We are reconciled in Christ!

We are reconciled in Christ! Washed clean from sin in the Blood of the Lamb of God. 

He is above all, in all, and is the Creator of heaven and earth. He is the Word of God made flesh and He dwelt among us. All praise and honor is due Him. He did not leave us alone and without guidance, the Father sent Holy Spirit to indwell us and direct us into His perfect will for our life.

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Ephesians 1:21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

How can we know God so we might adore Him and put life in its proper perspective? We can go to God's Word. We can open our Bibles and read the words men like David wrote thousands of years ago. These declarations of Truth can become our declarations as well.

We can also pray to our "God and King" (Psalm 145:1). We can bow to the One who is "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (Psalm 145:8). We can declare He is still the God of "mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4), "wondrous works" (Psalm 145:5) and "awesome deeds" (Psalm 145:6). We can lift not only our eyes but also our voices to the Lord, who is faithful and kind, hears our cries, opens His hand toward us, and promises to draw near (Psalm 145:13;  Psalm 145:19;  Psalm 145:16-18). FIRST5

Beauty and gladness are alive and well. Sanctuary is alive and well. Empathy and compassion are alive and well. Ministry is alive and well. Spontaneous gestures of kindness are alive and well. Sabbath Moments

Colossians 1:6–18

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 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. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 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. The New King James Version

Paul proclaims the supremacy and sovereignty of Christ, who was present and active in the creation of the universe and who remains active in sustaining and reconciling all things. Whether Paul himself wrote this hymn is debated; he could have borrowed material used in early Christian worship. Regardless of authorship, the hymn is a central component of the letter, providing the basis for Paul’s key points about the sufficiency of Christ and the futility of false teachings. Because God’s fullness dwells in Christ, He is all that believers need. Faithlife Study Bible

Paul’s prayer for the Colossian Christians is a model for us. As soon as he heard of the new faith of the Colossians, he began interceding with God for them, asking Him to give them knowledge, wisdom, strength, and joy. He prayed that the new believers at Colosse would grow into Christian maturity so that they might walk before God, pleasing Him and producing good works.

The Colossians’ faith was grounded in the nature and work of Jesus Christ. Love flows from faith and proves the genuineness of one’s faith. The Colossians’ sacrificial love for all the saints proved their true belief in Christ. Hope refers to the result of faith, the treasure laid up … in heaven where our faith will find its fulfillment in the presence of Christ.

 

Paul’s chief concern is that the Colossians might have full knowledge of God’s will. The desire to serve God will be in vain without a proper understanding of the One we want to serve. Thus Paul prays that the Colossians might be filled with full knowledge that encompasses all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Wisdom is the practical outworking of knowledge, and that knowledge cannot be separated from the spiritual understanding that comes through the discernment given by the Holy Spirit. The NKJV Study Bible