient in hard times and, exultant in salvation.
Fruitful. Intimate. Resilient. Exultant. Do those you love burn with that kind of fire?Do you?
Let’s take our faith to the next level this summer. See you Sunday at 10am!
--Tom
P.S., in my June 9 devotional newsletter, "Seal of Approval," I told y'all about a handheld embosser I once had that was lost on one of my moves. Well, guess what I got in the mail today! Steve and Marissa Ladd sent me a new handheld embosser. Thank you so much!
My next devotional will be about a fly rod I lost in a move...
Sign up here to receive Tom Goodman’s weekly devotional in your email inbox. Tom serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter.