Christ is Supreme

Proverbs 14, Luke 1, Philippians 4, Colossians 1

 

There is way too much good stuff in these passages to comment on in this blog (not to mention that I skipped over some great nuggets yesterday).

 

Here are a few of the extremely dense sections:

 

Philippians 4:4-9

4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.  6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

 

Colossians 1:15-29

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
      He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
  16 for through him God created everything
      in the heavenly realms and on earth.
   He made the things we can see
      and the things we can't see—
   such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
      Everything was created through him and for him.
 17 He existed before anything else,
      and he holds all creation together.
  18 Christ is also the head of the church,
      which is his body.
   He is the beginning,
      supreme over all who rise from the dead.
      So he is first in everything.
  19 For God in all his fullness
      was pleased to live in Christ,
 20 and through him God reconciled
      everything to himself.
   He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
      by means of Christ's blood on the cross.

 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.  23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God's servant to proclaim it. 

24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God's people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.  28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me.

 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me fix my thoughts on Christ and His gracious sacrifice.  May I be in perpetual gratitude for your merciful love, and may I live my life so that others will know the beauty of your grace, mercy, and love.  Soli Deo Gloria.  In the name of Christ Jesus.  Amen