Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from July 4-10 are provided by Pastor Barry Kang, who heads Symphony Church in Boston. Barry, a graduate of Stanford University and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Sunny (an amazing worship leader, chef and math wizard). They are the proud parents of Caleb and Micah.
Devotional Thought for Today
Colossians 4:18
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
As Paul began his letter, so he ends—with a blessing of grace. It is the most important thing he has to offer; it is the most important thing any of us have been given. Grace. This grace underlies, overflows, and seeps through Paul’s entire letter.
So it is important that we understand what this grace is. Grace is the offer of God’s unending presence and love. Grace is not just the forgiveness of sins. We can get a little confused about this. Sometimes we think of grace as God seeing our sins, but He sighs and says, “Okay, never mind. I forgive you because of Jesus.” If we think of grace in that way—as God’s passive response to our active sins—then of course grace will not have the power to transform us.
Now grace does include the promise of forgiveness, but it is not just that. John Ortberg puts it like this: “Grace is the flow of God’s power and presence and favor in your life from one moment to the next moment to the next moment to enable you to do whatever it is that God wants for you to do.” It is given to us through the active work of Jesus Christ in His incarnation, cross, and resurrection.
It is through grace that Paul was sustained, even as he was in prison. It is through grace that the prayers of the Colossians for Paul were heard. It is through grace that we believe, are baptized, incorporated into the body, and serve. It is by God’s grace that we live, breathe and have life. It is by God’s grace that we receive power through his Holy Spirit and overcome trials. We did not deserve any of it. We can never earn it. But it’s here, and it’s for you.
Grace be with you.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for this grace. Thank You that You love us so much that You pour this undeserved gift upon us—the gift of Yourself. Thank You that we will never be separated from You by Your grace. Thank you. Help us to become more aware of this grace. We so often fall into the trap of thinking that we have somehow merited Your favor by our good behavior and choices. Forgive us that our relationship with You can be so transactional. We want to grow in our love for You and grow in our desire for the desires of Your heart. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Psalm 104
Sometimes when we hear a sermon or read the Bible, the knowledge we gain is left theoretical or conceptual. When Tychicus delivered this letter to the church in Colossae, the Colossians might reasonably have thought they’d have time to reflect upon these words and consider their implications. However, they wouldn’t have this luxury. They would be tested right away.
There is a popular saying often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel daily; Use words if necessary.” One problem with this is that there is no record of St. Francis ever saying it. In fact, St. Francis was quite the preacher. While there is truth that our deeds must match the words that we speak, the gospel, by definition, is good news—not good living.
I remember Richard Mouw, former president of Fuller Theological Seminary, talking about when he was a seminary student. He spent many late nights in the library and got to know the custodian, an older gentleman who would engage Richard Mouw in conversations every so often.
At red carpet events, celebrities are often asked, “Who are you wearing?” And in turn, they’ll drop the name of some celebrity designer. Often, my response in the rare moments I catch one of these events on TV is, “Who cares?!” Well, apparently many people do. Who and what we are wearing is apparently a pretty big deal. Our clothing choices say something about our taste, our wealth, our personality. In other words, our clothing choices say something about our identity. It’s actually a much deeper question than I normally give it credit for.
Editor’s Note: The AMI QT Devotionals from July 4-10 are provided by Pastor Barry Kang, who heads Symphony Church in Boston. Barry, a graduate of Stanford University and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Sunny (an amazing worship leader, chef and math wizard). They are the proud parents of Caleb and Micah.
Right after commanding his readers to put to death that which is earthly, i.e. the old self and its practices (e.g. sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk and lies), Paul follows up with verse 11 (see above). We may wonder how the two ideas are connected.
Some people (beginning with the Monastics in the early church) see ascetism as a response to the challenge of our flesh, but Paul writes in Colossians 2 that denying the flesh has “no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” So how then can we find freedom from fleshly, earthly things?
Spiritual leaders (particularly known for their keen theological mind) who display their faith in both word and deed are an immense treasure (i.e., with regards to learning about faith and works, spirituality, and intellectuality). One such leader was Basil, one of the Cappadocian fathers who faithfully endorsed the Nicene Creed. During Basil’s time, an aggressive form of heresy, Eunomianism, was gaining popularity, as it claimed that full Trinitarianism was a disguised form of paganism – an argument made today by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eunomianism also doubted that the Son could be “begotten” and eternal, which led them to deny Jesus’ full divinity despite recognizing Him as Savior.
It’s amazing how much easier ministry is when you genuinely care about people. They tend to open up. They share more. They invite you into their lives. The famous evangelist D.L. Moody once told the story of a young boy who walked five miles every week to get to Sunday school when he could have easily attended any of forty other Sunday schools that were closer to his home. The boy’s reason: “Because they love a fellow over there.”