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Daily devotional

Saturday August 11 - Maturity in Christ

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. - Colossians 1:29 Scripture reading: Ephesians 4:11-16 Why do ministers preach and visit the members of the congregation? Why do elders make pastoral visits? Why do you busy yourself with the Scriptures? Why are you a member of the body of Christ? According to our Scripture reading, ministry in the church is about attaining the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, as we grow up into Him. That is why the Lord Jesus is gathering, defending and preserving His church. That is why He gives the church pastors, elders, and deacons. That is why He wants you to be an active and living member of His body: maturing in Christ and helping others mature in Christ. Because this is what being church is about, Paul toils and teaches with all his energy that God powerfully works within him to present everyone mature in Christ. Paul had written that the goal of God reconciling His people to Himself was to present them to Himself as holy, blameless and irreproachable living sacrifices for approval on the Day of Judgment (Col. 1:22). Working to present everyone mature in Christ is saying the same thing in regard to their maturity in Christ. This is what Paul strives for as he writes elsewhere that he has been crucified with Christ and it is no longer he who lives, but Christ who lives in him (Galatians 2:20). This is also what he strives for everyone else as he writes that he is in anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in the members of the congregation (Galatians 4:19). Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to help you keep the goal of maturity in Christ foremost in your mind when it concerns being a member of the church. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Friday August 10 - The mystery: Christ in us, the hope of glory

... the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. - Colossians 1:26 Scripture reading: Colossians 1:24-29 Paul suffered for the sake of Christ because God called him to make the Word of God fully known, especially to the Gentiles. He refers to this Word of God as the mystery hidden for ages, but now revealed to His saints. After Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, God promised that He would send a Messiah Who would defeat evil at its source, rescuing people from sin and transforming them into His image (Genesis 3:15). Moreover, He also promised that the Gentiles would be included in this work of rescue from sin and transformation into His image (Genesis 12:3). Israel knew this good news about the Messiah, but it had not been revealed to the Gentiles. Because they did not know this good news, Paul refers to it as a mystery. When Paul began to preach about the Messiah, the Gentiles became aware of the mystery that Christ was also working in them with the powers of rescue from sin and transformation into God’s image. They became aware that they are included in the body of the Messiah, the church, on the same basis as the Jews: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. What makes this magnificent is that it includes the hope of glory. One day, both Jews and Gentiles who have put on Christ through faith and led a life worthy of being in Him because it is no longer they who live, but Christ who lives in them, will be glorified with the Messiah and rule a new earth with Him. Suggestions for prayer Thank your heavenly Father that He has made you a member of the church and is working in you with the powers of rescue from sin and transformation into His image.  This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Thursday August 9 - Rejoicing in your suffering for Christ

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. - Colossians 1:24 Scripture reading: Psalm 2 Living a life worthy of being in Christ costs Paul a lot of suffering. Yet, that he rejoices in this should not surprise us for earlier in his letter he prayed that the Father of the Lord Jesus would strengthen the Colossians with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy (1:11). What he prayed for them, he had experienced and was still experiencing himself! God was strengthening Paul in his sufferings for the sake of Christ by reminding him that in his sufferings he was filling up what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body. Now, only Christ could and did bear this suffering. As a result, there is nothing lacking in this suffering for our sin. But there is another kind of suffering the Lord Jesus endured while on earth. Psalm 2 speaks about the nations raging, the peoples plotting in vain and the kings of the earth rebelling and the rulers taking counsel together against the LORD and His anointed. As the Anointed of the LORD, Christ experienced the affliction of this opposition. While Christ is in heaven, He continues to experience opposition in His body, His church. Thus, when Paul and other Christians experience opposition to living a life worthy of being in Christ, they fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for these will not be over until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Paul considers it an honour and joy to fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to enable you to rejoice in your sufferings for Christ because you are filling up what is lacking in His sufferings for the sake of His body. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Wednesday August 8 - The cost of discipleship

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. - Colossians 1:24 Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 11:21b-29 What does it cost you to live a life worthy of being in Christ, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every kind of good work and increasing in the knowledge of God? If we were to ask Paul, we know what he would say. Living a life worthy of being in Christ costs him a lot of suffering. The Lord Jesus Christ had warned the people of His day that this would be the case when He said: “Whoever does not bear His own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). The Lord Jesus appeared to Ananias in a vision and told him to tell Saul (Paul) that He would show him just how much he was going to have to suffer for the sake of His name (Acts 9:16). In our Scripture reading Paul shares with the Corinthians how much he has indeed suffered for Christ. Paul had just urged the Colossians to persevere in the Christian faith, being steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which had been proclaimed in all creation and of which he had become a minister. While he had written this, he was in prison in Caesarea, waiting to be transferred to Rome. Who knows what further suffering awaited him for living a life worthy of being in Christ, bearing fruit in every kind of good work and increasing in the knowledge of God? What does it cost you to live a life worthy of being in Christ? Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to be willing to count the cost for following the Lord Jesus and then to grant you the strength for doing so. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Tuesday August 7 - Persevering in the faith

