Tuesday, February 22, 2011
END TIMES READING PLAN: Psalm 58, 67
SCRIPTURE READING
Colossians 1:28-29 (ESV); Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Jesus has commissioned us to make disciples. Our relationships are not meant to be dry and surfacey, rather we are asked to point people to the King. HIM we proclaim in conversation! Paul was a true missionary, bold and compassionate. He gave consistent encouragement and admonishment and reproach, striving to spur the church on in love and righteousness. He had genuine love for the churches, and truly desired to see the gospel of Christ spread throughout the empire. It was not enough for Paul that people just make a confession of faith; he desired to see them grow in maturity. As he wrote to the Ephesian church, he didn’t want to see them as infants, being tossed back and forth by every new form of teaching. He wanted them to grow up under the leadership of Christ, speaking the truth in love.
Paul poured himself into building up the church. Though we are not all called to a missionary profession, we are all ministers of the gospel and are commissioned to make disciples. We must toil and allow the energy of God to infiltrate us that we might act with His zeal and passion when interacting with others. Then we, too, will build up the church and see ourselves and our relationships moving towards a place of maturity.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1) Ask God to reveal some of your immaturities. Confess them. What does the Holy Spirit want to say to warn and teach you today, so that you may grow in maturity?
2) Do you toil and struggle to see the people around you grow in their faith, by pointing them to Jesus when you are together? Ask God to show you specific and practical ways that you can lead people nearer to Him today in every conversation. Think about the specific people you will see.
3) Spend some time quietly before the Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to fill you and to anoint you with the energy – the passion and zeal – of God.
