Scripture: Colossians 2:6–15

Colossians 2:6–15 NIV

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Jesus is Lord

Scripture: Colossians 2:6–15

Holy Days

A couple of weeks ago we set our clocks back and officially entered the holiday season. Is anyone excited for Thanksgiving? How about Christmas? Are you excited for good food, maybe seeing friends or family?

We do okay at remembering God, and the gift of Jesus is given to each one of us during the special holiday seasons. We often take a moment at Thanksgiving to remember all that God has given us. There are usually many manger scenes that remind us of God coming into our world as Jesus during the Christmas season. In the church, we celebrate Christ’s return to earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords right in the middle of this holiday season. It reminds us that Jesus is on the throne, not just today, not just during these holiday seasons, no matter where we are in the world or what is going on in our lives.

Jesus is our king and we should serve and follow him every day.

Jesus is God

Our scripture today tells us that Jesus is our Lord, and we should love Him and serve Him every day just as much as the first time we asked Him to come into our lives and save us. The apostle Paul shows us that Jesus has big plans for us and lays out all that work in this passage. But he starts by reminding us that Jesus was God. Jesus is God, but even when He had a physical body here on earth, all of who God was managed to fit right there with Him. No extra bits of God got left out when He came into this world as that tiny infant at Christmas time or as the man who hung on the cross and died for us. Jesus was and is all God all the time.

Paul tells us that, because Jesus was God, he is the one who makes us complete when we surrender to him and allow him to work in and shape our lives. So because Jesus is fully God, he gives us access to all of God when we come to him. There is nowhere else that we can go or anything else we can turn to that is more loving, powerful, or wise. The world is always looking out for the next best thing, but there is nothing better than Jesus and there never will be.

All Jesus Does for Us

That’s a pretty big claim, isn’t it? I mean, it’s one thing to say Jesus is the best thing that has come so far, but the claim that nothing else will ever come into our lives that’s as good as Him? That takes a lot of faith.

So Paul tells us why by telling us all that Jesus has done and is doing for us.

Paul says Jesus marked us from birth as His own. He chose us before we could even really understand what it was to be His. Just as Jewish boys were circumcised at eight days old, marked as God’s children, Jesus has been calling us from the very beginning.

In our baptism, He claimed us as his own and invited us to be part of his family. It doesn’t matter when or where you were baptized; Jesus was present, continuing to call you closer to him.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we followed Jesus perfectly after we were baptized? But we know that’s not the case. Even after we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we face temptation, and too often we fall for it and leave Him behind. Jesus knows this about us. And He knows that we can’t just get up and do better the next day. We need His help. So, He forgives us, dying on the cross to pay our debts for our sins so that we are not held back by that burden we cannot bear.

Then he rose from the dead to show us that His life is greater than death. He gives us the same Holy Spirit, which brings us the eternal life we find in Him. Even in the midst of our sin and death, Jesus continues to call us closer to Him.

Finally, Jesus, with all the power of God at His command, frees us from anything that holds us back from Him. The powers of evil in the world, whether they are evil spiritual forces or the people surrounding us, cannot hold us back from Him. While we still face our challenges in this world, Jesus promised that He is coming back to set us free and take us to be with Him once and for all.

Jesus is Lord

It sounds like every day, from the day we were born to the day we leave this world, Jesus is calling us to come closer to Him. We may face a host of challenges, but Jesus is able to overcome them all. While we look at the road ahead of us and see hurdles in our way, He goes ahead of us and knocks those hurdles down before we even get there. All He asks us to do is hear Him calling us and follow His voice into His presence.

We remember to do this in those moments in our holiday celebrations, but how much closer could we be to Jesus if we did that every day? What could you do to remind yourself to listen to His voice and follow it into His presence every day? Do you have a place where you can go every day to talk to Him and listen to His voice speaking to you? Do you have a Bible to share some of those stories of His work in our world and His plans for your life? Do you have a friend who knows Jesus, who can encourage you when you are struggling, and whom you can encourage to spend time with Jesus as well?

If you don’t have any of these things, maybe you can start small. Maybe you can just write “Jesus” on a small note to put on your nightstand to remind you to talk to Him each day. Maybe you can start by sitting with a friend who knows Jesus for a meal to share your celebrations and pray for each other’s struggles. There are so many ways to get started seeking Jesus, and if you start moving toward Him, He will lead and guide you in the way you need to go to draw closer.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, you are the great king of our hearts and the Lord of our lives, and we thank you so much that you chose us. We thank you that you loved us long before we even knew who you were. Help us hear your voice calling out to us each day. Help us make time and space for you in our lives and follow where you lead us. Give us the faith to trust you as you complete that good work in our lives, shaping us into the people you created us to be from the very beginning. In Jesus’ name, amen.