Colossians 3
Rebecca Lightfoot
The people In Colosse were new,enthusiastic followers of Christ.They had heard from firsthand witnesses about Jesus,His Life;His Sufferings;His Death;His Resurrection;& His Ascension!Many of the Colossians became new believers!But the challenge facing them was that of becoming followers of Jesus Christ...Jesus becoming Lord of lords in their lives.Satan himself is a believer!Satan was an eyewitness to absolutely everything about Christ,& he even waged a battle(s) with Christ to prevent the life of Christ from fulfilling every prophecy spoken in the Old Testament that when fulfilled by Christ conquered the power of sin & death for those who trust in Christ.Satan waged battle(s) with Jesus and lost!SO! Satan is definitely a believer!BUT,Satan is NOT a follower of Jesus Christ!Satan is tuned to/focused on nothing but his own egotistical/arrogant/prideful/evil/selfish desires...these are what Satan is laser focused on/tuned in to with his existence!In writing to the people in Colosse,Paul appreciates “where” the people are in their “faith”.They are at the intersection of BELIEF,and LIFE DECISION!This an intersection we all have in our lives!That intersection that determines whether or not we are going to heed the MESSAGE of what we believe or not!Whether or not we are going to choose to have our hearts/minds/lives changed by what we believe or not!There are 3 basic ways we make our choice..#1-we can do what Satan does...we can rebel from the truths about Christ and what He alone offers us for Eternity!In essence WE decide to be “lord of our OWN life”!#2-We can make our choice “passively” by not really doing anything about what we believe..,but only “believing” the awesomeness of Jesus and what He offers us through His Mercy&Grace...& never truly seeking to follow Christ as Lord.This is exactly like being given the most valuable present ever, & never opening it/never letting it bless us with the awesome GIFT inside!In essence this choice is very likely to “passively” turn our lives over to “lords” that are not interested in what is BEST for us in the long run!#3-We decide that what we believe about Jesus is so significant that HE must be made Lord of our heart/mind/life...that HE alone can be TRUSTED with our life-& we become sincere SEEKER-FOLLOWERS of Christ...we make Jesus Christ,Lord of our life.We APPRECIATE the fact that the only lord that is ABLE&WILLING to give us BLESSINGS that include ETERNAL SECURITY is The Lord Jesus Christ!All others are totally incapable & UNtrustworthy!This is why Colossians3:1-3says,”....set your hearts on things above,where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above,not earthly things.For you died,& your life is now hidden(protected/provided)with Christ in God”.We make Jesus Lord only when die to ourselves being lord,and we set/focus our minds/hearts/lives on Jesus being Lord by sincerely seeking and following Jesus Christ as Colossians3:15-17 encourages us,”Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts....Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as your teach & admonish(advise/guide/warn/help)one another w all wisdom...whether in word or deed,do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,giving all thanks to God the Father through Him”.Dear Lord Jesus,a lot of my time is spent in “passive mode”,unknowingly veering my heart/mind/life away from the only RIGHT FOCUS for my heart/mind/life.Please help me to be increasingly aware of the “passive mode” in my heart/mind/life...& bring close those around me that have You as Lord in their heart/mind/life so they can encourage me away from the “passive mode” and back to You being Lord of my heart/mind/life.