CONTENTS
1. Come to Jesus Daily devotional
- Monday – Pray to make the most of every opportunity
- Tuesday – Pray for others in mission
- Wednesday – Make Jesus the message
- Thursday – Be wise with actions
- Friday – Speak with grace and salt
You can listen to the message at: Link for audio content
1. COME TO JESUS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
One of our goals as a church is to spend at least 20 minutes every day in prayer and worship out of the bible. I hope you find this devotional helpful toward that end.
The title of this week’s devotional is ‘make the most of every opportunity’. For some people, this sounds like they are being asked to ruin their lives by being driven and very serious all the time. However, the opposite is actually true. If we will throw ourselves into all of God’s opportunities in our lives, we will find that life has a healthy balance of ‘work, rest and play’. For example, God gives us the gift of sleep, but how many of us refuse to make the most of this opportunity by checking our phones and staying up way too late; so we squander what is a true opportunity for rest and recreation!
Paul’s encouragement to 'make the most of every opportunity' is particularly focussed on helping non-believers to come to know Jesus. Again, this is not an invitation to a slavish ‘crazy-eyed’ approach to our friendships. I trust that, as we embrace the mission opportunities that God gives us, God will use our particular gifts and personalities to help people to come to faith.
MONDAY – PRAY TO MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY IN MISSION
This church did not just spring into existence by God’s supernatural work; they heard the message of Jesus through a person - through Epaphras. This is God’s usual way of bringing people to faith - He uses ordinary people like you and me. Paul says,
‘You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.’ (Colossians 1:7)
We must keep in balance the fact that God uses people whilst being the one - the only one- who saves. Paul’s dependence upon God is clearly demonstrated by His constant references to prayer throughout his letters. Now, toward the end of this letter, Paul encourages them to pray so that they would be effective is sharing the gospel. Paul writes,
‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.’ (Colossians 4:2)
Pray, being ‘watchful’
To be ‘watchful’ means to be ‘awake’; this means 2 things: engage your mind when you pray; secondly, pray for people whom you know or sense are going through trials.
In terms of mission, it’s good to be ‘watchful’ and pray for the non-believing friends that God is putting into your life.
Pray, being ‘thankful’
Thankfulness is a constant feature in Paul’s teaching on prayer (see 1:3). In terms of mission, it’s important to thank God for the opportunities and friends He gives us, and to thank Him for the big and little successes that we experience. We are called to ‘make the most of every opportunity’, and if the most that we can do is to tell someone that we go to church, then let’s thank God for that! As Zechariah challenges us, “Who dares despise the day of small things…” (Zech. 4:10) Because if we despise the small things we will never see the big things!
Pray for the power of the Spirit
In chapter 1 Paul reveals his prayer for them,
‘We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might’ (Colossians 1:9-11).
Although not specifically mentioned here, it’s vital that we pray for the empowering of the Holy Spirit if we are to be fruitful and effective in making Jesus known.
RESPONSE
All of us, I assume, want to get better at sharing our faith. Let’s start in prayer. Seeking God and thanking God is the route to the healthy and overflowing Christian life. So, let’s pray! Secondly, let’s watch what God is doing through us and thank Him for every small progress - every small step is taking us in the right direction and that is a good thing to celebrate!
TUESDAY – PRAY FOR OTHERS IN MISSION
Paul sets us an amazing example: if one wants to get better at something, ask people to pray for you. Paul, the great apostle, does not just teach on evangelism, He teaches us that the route to success is by seeking God in prayer. We read,
‘And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.’ (Colossians 4:3-4)
Pray for an open door
Without the Spirit working, no one will believe the gospel. The message of the cross is ‘foolishness’ until God breaks in on our hearts. Therefore, Paul asks them to pray for a door to be opened for the gospel. We read something of this,
‘From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.' (Acts 14:26-27; see also1 Corinthians 16:8-9, 2 Corinthians 2:12).
Pray for clarity in communication
As well as an open door, Paul asks for prayer so that God would give him the ability to ‘proclaim it clearly’. Do you see the mystery here? Paul, whilst believing that it is only God who can open doors and save, knows that the words and manner of his communication also play a part!
RESPONSE
The clear application is to pray for yourself, pray for your brothers and sisters, pray for your church…in their mission to make Jesus known. Pray for open doors and ability to speak the message of Jesus with clarity.
Here is a model of prayer that you could follow,
‘And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.’ (Ephesians 6:18-20)
WEDNESDAY – MAKE JESUS THE MESSAGE
Colossians 4:3-4 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Paul asks them to pray for an open door ‘for our message’ so that ‘I may proclaim it clearly’; In order to communicate clearly, one must study the message. Too many people are lazy, believing that if God gives them an opportunity to speak, He will download the words to their brains! However, the books of the New Testament are given to us by the Holy Spirit so as to study, understand, and be prepared to share the good news of Jesus.
