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… because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
(Colossians 1:5)
I love the beginning of new studies. The feel of that brand new notebook free of crayon scribbles, wrinkled pages, spills or dried on food particles. I look forward to sitting down with my Bible, pen and a cup of tea to read and dig into God’s word but before I can even open up my book the distractions begin. Kids get up way before they are suppose to, the dog decides she has to go potty that very minute or I remember something that I was suppose to do and it is going to drive me crazy if I don’t get it done right now. Have you ever been there?
Satan will do anything to keep us from reading God’s word because he knows something that we often forget. He knows that scripture is powerful. It is living and active, able to pierce our very souls and change our lives (Heb. 4:12). Nothing else on earth can do this. It is the instrument God uses to breath life into us, sustain us, and to transform us into godly women.
Don’t let the enemy frustrate you or discourage you, persevere because in the Bible we find life.
So lets dig into the book of Colossians with the very real expectation that God will grow us in grace and godliness and give us a deeper love for him.
What stood out to me this week was Paul saying that we have a hope, and that this hope is found in the gospel. It is fundamental that we know exactly what this gospel is because without it we have nothing.
At our church we often say, “The Gospel is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.” This is essentially what Paul says in 1 Cor 15. The gospel is history. It happened. And in these events we find everything.
The Life of Jesus
We often talk of Jesus’ death as “substitutionary,” but his life was also lived on our behalf. He lived selflessly while we are consumed with self. He fulfilled the law while we are lawbreakers. He was always kind, patient, compassionate and giving while we can be mean, impatient, callous and stingy. Basically his life was perfectly righteous while ours are, well, perfectly unrighteous. And it is his perfection that God credits to us, to those who believe. Through Jesus’ life we are made righteous.
The Death of Jesus
Jesus’ death on the cross was not simply the unjust murder of a righteous man at the hands of lawless men. It was also the predetermined plan of the Father to make perfect atonement for sin through Jesus as sacrifice. Through Jesus’ death we are forgiven of every sin.
The Resurrection of Jesus
Jesus resurrection from the grave not only demonstrated victory over death and his Lordship over all, but it is also a promise to us. Because he was raised, we will be raised. We have the hope of an everlasting body in an everlasting paradise. And as we wait for that final stage of salvation, we also have the power of a resurrected life today. We can walk with God, delight in his ways, and become increasing transformed into the image of Jesus, because the Spirit that raised Jesus dwells in us! Through Jesus’ resurrection we have a secure future and power to live a godly life today.
But we can’t stop here. It is never enough to simply know biblical truths. We have to find out how all of this applies to our specific situations in life. How is the gospel relevant to those of you who are newly married and trying to figure out this whole marriage thing? Or to those of you who spend your day changing diapers, cooking dinner, doing laundry and painfully teaching multiplication facts. How does the gospel apply to you who go out into the workforce and deal with co-worker and demanding bosses? How does Christ’s life, death and resurrection affect those of you who are suffering?
For me the gospel is my lifeline. Without it I would sink into despair. When I lose my patience with my two year old because once again he has stuffed 3 cookies into his mouth and can hardly breath I know that I am forgiven of my impatience because of Christ’s work on the cross. In Christ I learn patience because he is patient with me and when the Father looks at me he sees the perfect patience of Christ which covers my sin.
This is what the gospel does for me in just one small, but common situation. It goes well beyond saving me from hell. It saves me from myself. It is my hope.
Looking To Jesus,
I thank the Lord Jesus Christ because I can be the part of this study. It’s like I have been given the new perspective about being filled with the knowledge of His will. Before I began this study, I felt so stressed out and when I got stressed out I became grumpy. Suddenly there were million of things that i hated. But then the more I read the Colossian book,verse by verse, the more He satisfied me with His living Word. My heart is overflown with joy and hope. If He has sacrificed Himself for me on the cross what else that i lack? NOTHING!! Praise the Lord!!
While not attending to an early awakened child, or a dog needing to go potty are not options, dealing with the newly remembered task is a distraction from Satan. A trick I learned in a bible study years ago was to keep a pad of sticky notes with me while studying. When the distracting thoughts of things to do come in, write them down and get back to the studying. This will allow your study time to continue on track, while also being sure not to forgot those “important” things that need to be done.
This post was very encouraging and uplifting this morning! I’m lost in the endlessness of diapers, laundry, school work, meal plans, and the never ending job of a wife and homeschooling momma of 3. It’s so nice to sit and be reminded that we have a hope and a future in Christ! He gave more of himself daily than even I have to– and did it perfectly! There is so much comfort and peace in that truth! Thank you for this mornings heart pep talk!!
