John the baptizer had gained a sizable following among the people of Israel. He was regarded by many to be a prophet, and indeed, to this day there is still a group known as the Mandeans, who revere John as the greatest prophet of God.1 His long-lasting legacy is a testament to the fact that […]

“Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” 1 For many Christians, prayer begins as a monologue, in which the believer talks to (or worse, at) God, and not much else. O what great a tragedy this is! While this first step is great (and certainly better than not praying at all), there is more to […]

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”1 What comes to our minds when we think of the character of God? Do we realize that He is joyful? As Dallas Willard puts it, God is “…the most joyous being in the universe.” 2  Jesus is joyful. He turns water into wine at […]

Overview of Verses 12-17  This is a continuation of the flow-of-thought from the previous passage (3:1-11). Paul is still teaching the Colossian church to live as their new selves. The previous passage focused primarily on the old ways of life Paul is calling the Colossian Christians to leave behind. Now, the apostle paints the church […]

 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”1 Worship is an appropriate response to seeing your recently-killed Rabbi standing before you, alive. But some of those eleven men on the hilltop doubted what they saw, and […]

The Transforming Power of Mercy  In C.S. Lewis’ novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,1 one of the characters, a boy named Edmund, betrays his siblings and is complicit with evil, having been manipulated by the book’s antagonist, a villainous character known as the White Witch. This treachery persists until a moment late in […]

I would contend that in our modern English, the word religion is not a helpful word and we should avoid using it. To take groups of people with such vastly different ways of thinking and living in the world and put them all into the one bucket of religion is not respectful to any of […]

We have come to our fifth and final movement in Paul’s letter to the Colossians (3:1-4:18). Up to this point, the letter has been dense and deeply theological. However, at the beginning of the third chapter, the apostle pivots and the remainder of the letter is very practical in nature. In these last two chapters, […]

Following Jesus When it’s Costly  Jesus revealed the radical dedication expected of his disciples when he declared, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”1 Jesus asks his followers to abandon their ambitions and follow him wherever he calls them to go. For those who seek […]

Overview of Verses 16-23 Paul’s tone in this passage is urgent; the apostle wants to make it abundantly clear to the Colossian church that the false teachers among them have no connection to Christ or his body. The Colossians do not have to listen to those who would try to tell them they must observe […]