ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
Jesus is Supreme. Read the passage below and reflect on the Supremacy of Jesus. Reflect on who He is and what he has done.
Colossians 1:15-20
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.
- Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
- Pray for Youth Horizons. Ask God to minister to the boys at the ranch through the holiday season.
- Ask God to speak to you as you read the scriptures.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Colossians 3 English Standard Version
Put On the New Self
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Three points that are important to consider from this passage are:
1. We are already risen with Christ…we are not yet perfected in him.
2. We must proactively set our hearts and minds where they ought to be.
3. What is already true of us now is “hidden” to a degree.
Let’s consider each of those now.
1. We are already risen with Christ, yet not fully perfected in him.
The importance of understanding the “already/not yet” nature of our salvation is hard to overstate. It is the lens by which the Bible and life itself make sense. Much confusion follows an imbalance in this important tension. If we do not understand that we are “already” risen with Christ we are likely to live in perpetual defeat and disappointment. On the other hand if we do not understand that we are not yet perfected in Christ then we will live in continual confusion regarding our ongoing struggle with sin.
2. Since we are already risen with Christ we CAN be proactive in setting our thoughts and affections where they ought to be. Since we are not yet perfected in Christ this will require ongoing attention, effort and help from others.
3. Since we are already risen with Christ, we have also died to sin. Paul writes that our lives are now hidden with Christ. Our full lives in Christ are not yet fully revealed. What we are now, what we will be then…is hard to see.
Are you disappointed with your lack of Christlike character and consistency? I am.
Are you longing for the day when you will be fully like him? I am.
Meanwhile, in the disappointment with what is and the longing for what will be…we must do the good and important work of setting our minds and hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.