… to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation …
Summary: Understanding what believing in Jesus means for us after death is life-changing.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:22b – His Plan Was Jesus”Colossians 1:22a – A Change of Heart
But now he has reconciled you [to God] by Christ’s physical body through death …
Summary: The means of reconciliation is not an intellectual exercise. Rather, it is an act of love so profound that it blinds us to anything else.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:22a – A Change of Heart”Colossians 1:21 – How the Battle Goes
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
Summary: The construction of Paul’s sentence provides us with some interesting insights into our relationship with God.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:21 – How the Battle Goes”Colossians 1:20b – Part IV: The Cross
… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Summary: We conclude our meditation on this passage with a look at the cross. More than a blood sacrifice, balancing the scales of justice required pain and humiliation as well.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:20b – Part IV: The Cross”Colossians 1:20b – Part III: A New Covenant
… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Summary: The importance of blood is well understood. Without it, we cannot live.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:20b – Part III: A New Covenant”Colossians 1:20b – Part II: Puppy Love
… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Summary: God’s love for us is, in many ways, beyond human understanding. To gain an insight into God’s love for us, we can look at our own love for small, cuddly animals.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:20b – Part II: Puppy Love”Colossians 1:20b – Part I: War and Peace
… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Summary: The art of learning often has to do with asking questions. Taking that art to the next level leads us to the questions behind the questions.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:20b – Part I: War and Peace”Colossians 1:19 – Moving Day
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Jesus] …
Summary: Imagining the fullness of God is a challenge. One way to picture this is to think about where we live.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:19 – Moving Day”Colossians 1:18c – A Picture of Life
… so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Summary: Paul finishes this verse with a statement that Jesus has supremacy in all things. What this means includes a picture of life and a portrait of death.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:18c – A Picture of Life”Colossians 1:18b – Dead Right
… he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead …
Summary: To fully understand the gift Jesus offers us, we must acknowledge death. The reality of death without Christ is terrifying. The blessing of Jesus is being filled with life and freed from death.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:18b – Dead Right”