Daily Read

Colossians 2:1-7 (NIV)

In the very beginning of the story of scripture we find a man and a woman who have been given the mandate to rule under the authority and wisdom of God as image bearers. But in a tragic twist, a deceiver comes and convinces them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, so that they would be like God. The results are shame, division, exile, and brokenness.

In today’s passage, Paul is continuing to tell about how that very story is being reversed and restored in Jesus. He’s longing for people to find the wisdom and the knowledge that they need to be restored to their original image bearing vocation and says that that wisdom and knowledge is found in King Jesus. This King who died and rose again, making a way for us to partake of a new fruit, on the Cavalry's tree, the fruit of the Spirit that makes us whole.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What word or phrase stood out to you in this passage?

2. Paul refers to Jesus as the mystery. This is because throughout time (but especially in the ancient world), to become king one does not pursue humility, laying down his life for people who would abuse him or abandon him. Have you struggled with the idea of Jesus as a suffering, humble king? Why or why not?

3. This passage comes with an encouragement to be rooted and built up, strengthened in faith, and overflowing with thankfulness. So, what can you do to deepen your roots, strengthen your faith, and be thankful today?

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Colossians 1:24-29 (NIV)

On this episode of Daily Read, Paul talks about his willingness to suffer on behalf of the body of Christ. He counts this as a joy and as a logical extension of what it means to be a part of Christ’s body in the world.

This passage challenges us to consider what’s possible when you move towards suffering and discomfort willingly, on behalf of a just cause.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What part of this passage is most challenging to you?

2. Is there something in your life, something that Jesus cares about, for which you are willing to suffer?

3. Paul says that he strenuously contends with all the energy Christ so powerfully works within him. He doesn't choose to do this in his own strength. Bring to mind that for which you are willing to suffer, and ask for Jesus' power to animate you to contend for it today.

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Colossians 1:15-23 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul is writing this letter to encourage the the Colossian church not to let go of the hope that they first heard. With hardship they encounter increasing pressure to compromise their allegiance to Jesus by placing their trust in an alternative view of the world, or a religious law that they think could secure them. So Paul begins by reminding them of who Jesus is right now.

This letter is fit for us today. As we face pressure as God’s people, it can be tempting to settle for what's comfortable over what's true, to compromise our commitment to Jesus for the quick fix of what today has to offer.

----------REFLECT----------

1 - What was on your mind as you listened to this passage? Bring that thing before the Lord and invite him to meet with you about it.

2 - There are creatures in the world that can see parts of the color spectrum that it is hard or impossible for the human eye to see. This picture of Jesus invites us to see with eyes that are more open to the hope that is around us. Ask the LORD to help you see… to give you eyes to behold Jesus.

3 - As you begin to behold Jesus, the image of the invisible God, what might you need to hand over to him today? Take some time to set somethings down before our faithful King.

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Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)

If you are listening to this episode on the day it was published, it is election day in America. If you are listening after the election, then you know how things have turned out, maybe. This day comes, or came (for those of you in the future) at an inflection point of social anxiety and stress in this country. There have been inflection points in the past, and there will be more in the future. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is one of them.

And it’s in moments like these when the words of Scripture can find the most leverage in our hearts and minds. And it’s passages like today’s, that remind us of who we are in Christ. They have reminded the church for generations of the unshakable reality that broke into the world when Jesus stepped out of the tomb--that we have been redeemed, rescued, and brought into the Kingdom of Light.

Whether you’re feeling frustrated, worried, tired, or all of the above; whether there is peace or unrest in the days or weeks following this episode, it is incumbent upon you and I as followers of Jesus to point the way towards God’s Kingdom.

In light of this significant moment, we’re going to shift towards an even more formal Lectio Devina and read the passage three times and allow some space to simply reflect. Thanks for listening.

----------REFLECT----------

1.  What word or phrase stood out to you as you listened?

2.  What does this passage mean for you? What does it mean for us?

3. Pray for yourself and followers of Jesus as a whole, that we embody and enact the truth of this passage.

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Colossians 1:1-8 (NIV)

My wife and I have what some people might call a garden here at our home in Alabama. We grow herbs and some struggling strawberries, tomatoes, and a few other things. Folks who don’t garden might be impressed, folks who do garden might scratch their heads and think that we might not know what we’re doing. They’d be mostly right. But then my wife did something.

----------REFLECT----------

1. As you heard Paul's words, was there a body of people or a person that came to mind? Take a moment to thank God for them.

2. Have you ever had the experience of helping someone grow in their faith? Who is the person who helped you grow in your faith? Take a moment and reflect on the good fruit that has come from that.

3. The Colossians grew to understand God’s grace from Epaphras. Perhaps the LORD would bring someone to mind who might grow to understand God’s grace because of you. If someone comes to mind, pray for them and consider a next step.

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Learn more about the situation that surrounds Paul letter to the Church at Colossae, it's outline, and it's how it might speak to us today. 

