COLOSSIANS 1 V 1-29 The way through faith in everyday living in Christ; It is God's commandment that we believe on His Son

and commit our way unto Him. COLOSSIANS shows us the Way, the Truth and the Life found in Jesus Christ. Chapter 1 v 1; PARDON: Through faith in God. Paul 's sins, though many , were pardoned when he met Jesus on the Damascus road and was blinded by a bright light. He acknowledged Jesus as Lord and thereafter sought to serve Him. It was the will of Christ that Paul should be converted and become a bondservant It is God's will that His created people should repent and seek His forgiveness, and accept Jesus as Saviour. JOHN 3 v 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. At some time in our life God calls each one of us to become Christians but He has given each one of us a free will. PSALM 32 v 1-2; Blessed is He whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile. V2. PEACE: With pardon of sins comes peace of mind and much blessing as we see that Jesus is all in all to us. Through faith in Christ we give praise and thanksgiving to God for His love and compassion to us. JOHN 14 v 27; Peace I live with you, My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. There is a special kind peace that comes from God when Jesus becomes our Redeemer. ROMANS 5 vl-2; Therefore, being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. V 3, PRAISE: When we consider what we have been saved from and for our thanksgiving should become thansksliving. God insists that we worship and praise Him. PSALM 28 v 7; The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusted in Him and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song will I praise Him. PSALM 86 v 12; I will praise Thee 0 lord my God with all my heart and I will glorify Thy name for evermore. It is proper that we should also give thanks to God for those teachers of the word who have helped to strengthen our faith in the Godhead. V 4. PRACTICE: Through faith in Christ. This should result in a desire to let Jesus live out His life and purpose in us and through us, that people may see in us the Christlike life being practised daily. PSALM 37 v 3-6; Trust in the Lord and do good, so shall you dwell in the land and verily you shall be fed. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgement as the noonday. May other people see the strength of our faith and praise God for our witness. V 5. PROSPECTS-. Eternal life in Christ Jesus. What a glorious prospect the Christians have in

this promise of eternal life in Christ. How we look forward to the day of the Rapture. As Christians we have the joy of bringing lost souls into the family of God. JOHN 14 v 1-3; Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you; and if I go and prepare a place for- you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am you may be also. And where I go you know and the way you know. V 6, PROGRESS: By faith in Jesus Christ. A complete and honest faith in the word of God and Calvary and our daily prayer and praise to God, in the name of Jesus will bring us into maturity and unity with other Christians. 1 CORINTHIANS 3 v 1-3; And I brethren could not speak to you as spiritual, but unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it. For you are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you , envying and strife and divisions , are you not carnal and walk as men ? As we read the Scriptures we will see what God wants us to do with each day. As we obey Him we will also make great progress towards Christian maturity. EPHESIANS 4 v 13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the statute of the fullness of Christ. V 7, PARTNERSHIP: Through faith in Christ. JOHN 15 v 15; Henceforth I call you not servants ; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth, but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of My Father, I have made know unto you. You have not chosen Me but I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and bring forth much fruit and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you. V 8. PURPOSE; That we might all be loving, caring people ministering to each other and the unsaved around us, There is much to be done in God's vineyard and the fruit needs to be brought into His storehouse. JOHN 15 v 7-8; If you abide in Me and My words abide in you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified that you bear much fruit, so shall you be My disciples. May we dispose of all the wood, hay and stubble and send only real treasure ahead of us to heaven , Then let us get on with our discipleship work. V 9. Prayer in the name of Jesus. Through faith in Christ we can come into the presence of God to praise and worship Him and make our requests known. JOHN 14 v 13-14; And whatsoever you shall ask in My name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask anything in My name I will do it. The Apostle Paul was always praying for his friends as he wanted them to be spiritually mature and able to teach others. Do we only pray for our own needs or do we include others when we approach God in the name of Jesus ? V10. THE PATTERN: A pattern is something we copy of trace for our own use. The daily pattern of our lives should be as near as possible copied from Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 1 v 2; Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints; with all them that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord , both theirs and ours. Let us be determined to trace Christ's lifestyle and not the world's. EPHESIANS 5 v 1-2a. Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children, and walk in love as Christ also has loved us. and has given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. V11. THE POWER: Jesus Himself has given great power through the baptism of the Holy Spirit that we might work the miracles that He did while on earth. We too should not be neglecting the gifts He has given to us. What we do for God or dont do is being recorded in heaven and we will all have to give an account of our time on earth. JOHN 14 v 12; Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me the works that I do shall he do also, And greater works that these shall he do because I go to My Father.V23; Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me he will keep My words, and My Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. V 12. PERFECTION: Through faith in Christ. God did not choose us because we are saints but to make us saints. Let us allow God to do just that. 1 CORINTHIANS 1 v 2; Unto the church Of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. V 13, PRESERVATION: Through faith in Christ. Delivered from the, power of satan, and to be presented to God. Believe on His promise, I will never leave you nor forsake you. JOHN 14 v 1-3; Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father ' s house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there you may be also. JOHN 6 v 44; No man can come to Me except the Father which sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. V 14. POSITION; Through faith in Christ we become saints, bondservants and ambassadors for Christ, to go forth in Christian love to show the world the kind of-love God offers the world through Jesus Christ. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. JOHN 3 v 16-17. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son in to the world to condemn the world, but that-world through Him might be saved. THE WORKING OF FAITH: V 9-13; V 9; KNOWING THE WILL OF GOD; What a glorious prayer _this is. That they might know and be filled with the knowledge of God. That being obedient to God Both He and Jesus will abide within us. EPHESIANS 1 V 9; Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself. 0 that we might seek God's will by prayer and the reading of His word.

