Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
Grace be with you.
Summary: Once again Paul packs a lot into a few words. Understanding God’s grace requires that we understand the penalty for sin that hangs over our heads.
Paul’s parting words are simple: “Grace be with you.”
It sounds nice, but … what does it mean?
Continue reading “Colossians 4:18c – Last Words”
Remember my chains.
Summary: When Paul asks us to remember his chains, he has something very specific in mind. When we realize what it is, we discover the life-changing power of Jesus Christ.
As we come to the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he asks one last thing: “Remember my chains.”
Why?
Why does Paul want us to remember his chains?
Continue reading “Colossians 4:18b – When Paul Met Jesus”
I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
Summary: Handwriting is as unique as our fingerprints — even in Paul’s day.
Several years ago my mother died and with her died the most beautiful handwriting in town. I know this because the person who processed water service payments for the city told me. He should know — he saw everyone’s handwriting when they paid their water bills.
Continue reading “Colossians 4:18a – Authenticity”
Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Summary: Paul’s admonition for Archippus is an encouragement for all of us.
Who is Archippus?
In fact, we don’t know. What we do know is hardly worth mentioning.
Continue reading “Colossians 4:17 – Ministry”
After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
Summary: Considering the scope of Paul’s letters helps us understand why God chose some and not others to be included in the Bible.
Apparently, Paul wrote a lot of letters.
Do you ever wonder how many of them didn’t make it into the Bible?
Continue reading “Colossians 4:16 – Letters”
Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
Summary: The mention of Nympha and the “church in her house” opens the door to considering other women of renown who served the Lord in different ways.
As we find our way through the last few verses of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we have found several that are “greetings” from Paul and his associates to specific people. In this passage, we focus on the “brothers and sisters at Laodicea” and on a woman named Nympha who hosts a church in her home.
The mention of Nympha is a good reminder to focus on the role of women in the early church.
Continue reading “Colossians 4:15 – Nympha”
Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
Summary: Comparing the two names in this verse leads us to an interesting study of Paul’s companions.
Luke and Demas are an interesting pair. One we know well, the other is obscure.
Let’s begin with Luke.
Continue reading “Colossians 4:14 – Bookends”
I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Summary: This passage invites us to indulge in the heart of meditation: Imagining what is possible.
This passage is a bit of a puzzle.
Paul is vouching for Epaphras’s work. Unfortunately, all we know for certain is that he is “working hard” and that the work is “for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.”
Continue reading “Colossians 4:13 – Faith in Action”
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Summary: Epaphras’s prayer is a wonderful model of what to pray for ourselves and each other.
In this passage, we learn a bit more about Epaphras.* Paul says he is “one of you” which I take to mean he is originally from Colossae. Somewhere along the line, Epaphras must have met up with Paul because Paul explains that Epaphras brought the Gospel to Colossae “on our behalf.”
Continue reading “Colossians 4:12 – Epaphras’s Prayer”
Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.
Summary: Paul’s comment about being comforted by his Jewish companions leads us to consider “Why?”
No matter what you might think of Paul, the objective facts of his life tell a story. Paul is a man of deep passion. In the first half of his life as a Pharisee, Paul is so passionate about eradicating believers from the face of the earth that he chases them all over the Middle East.
How many Pharisees bothered to do that? Did any Sadducees mount expeditions to pursue early Christians?
Continue reading “Colossians 4:11 – Three Jews”