What is the message that we need to communicate?
What was Paul’s message? His message is summarised here as ‘the mystery of Christ’. The message (the gospel) that makes people Christians is centred on Jesus. In chapter 1 Paul calls this message ‘the true message of the gospel that has come to you’ (1:5) and, it’s this message that has the power to save, as Paul says, ‘the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it…’ (1:6). There are a number of ways that the gospel message can be summarised. Here is a helpful three-point outline that we like to use as a church:
1. Who is Jesus? – incarnation
Jesus came from heaven to earth as God and man (1:3, 15-19, 2:9)
2. Why did Jesus die? – substitution for restoration
Jesus died in our place to restore us to God, and restore of all creation at the end of time. (1:13-14, 20-22)
3. Response - Faith and repentance
A change of heart and mind toward Jesus symbolised by baptism (1:4-5, 2:6, 2:12)
RESPONSE
The simple response is to memorise this outline of the gospel. Get it into your mind so as to be prepared to communicate in language that suits you. The aim is to make the gospel ‘clear’. When talking to people who may have very little understanding of Jesus, it’s vital that we say things in a way that serves them.
THURSDAY – BE WISE WITH ACTIONS
As well as telling the gospel clearly, our lifestyle also helps or deters people from becoming Christians. Paul writes,
Colossians 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
For many, being wise toward those outside the church means compromising in an attempt be more acceptable. However, let’s not forget that the apostle who is writing this letter says that ’I am in chains’ for this message!
To be wise toward outsiders means to live, modelled after Jesus’ teaching, in as peaceful a way as possible - but this will not always be possible!
Being wise in our actions can often mean that we are refusing to get involved with the ‘evil’ of those around us. Paul writes,
‘Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.’ (Ephesians 5:15-16)
‘Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)
RESPONSE
Are your actions glorifying Jesus? Is your approach to the family and work (as we have been seeing in 3:18-4:2) honouring to Jesus? Is your ‘online life’ pure, godly and promoting the gospel?
Is the way that you look after your body and show your body designed to set a godly example or are we caught up with projecting an image that is inspired by pride and insecurity rather than the dignity that you have in Christ?
FRIDAY – SPEAK WITH GRACE AND SALT
Paul closes this section, and the main part of the letter, by returning to the importance of our use of words in making the message of Jesus attractive. It’s also interesting to note that Paul ends on a note of mission – a note which is too often missing in my life!
Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Let your conversation be always full of grace
Paul is encouraging us to, when possible, speak about the grace of God in our conversations. That is, speak about the death and resurrection of Jesus to save sinners (see 1:2, 6).
Let your conversation be seasoned with salt
Salt, in this context, was particularly used for preserving foods - stopping things from rotting. As Jesus says,
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything…” (Matt. 5:13)
This means two things,
Firstly, A Christian’s conversation is never to fall into ‘rotten’, ungodliness. As Paul writes elsewhere,
‘Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving’ (Eph. 5:4).
Secondly, with care and wisdom, a Christian is to challenge ungodliness and so reveal their need for God’s grace - His forgiveness.
So we could summarise things as: a Christian’s words highlight sin whilst also providing grace from God in Jesus.
RESPONSE
Let’s respond by meditating and praying out of the following text.
‘But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander’ (1 Peter 3:15-16).
If you haven’t done so already, make a list of the main non-believing friends that God has put into your life and start praying, daily, for opportunities to share with them.
2. COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY
MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY
Paul closes the main part of the letter, by returning to the importance of mission; and this, I believe, is a note which is too often missing in our lives, church, and Community Groups.
Read Colossians 4:2-6 and discuss together
1. Pray for yourself and others – Read Colossians 4:2-3
- How does prayer help us to remain focussed on mission and be empowered to share our faith? (See Acts 1:8 also)
- How are you doing at our church goal of praying regularly for your list of non-believing friends?
2. Make Jesus the message – Read Colossians 4:3-4
We have summarised the gospel message as:
- Who is Jesus? – incarnation – Jesus came from heaven to earth as God and man.
- Why did Jesus die? – substitution for restoration - Jesus died in our place to restore us to God, and restore all creation at the end of time.
- Response - Faith and repentance – symbolised by baptism.
- Do you understand each point and how would you put them into words that better suit your friends?
3. Are we ‘making the most of every opportunity? – Col. 4:5
- Share the various kinds of opportunities that you have had to share your faith recently; don’t just celebrate the big things!
4. Be wise with words and actions – Colossians 4:5-6 and 1 Peter 3:15-16
- How can our words and actions make the message of Jesus attractive or unattractive?
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