Devotionals: Colossians Archives

Completing our Work

By Andrew YoungFebruary 11, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“…See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.” Colossians 4:17 Bible Reading: Colossians 4:17 The second to last verse in Paul’s letter to the Colossians contains another of those gems that I spoke of yesterday. It is a short instruction to a man called Archippus, “See to it that you complete the work that you have received in the Lord” (Colossians 4:17). “Completing the work” appears in other translations as “fulfilling the ministry.” The idea is the same, however. By some means or other it had been made plain to Archippus and to the […]

Working Hard

By Andrew YoungFebruary 10, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“I vouch for him that he is working hard for you…” Colossians 4:13 Bible Reading: Colossians 4:10-15 Tucked away in the midst of final greetings to the church in Colossae is one of the gems of Paul’s letters – a commendation of Epaphras, one of their “own,” and a “servant of Christ” (Colossians 4:12). Epaphras had travelled to Rome to visit Paul and pass on concerns regarding false teaching threatening the church in his home town. While there, he had not been slack. Paul describes him as “always wrestling in prayer for you” (v. 12), and as “working hard for […]

Encouraging the Heart

By Andrew YoungFebruary 9, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“I am sending him to you… that he may encourage your hearts.” Colossians 4:8 Bible Reading: Colossians 4:7-9 Over the past several weeks I have been studying a book which begins with the words, “We live from the heart.” They are surely true, words that echo those of Solomon who said that we should “guard” our hearts because they are “the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). In the passage noted above, Paul (as we saw recently in Ephesians) is sending his “fellow servant in the Lord,” Tychicus, to Colossae to deliver the converted runaway slave Onesimus to his master. While […]

Wisdom Toward Outsiders

By Andrew YoungFebruary 8, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders…” Colossians 4:5 Bible Reading: Colossians 4:5-6 The last of Paul’s instructions to the Colossian Christians relates to the way they are to act toward “outsiders” – that is, toward those who do not share the faith. In a word, they are to be “wise” in all their dealings with them (Colossians 4:5). They are to “make the most of every opportunity,” and to have their conversation (speech) “full of grace, seasoned with salt” (v. 6). Over the past few days, as I have met and mingled with fellow Christians in the […]

Open Doors

By Andrew YoungFebruary 7, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“…that God may open a door for our message…” Colossians 4:3 Bible Reading: Colossians 4:2-4 Paul was never slow to ask others to pray for him and for the ministry Christ had given him. He viewed the prayers of others as a genuine participation in his work, and was quick to credit the spread of the gospel to the help received through them (2 Corinthians 1;11, Philippians 1:19). It is important to study what the apostle asked others to pray for on his behalf. When he writes to the Colossians, he asks them to pray for two things: for the […]

Devoted to Prayer

By Andrew YoungFebruary 6, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2 Bible Reading: Colossians 4:2-4 In almost all of his letters, Paul makes some mention of the need to pray. In Colossians, he urges his readers to “devote themselves to prayer,” encouraging them to be “watchful and thankful” as they do so (Colossians 4:2). It is easy for us to read this and think of prayer in terms of a religious duty. Prayer is a religious activity, and here, Paul is saying we need to “devote” ourselves to fulfilling it. In other words, it is a duty to be performed. While […]

Working for Jesus

By Andrew YoungFebruary 5, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:24 Bible Reading: Colossians 3:18-25 Just as he did in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul details for the Colossians how life in Christ is to work itself out in relationships within households. We will not dwell on all that he has to say, except to consider his instructions to slaves. For here, Paul offers insights applicable to us all. After having urged slaves to offer sincere service to their earthly masters, not mere “eye-service,” (Colossians 3:22) he adds, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working […]

The Word of Christ Within

By Andrew YoungFebruary 4, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” Colossians 3:16 Bible Reading: Colossians 3:15-17 Yesterday was a day of meetings interspersed with longish stretches of driving. It was a day in which I experienced afresh the value of Paul’s admonition in the verse before us. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” he writes, “as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). While I wasn’t exactly “teaching and admonishing” the friends I met with, our conversations were […]

All for Jesus

By Andrew YoungFebruary 3, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“…do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” Colossians 3:17 Bible Reading: Colossians 3:15-17 Late yesterday afternoon, I arrived at my destination in the town of Edendale in the deep south of the South Island. After the busyness of the past few days, I have woken eager to re-connect with old friends at the nearby Wyndham Golf Club this afternoon when I hope to join them in their regular Saturday afternoon competition. But as I anticipate this, I find myself confronted with a challenging verse in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. “And whatever you do,” he writes, “whether […]

The Peace of Christ

By Andrew YoungFebruary 1, 2018Devotionals: Colossians

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” Colossians 3:15 Bible Reading: Colossians 3:15-17 I am writing this morning from the home of friends in Christchurch, on my way to the lower part of the South Island where I will spend the next month relieving a pastor and his young family so they can take a much needed break. As I have risen to meet the new day, my thoughts have been captivated by the words of Paul in Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart.” It is the distinctive character of the peace Paul […]