Tag: Grace

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Philippians 1:7b – The Last Place

Picture of a prison door, with a sign in front that reads, "The Last Place" (Grok)

… whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.

Summary: Paul, writing from prison, talks about sharing in the grace of God. This leads us to wonder about what “grace” is and what it means. 

Have you ever noticed that whatever you are looking for, you always find it in the last place you look? It’s funny because it is true! It is also “funny” (odd) because sometimes the last place we look is the last place we would ever think to look. 

For example, whoever thought the world would be saved by someone crucified by the Romans two thousand years ago? 

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Philippians 1:2 – Grace and Peace

A gray momma cat and her kitten. (Pixabay)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Summary: Paul’s introduction affirms that God’s grace extends to all who believe. In the same sentence, he describes the result of God’s grace; God’s peace. 

When Paul offers us “grace and peace” from God, it helps if we understand how he is using those words. The grace and peace he is talking about are not just pleasantries. They are real things. 

Let’s begin with “grace.” 

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Colossians 4:6a – Lessons in Grace

Let your conversation be always full of grace …

Summary: Paul admonishes us to fill our conversations with outsiders with grace. While that sounds simple, understanding what grace means requires some reflection on our Lord Jesus. 

This verse is important because it is the last verse of instruction in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Everything after this involves personal business. So, let’s savor what this last sentence has to offer. 

The larger context of this passage is how we act towards “others.” My understanding of “others” in this context is people “other than” the believers who are already part of the church body. When Paul says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace …” he is talking about conversations with those who might need more grace. 

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Colossians 3:9b – Choosing Jesus

Picture of a man in bed thinking about the cross...
  • … since you have taken off your old self with its practices …

Summary: Understanding Paul’s words sometimes forces us to try and see things from God’s perspective. 

Being the person I am, the brain God gave me tends to dwell on the details. Maybe “obsess” would be a better word. In this passage, Paul writes that we have “taken off [our] old self.” This isn’t the first time he has referred to this. 

Just a few verses ago, he wrote, “Since you died with Christ …” (Col 2:20), which he followed up with “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ …” (Col 3:1). 

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