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20Nov/090

Christ in Colossians – Part 4 – Jesus is Creator and Sustainer

Christ in Colossians - Creator and Sustainer

Paul also displays Jesus as creator in Colossians. He states that “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities” (Col. 1:16). Paul wants to hammer home the point that everything was created by Jesus.  In fact, he goes on to restate his point. He says that Jesus was the agent and purpose of creation as “all things were created through him and for him” (Col. 1:16).   William Hendriksen explains:

All things – it makes no difference whether they be material or spiritual – were created in him, that is, with reference to the Son, the firstborn. As two walls and the bricks in these walls are arranged in relation to the cornerstone, from which they derive their angle of direction, so it was in relation to Christ that all things were originally created. He is their Point of Reference. Moreover, it is through him, as the Agent in creation, and with a view to him or for him as creation’s Goal that they owe their settled state.[1]

The Apostle Paul wanted to make sure there was no confusion about Jesus’ place in creation. He wanted to make it very clear to the Colossians that Jesus was creator and not creation.

Paul also goes on to emphasize Jesus’ intimate relationship with his creation. The next verse states that “in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). Jesus didn’t simply create the heavens and the earth to only walk away. Instead, Jesus sustains creation. Wright comments on Col. 1:17 saying, “The world is now sustained and upheld by Christ…The verb, again, is in the perfect, indicating that ‘everything’ has held together in him and continues to do so. Through him the world is sustained, prevented from falling into chaos. No creature is autonomous. All are God’s servants (Ps. 119:91) and dependents (Ps. 104).”[2]

Jesus’ act of sustaining is also focused on the Christians in Colossae. Paul states that “when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4). It is only the life that is lived in Christ that ultimately leads to glory with him. Paul refers to Jesus’ sustaining power elsewhere in Colossians. Paul is “struggling with all his energy that [Jesus] powerfully works within me” (Col. 1:29). The Colossians are told that since they have received Jesus Christ, they are now to “walk in Him” (Col. 2:6). Jesus is their savior and sustainer.

[1] Hendriksen, Phillippians / Colossians / Philemon, 73.

[2] Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 73.

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14Apr/083

26 Tips for Spending time with God…Hardcore Style

man alone in the mist

photo by: JasonRogers

If you’re like me, you have trouble spending time with God (I don’t like to use the words quiet time…it makes me feel like I’m five and in a “time out”). I’ve written in the past on some tips and tricks that I use to do this daily. But just like in a marriage relationship, sometimes you just need to spend more than a few minutes with your spouse. You need to spend the whole day. I call this spending time with God hardcore style.

I learned this concept from Doug Fields a few years ago. He talked about one of his youth saying that they “take God on a date.” Now taking God on a date is a little creepy for me, but I liked the concept. The idea is to just spend some extended time with God and nobody else.

To do this, I normally take an afternoon and spend the entire time reading scripture, praying, walking, reading some more, praying some more, and walking some more. The idea is to have a large chunk of time that is devoted to nothing but growing closer to God. This isn’t time to study your Bible and parse Greek verbs…this is time to just be with your Creator, Savior, and Sustainer.

The following are 26 quick tips that can help you with your hardcore time with God.

  1. Get out of your house. There are to many distractions there. To many things to play with.
  2. Get away from people.
  3. Go to a park or go hiking. Go be in His creation.
  4. Wear comfortable clothing.
  5. Turn off everything…phone, pager, radio, ipod, laptop, ect. If it has an on/off, make it off.
  6. Look for God in everything and then give Him the glory.
  7. Take your Bible (ESV :) ), a pen, and something to write on.
  8. Anytime you think about something that you need to do when you get home, write it down and forget about it. This will allow you to focus on your time with God. (this is a good practice in general)
  9. Take a list of prayer requests and things/people you want to pray for.
  10. Have an agenda/time line.
  11. Don’t have an agenda/time line.
  12. Pray, pray, pray
  13. Take a snack and some cash.
  14. Take some water.
  15. Tell one person where you are going to be in case of emergencies (your wife goes into labor). This helps to keep your thoughts from being overtaken.
  16. Read through a whole book of the Bible several times.
  17. Read through a passage of scripture several times.
  18. Read all the gospels in one sitting (it can be done in an afternoon).
  19. Fast
  20. Eat
  21. Just walk and talk to God as if He was walking right next to you.
  22. Take a short nap (it’s better to sleep for 20 minutes than to fight it for 3 hrs).
  23. Write out your prayers to God.
  24. Pray for God to reveal sin in your life that is keeping you from Him.
  25. Take some time to sit and listen to God.
  26. Be diligent to focus on God and your relationship.

Well I hope that helps. I’m off to go spend some hardcore time with God. Leave me a comment, with any tips that you might have for spending hardcore time with God.

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