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Psalm 107:1 – Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Summary: Happy Thanksgiving!

As we enjoy this Thanksgiving holiday, it is good to take a moment and consider, not only what we have to be thankful for, but who we need to be thankful to. It is all well and good to feel that “I’ve got mine,” but true thankfulness requires that we thank someone.

Pity the poor atheists at Thanksgiving. They might be thankful for life, but they have no one to be grateful to for such a great gift.

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Colossians 2:2-3 – The Big Picture

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Summary: Paul’s mind contains a myriad of concepts, large and small. As we make our way through his letter to us, it sometimes helps to stand back and admire the scenery.

For regular readers of this blog, it probably comes as a shock to see that we’ve included two whole verses in today’s meditation. Don’t worry — we will do some “slicing and dicing” on the significant parts of this passage in the days to come. For now, I thought it would be a good thing to look over the structure of Paul’s whole sentence.

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Colossians 2:1 – Giving His All

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.

Summary: Paul’s use of the word “contend” challenges us to think hard about what he means.

Every once in a while, Paul uses a word that is so difficult to translate that nobody seems to agree on what he is saying.

In this case, the NIV translation uses the word “contending” to translate the Greek “agōn.” Other translations use words like:

•   Struggle (ESV)*
•   Conflict (BRG)
•   Combat (Darby)
•   “trying very hard” (ERV)
•   “doing a difficult work” (EASY)
•   Agonized (NLT)
•   Strive (RSV)

So what was Paul trying to say?

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Colossians 1:29 – The Power of Jesus

To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

Summary: Translating ancient languages to modern ones is a tricky business. Taking time to ponder the meanings of the original text opens up new vistas of meaning that bring light to our world.

Suppose all of us reading this passage were to gather in a large room and play a game of charades. It is your turn, and you have to act out the word “energy” as it appears in this sentence. What do you do?

Perhaps you would act out the healing of a lame man as described in Acts 13:8-10. Another example of the “energy” Paul is referring to would be the time Eutychus fell from a third-story window and was found dead on the ground. Paul ran down to him, threw himself on the body, and felt the life come back into the young boy.

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