O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected]
twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 05, 2009 9:57 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Sunday December 6 > Day 340 > > Colossians 1 > 1-2I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of > God's master plan. Together > with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of > Christ who live in Colosse. > May everything good from God our Father be yours! > Working in His Orchard > 3-5Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We > can't quit thanking God our > Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your > steady faith in Christ, our > Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines > of purpose in your lives > never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept > taut by hope. > 5-8The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It > doesn't diminish or weaken > over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and > gets larger and stronger, > just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized > the truth of what God is > doing, you've been hungry for more. It's as vigorous in you now as when > you learned it from our > friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! > I could always depend on > him. He's the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into > your lives by the Spirit. > > 9-12Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped > praying for you, asking > God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire > a thorough understanding > of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the > Master, making him proud of > you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God > works, you will learn how to > do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over > the long haul-not the grim > strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is > strength that endures the > unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us > strong enough to take part in > everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. > > 13-14God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up > in the kingdom of the > Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got > rid of the sins we were > doomed to keep repeating. > > Christ Holds It All Together > 15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at > this Son and see God's > original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely > everything, above and below, > visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels-everything got > started in him and finds > its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and > holds it all together > right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and > holds it together, like a > head does a body. > 18-20He was supreme in the beginning and-leading the resurrection > parade-he is supreme in the end. > From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. > So spacious is he, so > roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without > crowding. Not only that, but all > the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe-people and things, > animals and atoms-get properly > fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his > blood that poured down > from the cross. > > 21-23You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all > had your backs turned to > God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance > you got. But now, by > giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ > brought you over to God's > side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You > don't walk away from a gift > like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly > tuned in to the Message, > careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message-just > this one. Every creature > under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this > Message. > > 24-25I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this > jail and not you. There's a > lot of suffering to be entered into in this world-the kind of suffering > Christ takes on. I welcome > the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I > became a servant in this > church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping > me serve you, laying out > the whole truth. > > 26-29This 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. > > Colossians 2 > 1 I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for > you, and also for the > Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but > that doesn't make any > difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in > this alone. > 2-4I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything > there is to know of God. Then > you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great > mystery. All the richest > treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere > else. And we've been > shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone > leading you off on some > wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." > > 5I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe > me, I'm on your side, > right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways > you conduct your affairs, > and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ. > > From the Shadows to the Substance > 6-7My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with > what you've been given. You > received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in > him. You're well > constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what > you've been taught. School's > out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living > spill over into > thanksgiving. > 8-10Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and > intellectual double-talk. They > want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. > They spread their ideas > through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions > of spirit beings. But > that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so > you can see and hear him > clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to > realize the fullness of Christ, > and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that > fullness comes together > for you, too. His power extends over everything. > > 11-15Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or > achieve. It's not a matter of > being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already > in-insiders-not through some > secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone > through for you, > destroying the power of sin. If it's an initiation ritual you're after, > you've already been through > it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your > old life; coming up out of > it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. > When you were stuck in your > old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought > you alive-right along with > Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old > arrest warrant canceled and > nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the > universe of their sham > authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. > > 16-17So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, > worship services, or holy days. > All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the > substance is Christ. > > 18-19Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow > and scrape, insisting that > you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. > They're a lot of hot air, that's > all they are. They're completely out of touch with the source of life, > Christ, who puts us together > in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head > and we are the body. We > can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us. > > 20-23So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and > infantile religion behind you, > why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? "Don't touch this! Don't taste > that! Don't go near > this!" Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth > that kind of attention? > Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even > give the illusion of being > pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, > making yourselves look > important. > > Colossians 3 > He Is Your Life > 1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with > Christ, act like it. Pursue > the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the > ground, absorbed with the > things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on > around Christ-that's where > the action is. See things from his perspective. > 3-4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life-even > though invisible to > spectators-is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real > life, remember) shows up > again on this earth, you'll show up, too-the real you, the glorious you. > Meanwhile, be content with > obscurity, like Christ. > > 5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: > sexual promiscuity, > impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, > and grabbing whatever > attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead > of by God. It's because of > this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long > ago that you were doing all > that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make > sure it's all gone for good: > bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. > > 9-11Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a > filthy set of ill-fitting > clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a > new wardrobe. Every item of > your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. > All the old fashions are > now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, > insider and outsider, > uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on > everyone is defined by Christ, > everyone is included in Christ. > > 12-14So, 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. > > 15-17Let 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. > > 18Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in > ways that honor the Master. > > 19Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of > them. > > 20Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no > end. > > 21Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their > spirits. > > 22-25Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just > do the minimum that will > get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for > God, confident that you'll > get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always > that the ultimate Master > you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be > held responsible. Being a > follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work. > > Colossians 4 > 1 And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don't > forget for a minute that > you, too, serve a Master-God in heaven. > Pray for Open Doors > 2-4Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. > Don't forget to pray for us, > that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I'm > locked up in this jail. > Pray that every time I open my mouth I'll be able to make Christ plain as > day to them. > 5-6Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a > trick. Make the most of every > opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best > in others in a > conversation, not put them down, not cut them out. > > 7-9My good friend Tychicus will tell you all about me. He's a trusted > minister and companion in the > service of the Master. I've sent him to you so that you would know how > things are with us, and so he > could encourage you in your faith. And I've sent Onesimus with him. > Onesimus is one of you, and has > become such a trusted and dear brother! Together they'll bring you > up-to-date on everything that has > been going on here. > > 10-11Aristarchus, who is in jail here with me, sends greetings; also Mark, > cousin of Barnabas (you > received a letter regarding him; if he shows up, welcome him); and also > Jesus, the one they call > Justus. These are the only ones left from the old crowd who have stuck > with me in working for God's > kingdom. Don't think they haven't been a big help! > > 12-13Epaphras, who is one of you, says hello. What a trooper he has been! > He's been tireless in his > prayers for you, praying that you'll stand firm, mature and confident in > everything God wants you to > do. I've watched him closely, and can report on how hard he has worked for > you and for those in > Laodicea and Hierapolis. > > 14Luke, good friend and physician, and Demas both send greetings. > > 15Say hello to our friends in Laodicea; also to Nympha and the church that > meets in her house. > > 16After this letter has been read to you, make sure it gets read also in > Laodicea. And get the > letter that went to Laodicea and have it read to you. > > 17And, oh, yes, tell Archippus, "Do your best in the job you received from > the Master. Do your very > best." > > 18I'm signing off in my own handwriting-Paul. Remember to pray for me in > this jail. Grace be with > you. > > > > > > > > ~~~~~ > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > Also, follow my tweets on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Donnie1261 > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en.