Yes and Amen! It is the gospel – the gospel that gives us hope! The gospel that frees us from the dominion of darkness! The gospel that gives us endurance and patience and joy and thanksgiving! The gospel – the sweet name of Jesus. There’s no name on earth like it!
All glory and praise to him this morning! Thank you Jen for a great ending to a great week of study!
Love you,
Courtney
Jen, I am so thankful for this post this morning. It is beautifully written and perfectly timed! I am pretty sure God had you write that just for me today!
This week has proven to be most challenging for me as our 16 yr old daughter was admitted to the hospital for dehydration despite our best efforts to care for her. GMG and God’s word has comforted me in the security of the hope I know is mine and my daughter’s. We are his regardless of our earthly circumstances and covered by his grace and mercy in spite of our sinful state. We are forgiven and so blessed. Praise be to God my Father who loves me and cares for me. He is concerned about me and what concerns me, the health of my precious child.
Jen, I LOVE your comment about the gospel being your lifeline and that it goes beyond saving me from hell…it saves me from myself. I often pray Lord please protect me from me and don’t let me get into the way of you so this especially spoke to my heart. Thanks for the post! This is my first GMG bible study and I am LOVING it! Thanks and am praying for all of you GMG ladies!
Jen- I so needed this today! Wonderful post and surely gives us all something to thinking about- saving us from ourselves! I am new to the online Bible Study – However I look forward to it everyday.
Can someone let me know how to get the study guide?
Thank you for this post. Can I just tell you how hard I laughed at your comment regarding your 2 year old and his 3 cookies!? We had a similar situation here with my 20 month old with raisins and Goldfish crackers.
I just love the scripture for today!! All I have done this morning is just thank him for his deliverance and thanked him for his redemption. I just think how the world judges each other and the Lord looks past all of that. He loves us with a love that can not be explained in a way for us to understand. I praise your Holy name Lord!!!
I love how you began this post. I’ve been using my daughter’s nap time as my quiet time w/the Lord and after putting her down this afternoon I was gathering my Bible, notebook, etc. and preparing for our time together when a thought entered my mind… I had also wanted to run the clean cycle on our washer while my daughter napped. Thankfully, I paused long enough to hear God’s call and plea to let that wait but not ask him to wait. And, thankfully, he gave me the persistence and obedience to stick with him. It really is a moment by moment struggle sometimes and I am so thankful for the hope the Lord, Jesus Christ gives us and I pray that I will continue to strive to put him first in every situation so I can grow in my faith and my hope for his perfect plan. God bless!
In the Wuest translation, v.13 ans 14 says He has “delivered us out of the tyrannical rule of the darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, IN WHOM we are HAVING our liberation procured by the payment of ransom, the putting away of our sins.” Thus, we are constantly being freed from all the “stuff” Satan uses to keep us from moving forward with God. As Jen said some days are harder than others, so my prayer is that I remember moment by moment that the price has already been paid; my sins are already gone; I dont have to live under the guilt of it anymore!
Jen
Thank you for sharing this .. I am dealing with a very difficult situation and I’ve come to realize the enemy has a very strong hold over my thoughts… thank you for sharing this! God bless ya!
What a great post! Romans 6 talks about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. How wonderful that through baptism we can participate in all three parts of the gospel!
very encouraging. love the line in the end…
“it goes well beyond saving me from hell. it saves me from myself!” so true
I have just now finished week 1 and I am so hungry to know more!
I love this method! I gained so much from it. Thanks
“This is what the gospel does for me in just one small, but common situation. It goes well beyond saving me from hell. It saves me from myself. It is my hope.”
Oh Jen, thank you for writing this! As one who struggles with GUILT, I *loved* that last paragraph and it spoke to this mommy of three’s heart today.
~Netty Josephine
I can not wait to learn more as I am humbling myself before the Lord. Thank you for writing this. It touched me and has motivated me! Thank you!
I love that we are all learning together and am thankful that this was an encouragement to you all. Excited to see what God will teach us over the coming weeks.
I love how you “brought it home” to our personal situations. As a stay at home, homeschooling mama, I underrstand about the feelings if irritability and impatience we can easily slip into throughout the day with our kids. It’s so awesome to berrminded that it is through His life, his rightousness, His patience that we can have and be these things.
Beverly,
I don’t know if you figured out how to get the study guide yet but here is a copied post off another day…
Once you subscribe to the blog, all of the links to the materials you need for the Colossians study can be found at the bottom of every email you receive from GMG (you will receive one each time there is a new post). If you still need to subscribe, you can follow the link here:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/GoodMorningGirls
I hope that helps!
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