... if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard... - Colossians 1:23a Scripture reading: John 15:5-6; Colossians 1:21-23  Faith unites us to the Lord Jesus Christ so that we share in His fellowship of love with His Father and His ministry of love from His Father that He carries out on earth through His church. Being united to Christ, through faith, enables us to live lives worthy of our being in Him. We have been redeemed by His blood and qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light of the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ; we have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of light. But once we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy all the blessings of being in Christ, we also need to continue or persevere in our faith. The Bible is clear that those who are united to the Lord Jesus Christ through genuine faith will continue in the faith. But the Bible is equally clear that those who are not united to the Lord Jesus Christ through genuine faith will not persevere. The Lord Jesus Christ speaks about this in John 15. Some branches/believers abide in Him through true faith and bear much fruit. Other branches/believers do not remain in Him. The latter are cut off and thrown into the fire; the former God will present as holy, blameless and irreproachable living sacrifices for approval before Himself on the Day of Judgment. These conditional statements in the Scriptures are implicit warnings meant to keep us from a sense of false security. How are you persevering in the faith? Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to help you to persevere in the faith by remaining in Christ through faith, especially when you feel weary. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Monday August 6 - The Mediator of re-creation

...and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. - Colossians 1:20 Scripture reading: Colossians 1:18-20 The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the source of our being able to live a life worthy of our being in Him because He is the mediator of creation, but also because He is the mediator of re-creation. This mediation is necessary because we have alienated ourselves from the Lord Jesus Christ with our fall into sin. And creation was subjected to futility because of this (Romans 8:20). Thus, both we and creation need to be reconciled to the mediator of creation. The Father of the Lord Jesus Christ gives the mediator of creation to the church so that He can be its mediator of re-creation by reconciling both the church and creation to Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ accomplishes this as the Head of the church, the One who brings the church into existence and keeps it in existence by giving life to its members, by ruling them through His Word and Spirit, and by holding them together. Having reconciled His body and His creation to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross, He was the first one to rise from the dead with a glorified, immortal body, guaranteeing the general resurrection of the dead of all those who were in Him, through faith. Because of this work of re-creation, the mediator of creation continues to have the first place in God’s universe. He is more than able and also willing to be the source of your being able to live a life worthy of your being in Him. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to enable you to look to your mediator of creation and re-creation when you struggle with being able to live a life worthy of your being in Christ, and that He would encourage you in doing so. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Sunday August 5 - The Mediator of Creation

For in him all things were created, . . . all things were created through him and for him and in him all things hold together. – Colossians 16 and 17b Scripture reading: Colossians 1:15-17 If Christians want to live a life worthy of Christ, they need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ like a garment and live in Him through faith, remain in Him when they encounter trials and mature in Him through faith. He is the source of their being able to live a life worthy of being in Him because He is the mediator of creation. He is able to be this mediator of creation because He is the firstborn of all creation. Accordingly, all things—whether visible or invisible—were created in Him, because the light and life needed to create all things resided in Him. Moreover, all things were also created through Him. He, who has light and life in Himself, creates light and life. Furthermore, He also holds all things together. We and creation do not live in an empty space, but in the Lord Jesus Christ who continues to uphold and sustain creation and us. This is what it means that the Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator of creation. Everything was created from Him and through Him and He holds everything that He created together. And He does so because everything was created for Him. Our destiny and creation’s destiny is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the will of the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ that one day all things will be summed up and reunited in Him. Suggestions for prayer Thank your heavenly Father that, because everything is created from Him and through Him and to Him, He is able to be the source of your living a life worthy of being in Him. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Saturday August 4 - Living in a manner worthy of the Lord

... so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; - Colossians 1:10  Scripture reading: Colossians 1:9-14 As members of the body of Christ, Christians, through their union with Christ, have been redeemed and qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light of the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, they have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of light. Through the bond of the Holy Spirit, they are already seated with Christ in heaven (Ephesians 2:6). Because Christians are in Christ, they need to live a life worthy of Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. This means that, through faith, they need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ like a garment and live in Him, remain in Him when they encounter trials, and mature in Him, for He is the source of being able to live a life worthy of being in Him. When they do, He will be pleased with them. For this, we need to be filled with the knowledge of the will of the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. While we cannot know His will exhaustively, God can fill us with adequate knowledge of what He wants us to believe and how He wants us to live, i.e. having spiritual wisdom and understanding as we live and have our being in the Scriptures. The more we are filled with this, the more we will find ourselves leading a life worthy of being in Christ. Paul regularly prays this for the Colossian Christians. Are you praying this for yourself and your congregation? Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to fill you with knowledge of His will so that you and your congregation can live lives worthy of being in Christ. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Friday August 3 - The fruit of hope