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Philippians 4:10-23 (NIV)

The circumstances of Paul's writing to the Church in Philippi will help us capture the depth of the final words of this letter. It’s subtle, but careful reading shows us that after a long while Epaphroditus shows up with gifts from Philippi while Paul is in prison. Imagine being locked away, alone, and then all of a sudden you hear your name being called by the guards and then you see your the face of a beloved friend come to care for you.

What do you say to friends like that, who see what they have as yours? Who come to your aid, who take every opportunity to show you care? And still even when this isn’t the case, Paul says that he’s able to endure any circumstance through Christ’s strength. This passage comes as an encouragement and a challenge in the year 2020.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What Part of this passage encouraged you most?

2. How does Paul’s gratitude towards the Philippians challenge you when you consider the ways that others have met your needs? And how might you, like the Philippians, meet the needs of a friend today?

3. To be content in every circumstance. There is so much in our lives that is working against contentment, drawing us to make our desires into necessity and our necessities into commodities. Where do you struggle to be content? Ask the Spirit to speak into that now.

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Philippians 4:1-9 (NIV)

The work of the LORD restoring us in his image looks like things being made right in our relationship with others, our relationship with the world, and our relationship with the LORD. Today's passage talks about peace, but Paul as a Jewish man had more in mind when he talked about peace than the tranquility or calmness that comes to our minds.

There is a concept called shalom, which means peace, but it also means wholeness, it means things are as they should be, it includes justice, it includes holiness. Today’s passage speaks of shalom in all three areas of life: relational life, vocational life (our life in the world), and our spiritual life.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What portion of this passage was most comforting to you?

2. Paul pleaded that these two women would be of the same mind in the LORD, that they would reconcile their difference in Christ. Where in your relational life do you need to ask God for restoration? With a family member, a classmate, a colleague, or a friend? Ask the Lord for what you need to take a first step towards that restoration.

3. Paul encourages the Philippians to bring their anxieties to the LORD in prayer in every situation. This can be hard because there are so many situations these days. But what if we had a go-to one-line prayer? Maybe you could craft one now. It could be something like. LORD help me with _____________(Name the situation), we need your ________ (name a character trait of the LORD as an expression of faith). So Lord please help me make this decision, we need your wisdom. Amen. Try that now and see if you can’t come up with a simple format that you can use consistently.

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Philippians 3:10-21 (NIV)

Just before today’s passage, Paul declared that all the righteousness that he could claim from his life before Christ is to be counted as loss for the sake of knowing Christ. And it's in today's passage that he describes what the knowing Christ looks like. And to most of us, it's shocking, because it’s not all rainbows and unicorns, (if you’re into that sort of thing.)

Rather it’s about resurrection, and when it comes to following Jesus, resurrection is preceded by the cross. As the Philippians face the execution of their friend and their own potential persecution, Paul urges them to press on towards the resurrection. Which is not some kind of escape from the world, but is indeed the hope of new and real life on the other side of whatever this life might have in store for us. This view of things changes everything.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What about this passage stirs up hope in you?

2. The hope of resurrection allows Paul to face suffering of all kinds because he knows that even the worst that the world can do to him is not final. So, though he faces potential execution, he presses on towards that hope. How does the hope of a real embodied life after death reshape the way you might face pain in the present age?

3. With tears in his eyes he writes of those who are enemies of the cross of Christ, of those whose god is their stomach. In contrast he says that Christ has taken hold of him. What areas of your life are you ruled by your stomach, your own appetites and desires? And what would need to change for  Christ to take hold of you?

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Philippians 3:1-9 (NIV)

What comes to mind when you hear the words “the flesh” in Scripture, often we think of  lust, gluttony, drunkenness. . . But in this case Paul uses the term to refer to ethnic boundary markers. The Israelites were set apart in the early days through male circumcision, and even after Gentiles were grafted into the family of God by the work of Jesus, some Jews were still obsessing over this “mark” as the way to indicate  who was in and who was out, who was righteous and who was not. Paul says they’ve got it wrong.

You see, God made a covenant with Israel, that he would be faithful to bless them and through them the world as he restores creation to its intended order. Being righteous was about being included in that promise. So in today’s passage Paul launches into his resume or righteousness, of doing all the things necessary to be included in that promise, but says that it was all loss in comparison to simply knowing Christ.

----------REFLECT----------

1. What stood out to you in this passage?

2. Paul listed the many things he had to boast in--his ethnicity and genealogy, his zealous defense of truth, his passion for keeping the rules… What in your life tempts you to be self-righteous? Is it your ethnicity or family background? Your zeal for making your point and challenging people you see as wrong? Or being on the right side of whatever set of rules you ascribe to? What would it mean to value knowing Christ above these things?

3. Paul here tells the Philippian church to watch out for the dogs, the evildoers, the “mutilators of the flesh.” He’s talking about the Jewish Christians who were convinced that those who followed Jesus still had to follow Torah--so much so that they insisted on grown men be circumcised after conversion! Are there things beyond following Jesus that your church or tradition has insisted on in order for people to belong? Have you been a part of that in some way? Take a minute to either repent for your participation or forgive those who wronged you.

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