Author: Danny Panter

Re:Verse passage –Colossians 3:18-4:1 (day six)

We struggle with these verses because we see them through an old-world lens of power and place, or weak and strong. That’s not what Paul had in mind when writing them.

Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be great must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” (Matthew 20:26)

Jesus would upend social norms, much like he turned tables in the temple. The temple wasn’t made to be a marketplace, nor relationships a power struggle, everyone vying for the next wrung up the ladder.

Jesus exchanges power with purpose (0r calling), and struggle with service. That’s what redeemed marriages look like. Both husband and wife fulfilling a divine calling, both sacrificially loving the other, outdoing each other with honor (Romans 12:10).

Perhaps, that’s what oneness looks like. Perhaps, that’s what great marriages look like.

The world needs more of those.

Forgiveness and peace are best friends. Peace happens because forgiveness happens. That’s true of our relationship with God. Without forgiveness, we would never be at peace with God. Peace doesn’t mean placid. What Paul means by peace is the condition  where relationships can be restored without interference, nothing getting in the way, like past or even present sin.

So, peace isn’t the absence of fighting, it’s the space to reconnect. It’s the freedom to know and be known.

So Paul says, “forgive each other as Jesus has forgiven you…And let the peace of God dwell in you richly!”

So, forgive each other and give peace a chance. Or said another way, don’t take the peace forgiveness provides for granted. Don’t stand still; move towards one another. Most of all move towards God.

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 3:1-9 (day six)  

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:3-4

We live this Christian life from a position of strength. We have the high ground; it is no uphill battle. And glory is certain. Comforting truths for Christians wrangling to put on the new self. Do you feel it?

Paul desires two rock solid truths to empower you to wage war against the flesh: your hiddenness and your future glory. By hidden Paul means secure; nothing is open for debate or uncertain. Being hidden in Jesus means you are strong. By glory Paul means that your inheritance is the fullness of Jesus’ righteousness.

Put those two together, and by the Spirit you can slay any dragon (sin and temptation). So remember, you may seem weak, but in Christ you are strong. You don’t have to be timid with sin, or meek, or passive. Listen, the enemy rejoices when we have convinced ourselves that we are the underdog.

So, stop . Jesus’ glory is yours, now fight like it!

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 2:16-23 (day six) 

…going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head… Colossians 2:18b-19a

God always intended to put His revelation down on paper. Something we could hold in our hands, read with our eyes, and come back to time and time again. The written Word is a thousand times more valuable than visions. I’m certainly not saying God doesn’t use visions, at least historically. What I am saying is God knew what He was doing when He put His Word in a book.

You can’t cross reference visions. You can’t know which one is from God, and which isn’t,… unless you check it with God’s written Word. This is why Paul warns against so called visions that originate from the minds of men, and he points us to Jesus, the Head (notice the play on words, mind and Head).

Be grateful for God’s gift of revelation in His written Word. It will never mislead or misdirect, and even when we get it wrong, it will always correct us.

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 2:8-15 (day six)

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Colossians 2:15

Paul now turns to empower the Colossians, quite literally. No longer are they push-over plebeians beholden to rulers and authorities of known or unknown realms. By faith, the power of Jesus has given them new freedom, new life, and a new identity. For the first time they are liberated to live full and restored lives, without shame or fear before God or humanity.

This matters. Sometimes we can live as if we are still enslaved to sin, cultural demands, even someone else’s condemnation or expectations. Paul would remind us those things have no hold on us, they have no authority over us; we are truly free in Jesus, fully belonging to a God who has redeemed us. Not only, but He also disarms and puts them to shame. 

If God is for us, who can stand against us? Romans 8:31

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 2:1-7 (day six)

We can forget this a letter. It’s not a treatise. It’s not a manifesto. It’s not a blog, or editorial. It’s a Holy Spirit-inspired letter, personal and historical, intended to be read by a small group of people in a small town in Asia Minor, and now us. When Paul writes, “being knitted together in love,” his letter was exhibit A. Even though he had never laid eyes on this small church, he had a deep abiding affection for them, in the same way a grandfather has for his grandchildren. It was with this connectedness and love that Paul writes to them, reminding them, encouraging them, challenging them, longing to protect them.

With this letter Paul models what we must do for one another, being knitted together in love. And what Paul did from afar (in a letter) he expects us to do face to face.

How knitted are you? Or maybe a better question, do you long to be knitted in the way Paul hopes for us?

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 1:24-29 (day six)

Paul expresses the mission of the church when he wrote, “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, the church.” Of course, we know there is no lack in the Cross (Jesus’ death) to forgive sinners, but there is lack in the spread of its message. Paul was fulfilling what Jesus had commissioned him to do from the beginning, to extend the message of Christ’s afflictions beyond Jerusalem into the rest of the world.

And yet, there is still more to be done.

Just like Paul, we have been commissioned to finish the task. We must extend the message of the Cross far and wide regardless of cost, until every tribe and tongue has had a chance to glory in the power of the Cross.

What part does FBCSA play in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions? What part do you play?

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 1:20-23 (day six)

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,…Colossians 1:21

The contrast is stunning and clear. Jesus is God of very God (v. 15-19), and we are hostiles with an appetite for evil deeds. Paul seems to have three objectives for this contrast. Portray the deep chasm left in the wake of our sin and rebellion, draw attention to our desperate need, and most significantly, illustrate that Jesus alone is capable of meeting that need and bridging the chasm.

Why go to anyone  else? He is the image of the invisible God who takes away the sins of the world, yours included, not to mention He alone can get you where you want to go.

Paul would remind us to stick with Jesus.

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 1:15-19 (day six)

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Colossians 1:19

“The radius of the observable universe is estimated to be about 46.5 billion light-years and its diameter about 28.5 gigaparsecs (93 billion light-years, 8.8×10²³ kilometers or 5.5×10²³ miles).”

I am not quite sure all that fullness means, but it surely encompasses the unimaginable. Consider for a moment the size of the observable universe. Even traveling at the speed of light for a 100 billion years you would never, ever reach the edges of the observable universe, ever, because it is always expanding. Not to mention all the matter between here and there, and the complexity of life on earth. Now, think on this. The mind and heart behind its creation dwells fully in Jesus. This puts a new perspective on “God with us.”

You want to know what else is impossible? You could never think too highly of Jesus. Ever. Our failure to fully comprehend God, much less a gigaparsec, is not a failure of God’s, but ours, our finiteness, compounded by our spiritual blindness.

The fight of faith is the daily battle to expand our understanding of the true nature of Jesus, to know the one whom he sent. (John 17:3) Paul was convinced this kind of personal knowledge would change everything. It did for him.

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 1:9-14 (day six)

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking… Colossians 1:9

Paul’s prayer is rich, but I don’t want to write about its content. What I find compelling is he tells the Colossians in detail how he is praying for them. I think Paul sets a good example for us. We often tell a friend or acquaintance, “I’m praying for you.” That’s a good thing to do, of course, if we actually pray for them, but we don’t often tell them how we are praying; we don’t tell them the content of our prayer. For Paul, and us, telling others how we pray serves a variety of purposes, but mostly it reminds the recipient of the truths and promises of God. When we vocalize our prayers, or tell our neighbor how we are praying, it moves past just providing information and becomes a spoken or written blessing. That is invaluable.

Try it sometime; I will. If you have committed to praying for someone, tell them how you have prayed. It will do both of you good.