... because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. - Colossians 1:5 Scripture reading: Romans 8:18-25 Why do you continue to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and participate in His ministry of love? According to Paul, we do this because as members of the body of Christ, we have the hope that all things will be made new when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Then we will no longer groan because of the brokenness of our human condition, but we will receive glorified bodies. Creation will also no longer groan because of its bondage to corruption, but share in our glorified state by being glorified itself. We wait for the fulfillment of this hope with patience, while creation waits with eager longing for the fulfillment of our hope. Because we have this hope, we continue to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that only through being joined to Him, through faith, will we experience the fulfillment of this hope. Anyone who does not abide in the Lord Jesus Christ is thrown into the fire and burned. Having this hope, we continue to love because we know that even if we have faith that can remove mountains, but have not love, we are nothing. Moreover, we want to give others a foretaste of the life of the new heaven and earth by participating in Jesus’ ministry of love today. When people hear that you are a Christian, is this what they hear about you: you are a person of faith, hope and love? When they hear that you belong to a Christian congregation, is this what they hear about your congregation: your congregation is a congregation of faith, hope and love? Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to make you and your congregation known to your environment as people of faith, love and hope. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Thursday August 2 - The fruit of faith

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... - Colossians 1:3-4 Scripture reading: John 15:1-11 Faith unites us to the Lord Jesus Christ so that we share in His fellowship of love with His Father. When we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for our rescue from the power, pollution, partition and penalty of sin, we take hold of Him and put Him on, so that we are no longer clothed in our unrighteousness, but clothed in Him and His righteousness. We are no longer our own, but belong to Him and share in His fellowship of love with His Father. We are adopted into the Father’s family and are loved with the same love with which the Father loves the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith also unites us to the Lord Jesus Christ so that we share in His ministry of love from His Father that He carries out through His body, His church. The Lord Jesus speaks about this with the metaphor of the vine and the branches, saying that if we want to bear the fruit of love, we need to abide in Him through faith. When we do, the mystery of love will take place in our lives much like the mystery of grapes growing on a vine. As we live in Christ through faith, the Lord Jesus Christ transforms us into His image as He reproduces His life in our lives through His Holy Spirit so that we become His eyes, ears and mouth, His hands and feet in this world. This is what it means to be His body on earth. Paul had heard about this fruit of faith of the Colossians. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to unite you to His Son through faith so that it is no longer you who live, but Christ Jesus who lives in you. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

Daily devotional

Wednesday August 1 - Introduction, and the fruit of love

This month’s meditations will focus on Paul’s epistle to the Colossians. When the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, He withdrew Himself from our three-dimensional experience of reality and ascended into another dimension of God’s created reality known as heaven. While the disciples saw the Lord Jesus ascend, they did not see him enter into heaven for the cloud of God’s glory took Him out of their sight. Since His ascension, the Lord Jesus Christ is hidden in the glory of His Father and glorified together with Him. However, the Lord Jesus Christ is not only hidden in the glory of the Father, Christians are also hidden with Christ in the glory of the Father (3:3). As the expression “in Christ” so also the expression “with Christ” shows that we participate in the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. We participate in what He did in the past, what He is doing in the present and what He will do in the future. We died and arose with Him, we ascended with Him in glory and we will appear with Him in glory. This participation with Christ is a hidden reality, as is the reality of our life being hidden with Christ in the glory of the Father. That the source of our life is hidden with Christ in the Father is not visible to others. It is also not visible to ourselves. We need to believe this. In a sense, Colossians is all about the different facets of the hidden reality of our real life and true existence: our life being hidden with Christ in the glory of the Father. That’s why I have entitled the series Hidden with Christ in God. I enjoyed writing these meditations. I was edified in doing so. I hope and pray that you will be too. *****  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... – Colossians 1:3-4 Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 13 When people hear that you are a Christian, what do they hear about you? When they hear that you belong to a Christian congregation, what do they hear about your congregation? If we were to ask Paul this question about the church of Colossae, what would he say? What had he heard about its members? What had he heard about the congregation? Paul had not planted this church. Epaphras had planted it. At the moment of writing, Paul is in prison in Caesarea. What did he hear about the church in Colossae while he is waiting to be transferred to Rome? What set this congregation and its members apart from its pagan environment? Paul had heard about their love for each other. The pagan world in which the members of the congregation lived was marked by lust, anger and lies that split up families and other communities. The Christian church, however, was marked by love that united families and the church community. Even major differences, such as race, social background and culture no longer drove a wedge between the members of the church. This did not mean that everyone had good feelings toward one another. They may have. But it meant that when others were rude, they were kind. When others offended them, they forgave. When others rejected them, they accepted them. This is ultimately what the Christian faith is about, as the summary of the law the Lord Jesus taught us. If we do not have this love, we are really nothing according to 1 Corinthians 13. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to pour out His love in you through His Holy Spirit so that others may experience His love in and through you. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Dick Moes is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC....

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