Meeting God Changes Your Life

Reading Gods Word: Colossians 1:714

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Epaphras, our much loved co-worker, was the one who brought you the Good News. He is Christs faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place. 8He is the one who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you. So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. 10Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, 12always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to Gods holy people, who live in the light. 13For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. 14God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins. From Now to Eternity Meeting God changes your life. Trusting God makes a lot of things possible that were impossible before you met Himlike having your sins forgiven and receiving the gift of eternal life. You may not feel what God is doing much of the time, but you can be sure that He is working. Maybe you've heard people talk about how Jesus changed their lives. He wants to bring about these same types of changes in your life. In the verses you just read, the apostle Paul asked God on behalf of the Colossians for at least nine results. We are praying for the same in your life: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. That you will understand what God wants to do in your life (v. 9). That you will have wisdom that comes from God (v. 9). That your life will be pleasing and honoring to God (v. 10). That you will find more and more ways to do good for others (v. 10). That you will know God better (v. 10). That you will experience Gods power in your life (v. 11). That you will receive the patience and endurance God wants to give you (v. 11). 8. That you will be filled with joy (v. 11). 9. That you will be more and more thankful as you better understand what God has done for you (v. 12).
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Does this seem a little overwhelming to you? Thats OK. Right now youre just getting a glimpse of what God wants to do in your life, but getting to that place will take some time. Look at that list again. Is there anything there you wouldnt want to be true of your life? Of course not! Realize that God made all these things available to you as you grow spiritually. Note the thought expressed in verse 13. If you've invited Christ into your life you have been declared a citizen in Christs kingdom. You were held hostage in the kingdom of darkness, but now you are free in Christ. Your time from now to eternity will involve learning what it means to be a citizen in Christs kingdom. Now theres a life worth living!

Think about these questions as you read Colossians 1:714: What changes do you want God to make in your life? How does it make you feel to know, once youve accepted Christ, that youre a citizen of heaven? Apply It Are there parts of your life that are particularly challenging right now? God wants you to have faith and know that He is in control of your life, but that can be overwhelming and difficult to understand when youre just starting to know what faith is. If you already have a Christian friend, ask them to pray for you and help you understand what God is doing in your life. If you dont know another Christian, try to find a new Christian friend. And above all else, keep asking God to give you the faith you need to trust Him. Express It Reading and thinking about Gods Word is all about letting God speak to you. Praying is all about you talking to God. Its not a ritual or just repeating something youve memorized. Prayer is talking to God from the heart. If this is a new habit for you, stop for a moment and ask yourself, What would I want to say to Jesus Christ if He walked up and sat by me right now? Go ahead and tell Him those things, and ask Him those questions. Thats basic prayer.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Meeting God Changes Your Life

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