Colossians 3:17

Verse of the Day Devotion: Colossians 3:17

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” – Colossians 3:17 

Let us first look at Colossians 1:7. “just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bondservant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.”  Colossians 1:7-8.  Paul refers to himself as a bondservant of Christ. The Greek word for bondservant is ‘doulos’ which translated is servant or slave. And since we are slaves to Christ, we are His and not our own.  For we became His when we accepted the work of Christ on the cross and the Spirit of God entered in and lives within us.  “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” Romans 8:9  And we were bought with His blood.  “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20.

We are not our own.  When a slave does anything, it is at the command of his owner and master.  Anything we do for God we do because He has commanded us to do so.  It is not because we chose to do it, but we chose to obey Him.  This is important, for in reality not only does He command us what to do, but also helps us by working in us to do it.  “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13. His Spirit who resides in us will do the work He has called us to do, what we must do is submit to Him, and listen to Him so that we know what to do and how to do it.

And because He is our Lord and Master, anything we do must be in His name and not our own.  He is all knowing, and He knows exactly what is needed to fulfill His will not only in our lives, but in the lives of those He brings our way.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28. So, if He leads people to us, we must listen and allow Him to not only command us what we are to do, but also to submit to Him and allow Him to work in us to accomplish His good purpose.

So, as our focus verse tells us, whatever we do, whether it be in word by what we say, or in deed by what we do, we must do it in the name of Jesus.  This entails every outward thing we do.  And if we do it in Jesus’ name, then it must be what and how He would do it.  That is why we must submit to Him and allow His Spirit to guide us.  We must be humble enough to realize it is not our work, but His work that He does through us.  The knowledge we have is from Him.  The opportunities we have are from Him.  The timing of each work we do for Him is from Him.  And finally, the method by which we do this work is from Him.

We should be thankful to God every time we are given a task to do in the name of our Lord Jesus, for in accomplishing this task, we glorify Him in our submission to His Spirit and His will.  This is the greatest honor we could ever receive, being used by Him.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Proverbs 19:17

Verse of the Day Devotion: Proverbs 19:17

“One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.” – Proverbs 19:17

Today is Thanksgiving and marks the beginning of the Christmas Season.  This time of year is a favorite to many who enjoy the decorations, songs and movies that are popular during this period.  This is also a great time to enjoy shopping with family and friends and giving clues as to what you would want to open on Christmas morning.  It is truly a blessed time for many.

However, there is an important segment of society that we need to remember as well, that being the truly poor around us.  There are many people who do not have enough money to pay for food, clothing and shelter; our three basic needs laid out by Jesus in Matthew 6:31.  That makes celebrating Christmas with gifts and a feast definitely out of the question.  They would love the opportunity to give a gift to others, however it would take away from providing for the basic needs as listed above.  Furthermore, they would love to give their children a great gift, but many times have to either find something that was thrown away or not give a gift at all.

What if this was our situation.  Would we want help?  Would we want someone to bless us with the ability not to see Christmas as just another day?  Think about this and remember what Jesus said, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12.  Also note when He used the phrase regarding the law and prophets another time.  “And He said to him, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40.  Helping in this manner will show your love for both God and our fellow man.  We no doubt will be unable to help everyone in this situation.  But if we can help at least one person or family, it will make a great difference in their lives and help them to celebrate just as we are able to.

And notice the second part of our focus verse.  “… and He will repay him for his good deed.” Proverbs 19:17b.  This repayment will either occur in this life, in things that are temporal and/or spiritual, or in the life to come.  We may not know what and how this repayment will be, however we can feel comfortable that it will be wonderful and something only God could give.  However, we must remember to give out of love and not in search of repayment.  This is important for this is how God gave His Son for us to provide the salvation we need.

In closing, I want to encourage everyone to look for ways to provide a special blessing to those who are poor and suffering during this time.  If you would like some ideas, feel free to email me at william@truedevotionmin.org.  I have several areas that we are assisting in and I know would love the support and assistance you can offer.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.