Colossians 3

Colossians 3 (The Message)
He Is Your Life

Colossians 3 is especially rich.

- v12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

- v15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Colossians 2

Colossians 2
Not Philosophy but Christ

- v6-7 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 1

Colossians 1
Preeminence of Christ

- NKJV v15-18 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Christ Holds It All Together

- MSG v26-29 This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

Philippians 4

Philippians 4 (Amplified)

- v6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

- v13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

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- MSG v21-22 Give our regards to every follower of Jesus you meet. Our friends here say hello. All the Christians here, especially the believers who work in the palace of Caesar, want to be remembered to you.

Paul is amazing. He has converted the household of Caesar while in prison, and I believe it's substantial enough for him to have written that.

Philippians 2-3

Philippians 3:12-16
Pressing Toward the Goal

- v12-16 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

There will always be poor people....

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." John12:4-8

"Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."
- Deu 15:10-11

You Matter To God!

John 10:3
3… he calls his own sheep by name…

Do you sometimes feel like you are just a face in a crowd or a number in a system? You are identified by your identity card number or passport number. Even when you see the doctor, you are called by your queue number. If you feel depersonalised and dehumanised, that is exactly how the devil wants you to feel — that you do not matter much to anyone, especially to God.

But you do matter to God! He calls you by name. He knows what you are going through and where you are hurting. He sees you and cares for you, just as He cared for the people when He first walked on earth.

On one occasion, Jesus crossed all the way to the other side of the lake, even defying the devil’s attempt to drown Him (Luke 8:22–39), because a man who was demonised was calling out to Him for help. Jesus heard him and crossed an entire lake just to go to him. My friend, Jesus came a long way from heaven to come to you. You certainly matter to Him!

Even now, if you have problems in your life, Jesus sees you and He will not pass you by. He will do for you what He did for the woman at Samaria. There was a shorter route from Judea to Galilee, but the Bible said, “He needed to go through Samaria.” (John 4:4) Jesus purposely took a longer route because He wanted to stop by Samaria to speak to the woman who had been searching for things to satisfy her in her life. Now, Jesus has come to offer you the more abundant life too. (John 10:10)

In Luke 5:12–13, Jesus touched the leper and healed him. Although He could heal from afar, which He did for the 10 lepers in Luke 17:12–14, Jesus chose to heal this leper by touching him. The leper had been dehumanised, after being cut off from society for such a long time. Jesus’ personal touch gave him more than a new lease in life — it made him whole.

In the same way, Jesus has a personal love for you because you matter to Him. He calls you by name, sees beyond your every fault and wants to meet your every need!
[taken from daily devotional from church]

something that spoke to me today as i was looking through my email. =)

Philippians 1

Philippians 1:3-11
Thankfulness and Prayer

- v6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

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Philippians 1:12-30 (The Message)
They Can't Imprison the Message

- v15 It's true that some here preach Christ because with me out of the way, they think they'll step right into the spotlight. But the others do it with the best heart in the world.

- v18-21 So how am I to respond? I've decided that I really don't care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!

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Philippians 1:27-30 (Amplified)
Striving and Suffering for Christ

- v27 Only be sure as citizens so to conduct yourselves [that] your manner of life [will be] worthy of the good news (the Gospel) of Christ, so that whether I [do] come and see you or am absent, I may hear this of you: that you are standing firm in united spirit and purpose, striving side by side and contending with a single mind for the faith of the glad tidings (the Gospel).

- v28 And do not [for a moment] be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and adversaries, for such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a clear sign (proof and seal) to them of [their impending] destruction, but [a sure token and evidence] of your deliverance and salvation, and that from God.

At the beginning, Paul talks about Christ constantly working in us, perfecting us to the day He returns. Which means that we will never be "perfect", so to speak. There will always be room for growth. But despite knowing that we are not "there" yet (ala being like Jesus), we continue to stand firm and not be afraid of our "opponents and adversaries", whether is it people coming against us because of the gospel, or colleagues/friends at work/school, or even work/stress itself. For if we the more we stand firm, it is a clear sign, proof and seal that God will see to their destruction and our our victory. Come to think of it, what makes you think those who come against us are better than us (and both sides are not "perfect"!) anyway?

Grace Greater Than All Our Sin

even a murderer can be redeemed...
http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/11554764/

Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6 (Amplified)
Bondservants and Masters

- v7 Rendering service readily with goodwill, as to the Lord and not to men,

- v8 Knowing that for whatever good anyone does, he will receive his reward from the Lord, whether he is slave or free.

The Whole Armor of God

- v19 And [pray] also for me, that [freedom of] utterance may be given me, that I may open my mouth to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news (the Gospel),

- v20 For which I am an ambassador in a coupling chain [in prison. Pray] that I may declare it boldly and courageously, as I ought to do.

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The last verse is for me, as an ambassador. =)

A special throne

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Heb4:16

If it is a Throne of Grace, then all the wants of those who come to it will be supplied. The King from off such a Throne will not say, “You must bring to Me gifts, you must offer to
Me sacrifices.” It is not a Throne for receiving tribute. It is a Throne for dispensing gifts.....
This is not the Throne of majesty which supports itself by the taxation of its subjects, but a Throne which glorifies itself by streaming forth like a fountain with floods of good things.
-C.H. SPURGEON

Ephesians 5

Ephesians 5:1-20 (The Message)
Wake Up from Your Sleep

- v1-2 Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

- v11-17 Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see....So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.

- v21 Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.