Colossians
1:3-8
“We always thank God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in
Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the
hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of
the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it
is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you
heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from
Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on
your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”
What an amazing prayer and the thought came
into my mind, how great it would be to have the Apostle Paul praying for
you! It seems almost simultaneously another thought filled my mind and I
call that Channel Two or the Holy Spirit of God. And it said but someone
greater than the Apostle Paul is praying for you before the Father, and it's
found in Hebrews 7:24-26, “But because He remains
forever, He holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is always able to
save those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for
them. For this is the kind of high priest we need: holy, innocent,
undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”
Yes, the Scriptures make it clear who is
praying for the saints in Romans 8:33-35, “Who
shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to
condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who
is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered.”
My pastor, Ray Still, has been doing a
series on “Just Do Something” and now we are in a series called “Pause”
and I was all into doing something. I’m a do it right the first time, no
naps and have very little time to pause kind of person. I like to work,
always have a project and believe the old saying that an idol mind is the
devil's workshop.
So as we explore the apostle Paul’s prayer
what areas seem like you may need to pause, reflect, and ask for help from the
one Jesus sent as our Helper. The prayer begins with “Always thank God
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for our friends, and that’s natural for we
have some wonderful friends, but do we always do it? Do you pause to
think seriously about “because of the hope laid up
for you in heaven?”
Now I’m a hard charger, but many of you
would drag me across the yard trying to stay up with you. In our study it
was stated, “Being busy is no longer a problem, it’s a badge of honor.”
But when our business removes us from our family, our time with the Lord and
ministry to others, we need to pause and reconnect!
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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