{"id":1655,"date":"2013-05-28T13:09:14","date_gmt":"2013-05-28T13:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=1655"},"modified":"2013-05-28T13:09:14","modified_gmt":"2013-05-28T13:09:14","slug":"lessons-from-colossians-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=1655","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from Colossians \u2013 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

During my daily Bible reading yesterday, I read through the book of Colossians. I use some of the content on occasion, but it had been a while since I read through this short letter from the Apostle Paul to the church at Colossae.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>There were a few points that caught my attention, so I will be sharing these with you over the next few days. If you haven\u2019t taken the time to read through this short letter, it\u2019s a great opportunity to do so. It won\u2019t take long\u2026it\u2019s only four chapters. But it certainly is packed with some great information.<\/p>\n

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Paul begins his letter the usual way. He introduces himself and tells his readers to whom this letter was written. He thanks God for this group of believers as he does in several other letters.<\/p>\n

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He then encourages the church at Colossae with this verse. \u201cAll over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God\u2019s grace in all its truth.\u201d<\/em> (Colossians 1:6 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n

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Not only was it an encouragement to this group of believers, but to me as well. Sometimes I get caught up in my \u201clittle world,\u201d and I miss the big picture. These few words allow me to see that God\u2019s church and His believers are bigger than I could ever imagine. And it\u2019s not finished yet.<\/p>\n

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The Gospel is growing and it\u2019s bearing fruit all over the world. My spiritual eyes had been closed to what God was doing around our globe, but in recent months, I\u2019ve come to know fellow Christians in other parts of the world and know for sure that the Gospel is growing and it\u2019s bearing fruit.<\/p>\n

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Paul then transitions into what he had been praying for the Colossian Christians in Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV). Let\u2019s break this section down to see if we might find some encouragement here as well.<\/p>\n

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From the moment Paul heard of this group, he started praying. He didn\u2019t know them, but he knew praying for them was important.<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that God would fill them with the knowledge of his will through spiritual wisdom and understanding (v. 9).<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that their lives would be worthy of the Lord and that God would be pleased (v. 10).<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that they would bear fruit in their good work (v. 10).<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that they would grow in their knowledge of God (v. 10).<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that they would be strengthened with power (v. 11).<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that they would find endurance and patience (v. 11).<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that they would joyfully give thanks to the Father for what He had done (v. 12).<\/p>\n

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Paul prayed that they praise God for:<\/p>\n