“May everything good from God our Father be yours!”

(Colossians 1:2)

Before You Begin

“May everything good from God our Father be yours!”

(Colossians 1:2)

Take just a few moments to still your heart and mind. Remember, God desires to speak to you in these moments.

God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

Psalm 103:8

READ

Colossians 1:1-8

I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God’s master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours!

Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.

The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you’ve been hungry for more. It’s as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He’s the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit.

THINK

“I took all this in and thought it through, inside and out.” (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

• Paul refers to the believers in Colosse as “stalwart,” which means “strongly and stoutly built; sturdy and robust.”1 When you think about a sturdy or robust believer, who comes to mind? What is it about him or her that says “stalwart”?

• Think about the group of believers you run with. If Paul greeted your group, would he use words like “strongly and stoutly built; sturdy and robust”? If so, why? If not, what

words might he use?

Consider Paul’s statement, “The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.” Think about your own line of