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6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:6-15 NIV)
A grand and glorious Tuesday to you and yours, dear Friend! As I have been preparing for Sunday, I now know there is a second answer to Why do we pray? We pray because God answers prayer. The realization I just had is that we pray because God called on us first. So, we think we can call on God, but if we are in Christ, God has called on us first thing this morning. Your first glimpse of the day was God saying Good Morning! If we grunted with a "DO I HAVE TO?" then that was our first prayer of the day. Wouldn't a greater prayer be THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS NEW DAY! That's a great foundational prayer.
Have you ever had to be reminded by someone in authority of who you are and how you should know better? Me? Several times by my Dad usually. And in later years not as much, but once in my junior college days did get called to the Dean's office for pranks being played in the dorm. This is the Apostle Paul reminding the people of Colossae through his letter with his admonishments for them, and how they should know better. The church there in Colossae had been infiltrated by false teaches and prophets with teachings and instructions that were not of Christ Jesus. The passage for today is Paul's summary of his faith, a sermon as it were, of where he stood in understanding his walk with Jesus. Paul came to understand that a life lived in Jesus is the best way to live. A daily walk with Jesus begins best with a deliberate prayer life that says, and believes, we have received Jesus as Lord, we have then begun to take each step in Him. We're talking possessing an attitude and perspective that affirms we belong to Christ and in Him we have our being. And a huge part of that being is our being thankful to God. That alone should be enough to keep us soaring above what the world offers; Paul says to rise above "human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world. For in Christ Jesus we have the power of God to lift us. After all, Christ came so that you and I could have life and that in abudance. (John 10:10). Christ is the head over all things, meaning He has the power and authority; and because of HIs power and sacrifice, we have been led out of sin and death and into the fullness of life. The physical symbol of the ancient covenant which was circumcision, Paul says is ours spiritually because of Jesus. Our baptism allowed for our dying and burial to self, and raised a new creation in our faith. Our sins are gone, and new life is ours. All thanks to the cross.
"My chains (sins) are gone; I've been set free; My God, my Savior has ransomed me, And like a flood His mercy reigns, Unending love, Amazing Grace." These came to mind as I wrote the above lines, thanks to Chris Tomlin, which he wrote to be inserted into the original awesome hymn of "Amazing Grace."
To hear/see the video "Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone" by Chris Tomlin click here
Dear friend, this is your song and your battle cry; warriors who know only victory march ever onward to the next battle confident in the King who leads us faithfully to final victory. I pray that whatever battle you may be facing, you will see victory soon.
PRAYER: Awesome Father, bless us as we march onward behind You. Thank You for the reminder from Your servant Paul of who we are, and what is ours. I pray for those who have not yet claimed this, to do so now and be amazingly blessed. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Sing a song of victory today!
Blessings of love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
