Merciful God, bless the needs of this dear reader in a way that blesses and strengthen their faith; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Colossians 2:1-10: 1 I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn't make any difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in this alone. 2 I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. 3 All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! 4 I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." 5 I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I'm on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ. 6 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. 7 You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. 8 Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. 9 Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. 10 When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
Several years ago, Christianity Today reported that 85 percent of the members of Yale University's Campus Crusade for Christ chapter are Asian, whereas "the university's Buddhist meditation meetings are almost exclusively attended by whites." (Tennett, Timothy: Invitation to World Missons: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-first Century. Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids). And did you know that all ten of the most gospel-resistant people groups in the world are located in Western Europe, while all ten of the most gospel-receptive people groups in the world are located in either China or India. China, in fact, can now boast of the fastest growing church in the world with an estimated 16.500 new Christians every day. Paul's message continues to be timeless and as urgent now as it ever was. The Message version of the text above tells us plainly, Christ should be our motivation for living a life that helps save others. We still have Him who can bring us meaning and purpose. Are we sharing Him?
A popular culture magazine, Rolling Stone, has an article on a Yoga Cult that is drawing thousands to a practice of spiritual meaning that's centered around a person named Ilchi Lee. Your membership in this cult is very dependent on money. If you think tithing is bad, try a $13,000 entrance fee and another $100,000 fee for your "enlightenment." And think back to those who were in a sweat lodge not too long ago looking for meaning and purpose, also at high dollar cost, only to find that some died and some are now permanently damaged physically because of the conditions in that sweat lodge. We know God's Mystery to be God's love revealed in Jesus Christ. If we lived that life in an inviting way, others would want to know more and would want to give themselves to the love of God in Christ Jesus. We have found the fullness of life as shared with us by Jesus; enjoy it!
PRAYER: Loving God, embrace me today in a way that gives me the motivation I need to live Your life. Help me to share in ways You will show me, the meaning and purpose I have found in You so that others who are still seeking that will find in You what I have. Bless me and strengthen me. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