V 10. WALKING and WORKING IN THE WAY OF GOD Having discovered that which God wants us to do and be, let us be up and doing the work He has given us to do in His vineyard. MATTHEW 28 v 19-20; Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. V 11; WAITING ON THE TIME OF THE LORD Patience is desirable in any Christian. May we not seek to rush ahead of God, but go forward with Him in His own good time. HEBREWS 6 v 12. That you be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 2 THESSALONIANS 1 v 4; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. V 12. WORSHIPPING GOD THROUGH CHRIST: With faith in Christ for bringing us back to God, who can but only want to praise God and worship Him. MATTHEW 22 v 37; Jesus said unto him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. There are so many things for which we can praise God and give Him all honour and glory. V 13. THE WONDER OF IT ALL. I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me. Colossians is all about the Majesty and power of Jesus Christ, fulfilling all of man's needs and showing us that we should have no part in false doctrines or man's theology. JOHN 3 vl5-16; For God !so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him the world might be saved.

Results of Faith in Every Day Living In Christ ; V12. HE HAS PERFECTED US: Justified us with His shed blood, at Calvary, will clothe us with robes of righteousness, and present us to God in Heaven after the Rapture. ROMANS 3 v 24-25; Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God . V 13. DELIVERED US: From the power of darkness. Lost souls no longer. We have a new name, Saints, delivered out of the hand of satan and now in the family of God. ACTS 26 v 18; To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Only Jesus could provide us with such a deliverance. ACTS 4 v 12; Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved.

V 14. REDEEMED US. and at a tremendous cost. JOHN 1 v29. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, Through God's love for the sinner, (but not their sins and the willingness of Jesus to die on Calvary's cross, our redemption became a reality JOHN 3 V 16-17; For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him, might be saved. Redemption was a wonderful act of mercy and grace by God. V 15, MOULDED US. At first with his image then filled with His Holy Spirit. He breathed His life into us and has given all people a free will to obey Him for eternal life with Christ or eternal life in Hell. EPHESIANS 2 v 10; For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. May we allow God to mould us into His Character. V 16 CREATED US:, GENESIS 1 v 27; So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him. Male and female created He them. Then after the death and resurrection of Jesus came a new life for the believer. CORINTHIANS 5 vl7; Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. Could our neighbours possibly see that we are indeed new creatures in Christ ? It is only we ourselves who slow up the progress of being mature Christians and recognised as such by other people. V 18. SUBDUED US As we become bondservants to Jesus all false pride should fall away PHILIPPIANS 2 v 3; Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. LUKE 17 v 10; So likewise, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you say, we are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our duty to do. PROVERBS 29 v 23; A man's pride shall bring him low; but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. v 19, FILLED US: Christ seeks to fill us with His love that through the Holy Spirit we might shed it abroad to overflow others with the love of Jesus ACTS 13 v 52; And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit abides within the Holy temple within us to help us to pray to God. ROMANS 8 v 26; Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought , but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groaning that cannot be uttered. V 20. RECONCILED US. To God our heavenly Father, Through the death and resurrection of Christ we now have access to God through repentance of sins, forgiveness of sins and by prayer and praise.

ROMANS 5 vl0-11, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. V 21. REGENERATED US: Through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit we now have a new life, New power and enthusiasm to witness of Jesus Christ. PSALM 51 V 2, 7, 10; Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin; Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and! I shall be whiter than snow; Create in me a clean heart 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me. Having made this prayer to God and been cleansed we are ready to surge forward to Christian maturity guided by the Holy Spirit, and very much regenerated. V 22. JUSTIFIED US: What a glorious thought this is, Our sins separated us from God, But He allowed Jesus to redeem us from the bondage of satan , and forgiving all our sin. Justified by the shed blood of Jesus. 'Just as if I'd never sinned. ROMANS 3 v 24; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. V23. SANCTIFIED US: He desires that all believers should set themselves apart from the world of satan 1 CORINTHIANS 1 v 2; Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. ROMANS 15 v 16; That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. V 24; TESTED US> God can test us as He did with Paul, and in the testing comes our strength as we abide in Christ exercising our faith each day. It is this testing that brings us to maturity. 2 CORINTHIANS 11 v 24-27; (v 26 In journeyings often , in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. Through all his trials. Paul learned more about Jesus and became a "man of God V 25. ENDOWED US: Every Christian has been given the privilege of being a witness for Jesus. In the baptism of the Holy Spirit we have been given the necessary gifts to enable us to perform the deeds that Jesus did while He was on earth We have the Holy Spirit indwelling within us to guide and help us each day. 1 CORINTHIANS 12 v 4-12; (v 7 ) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. May our friends and neighbours see in us the Christlike nature as we manifest the gifts in our lives to glorify God. V 26. SHOWN US: Revealed to us in His word all that we need to know about God and how to worship Him, We are also told what not to worship. We should continually praise God for alI His love, mercy and compassion which He daily shows us. 1 CORINTHIANS 2 v 9-10 But as it is written, Eye has not seen nor ear heard neither has entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God

has revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea the deep things of God. V 27. INDWELT US: Christ in you the hope of glory. JOHN 14 v 23; Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. The greatest power in earth and all believers can and should have this as a precious possession. V 28; COMMISSIONS US: Paul and the Apostles were not the only ones to preach the gospel. All believers are commissioned to go forth and preach the Gospel by word of mouth and the way we live. MATTHEW 28 v 19-20; Go therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. V 29. EMPOWERED US: The Holy Spirit is not given to us to work some magic trick, but to work the works that Jesus has given every believer to perform in His name. That day by day, with faith in Jesus Christ, people may see just what a holy God can do with a dedicated person. JOHN 20. v 21-23; Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you, as My Father has sent Me even so send I you. And when He had said this He breathed on them, and said unto them, receive the Holy Ghost. Whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained. Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to Thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.