A year or so ago, we were in our living room at night watching TV, and we heard a loud crashing sound out front. I went to the front porch, opened the door, and saw a car had skidded off the road, right through our mailbox, across our front lawn, tearing up two tire-streaks ofContinue reading “What I learned about reconciliation from a guy who drove through my mailbox – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 4”
Tag Archives: god
Is it possible to be an enemy of God and not know it? – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 3
Are you an enemy of God? Are you and God strangers? Neither of those? How are you and God doing? How would your friends and family answer that question about you? About themselves and their relationship with God? Do people think of themselves as Paul put it in Colossians 1:21, that they are alienated fromContinue reading “Is it possible to be an enemy of God and not know it? – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 3”
When Christians shouldn’t be so confident they’re going to heaven – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 2
We Christians tend to be pretty confident we are going to heaven when we die. Should we be so assured? In the previous post, we saw in Colossians 1:10 that God wants to be reconciled with all people. Usually Christians think of themselves as already reconciled to God, and other people as the ones whoContinue reading “When Christians shouldn’t be so confident they’re going to heaven – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 2”
You can be in a close relationship with God – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 1
What is broken in your life? I hate to start off this week’s blog posts on such a dark note, but so many of us have broken relationships, broken situations, and they really concern us, taking loads of emotional energy, time and sometimes money. How do we heal what is broken? I think about ourContinue reading “You can be in a close relationship with God – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 1”
How God wants to fix our broken world – Colossians 1:15-20
All things are in need of reconciliation. True or False? Just for the sake of argument, assume that statement is true. Why do all things need reconciliation? Because things are broken. You reconcile when you have a broken relationship. Something happened. Relationships break apart in all sorts of ways, right? From small slights to massiveContinue reading “How God wants to fix our broken world – Colossians 1:15-20”
Jesus was God or was filled by God? (and other humans can be filled by God too?) – Colossians 1:15-20, Part 4
Through the ages, one hotly debated topic in theology is how much of God is in Jesus, and how much of Jesus is in God? Paul talks about this. As we continue studying Colossians 1:15-20, Paul shifts the focus to the church, using body imagery. Jesus is the head of the church. We are hisContinue reading “Jesus was God or was filled by God? (and other humans can be filled by God too?) – Colossians 1:15-20, Part 4”
Is Jesus creator or created? – Colossians 1:15-20
Paul says that Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. What does Paul mean? It is a bit of a strange statement. Firstborn over all creation? Turn to Colossians 1:15-20, which we have been studying in a five-part series this week, starting here. If the statement “firstborn over creation” isn’t already strange enough, based onContinue reading “Is Jesus creator or created? – Colossians 1:15-20”
What God requires of you to enter his Kingdom – Colossians 1:9-14, Part 5
I love traveling internationally, collecting immigration stamps from other countries in my passport. Maybe you’ve caught that bug too, or you dream about it. I know this is a distinctly first-world privilege, as so many around the world have little realistic opportunity for such travel. But permit me to describe it. For citizens of theContinue reading “What God requires of you to enter his Kingdom – Colossians 1:9-14, Part 5”
How to measure if God’s power is at work in your life – Colossians 1:9-14, Part 4
If you are a Christian, have you ever wondered if the Holy Spirit was working in your life? I wish I could pull out the church’s Holy Spirit power meter, strap it to your head, and measure how much of the Spirit’s power is at work in you. But I can’t. Such a thing doesn’tContinue reading “How to measure if God’s power is at work in your life – Colossians 1:9-14, Part 4”
Genuine Christianity – Colossians 1:9-14, Part 3
As I mentioned in this post, it was deeply discouraging to see rioters at the US Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021 holding Christian flags and banners that said “Jesus Saves.” I will admit that I don’t know for sure what each and every one of those people were attempting. It could be that someContinue reading “Genuine Christianity – Colossians 1:9-14, Part 3”
Engaging Scripture 