Want to read John with me?

I'm going to read a chapter a day of the book of John in the Bible, which means that this will be a 21-day project. I think that chapter 1 is probably the longest in the book, so don't be too intimidated if this one takes a while! I'll blog a quick note each day based on what impacted me as I read, and I'd really like to hear your thoughts, too.

I noticed four references in the first chapter to the fact that Jesus wasn't what people expected. Verse 5 (the darkness has not understood it), verse 10 (the world did not recognize him), verse 31 ("I myself did not know him"), and verse 46 ("Nazareth! Can anything good come out of Nazareth?") Some things never change: we still often try to turn Jesus into something that He never intended to be.

I once heard someone say: "There's a God that we want, and there is a God who is. Often they are not the same God." It's so easy to ignore or explain away the things about God that make us uncomfortable or that we don't completely understand. My challenge to you & to myself is to not do that. As you read John, don't mentally erase the verses that you don't like. You might struggle with them, wrestle with them, or study them - but let's ultimately embrace them. Because they tell us about the God who is.

Salty words

A while back I memorized Colossians 4:6: "Let your speech always be filled with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person." When you put salt on something, it makes it taste better and it's easier to digest. In the same way, when we speak - even when we're correcting our kids or lovingly confronting a friend - we need to do our best to say it in a way that makes it easy to receive and digest. I've never known anyone who became a Christ-follower because they lost an argument to a Christian who harshly slam dunked them with Bible verses and platitudes. But when that same truth is presented lovingly and graciously, it can potentially set a person on a different course for eternity.

Silent, but thankful

As I read Colossians 3 today, I found something that I hadn't noticed before. Verse 17 says: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I usually think of deeds as something that I "do" and words as something that I "say" - two very different categories in my mind. But Paul uses "do" to describe both words and deeds. It caused me to ask myself: what have I 'done' to others lately with my words? And for that matter, what have I done with my silence? Because my words (& my silence) definitely impact people. I can get mad & completely stop talking and, even though I might pretend I don't know I'm doing anything in my own passive-aggressive way, the reality is that my silence is doing damage.

The end of the verse says that we should be using both our words and deeds to give thanks. I tend to think of thankfulness as a verbal act. But I can express gratitude even more profoundly with my actions. So today I'm going to focus on what I do with my words (& silence) and on being thankful with my actions. What are you learning from Colossians 3?

Cancelled debts and silly rules

Today I'm reading Colossians 2. Verse 14 is so powerful: "He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross." That's an awesome visual. Once the last payment was sent in for my truck, that debt was paid. I didn't keep sending in payments to the bank just to be nice or out of a sense of obligation or habit. The debt was paid in full! In the same way, Christ paid the debt we owe because of our sin and nailed it to the cross. I don't need to try to make any additional payments. And I think that it probably insults Him if I ever think that I could possibly pay him back - I can't!

And it's always been interesting to me that Paul associates the need for legalistic rules with "weak" people and rising above the rules as something that "strong" people do. As verse 23 says, we tend to like for people to see all of the rules we follow because they give us a "reputation of wisdom," but ultimately hey are "not of any value against fleshly indulgence." It's not about rules; it's about a relationship. Our primary focus isn't suppsoed to be our performance, but a person: Jesus.

Hope that wasn't too deep for a Wednesday! What is God saying to you as you read Colossians 2?

Want to read Colossians with me this week?

The book of Colossians is only 4 chapters, which amounts to 4 pages in my Bible. But there's a lot of good stuff in those 4 pages. I'm going to read slowly and digest 1 chapter a day for the rest of the week. Want to read it with me? I'll post my thoughts and I'd be interested in hearing yours.

I love Paul's prayer for the church in Colossae in verse 10: "that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of of God." I'm going to make that my prayer this week for each of the people connected with Friendship. Reading this chapter is almost like reading a list of song titles because I recognize so many lyrics to current songs that came from this passage. Which verse in Colossians 1 is most meaningful to you today?