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Meeting God Changes Your Life

Reading God’s Word: Colossians 1:7–14

7Epaphras, our much loved co-worker, was the one who brought you the Good

News. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place.8

He is theone who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.

9So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you.We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in yourlives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. 10Then the wayyou live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good,kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.

11We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so thatyou will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with

 joy,12

always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritancethat belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light. 13For he has rescued usfrom the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us intothe Kingdom of his dear Son. 14God has purchased our freedom with his blood 

and has forgiven all our sins.

From Now to Eternity

Meeting God changes your life. Trusting God makes a lot of things possible thatwere impossible before you met Him—like having your sins forgiven andreceiving the gift of eternal life. You may not “feel” what God is doing much of the

time, but you can be sure that He is working. Maybe you've heard people talkabout how Jesus changed their lives. He wants to bring about these same typesof changes in your life. In the verses you just read, the apostle Paul asked God on behalf of theColossians for at least nine results. We are praying for the same in your life:

1. That you will understand what God wants to do in your life (v. 9).2. That you will have wisdom that comes from God (v. 9).3. That your life will be pleasing and honoring to God (v. 10).4. That you will find more and more ways to do good for others (v. 10).

5. That you will know God better (v. 10).6. That you will experience God’s power in your life (v. 11).7. That you will receive the patience and endurance God wants to give you

(v. 11).8. That you will be filled with joy (v. 11).9. That you will be more and more thankful as you better understand what

God has done for you (v. 12).

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Does this seem a little overwhelming to you? That’s OK. Right now you’re justgetting a glimpse of what God wants to do in your life, but getting to that placewill take some time. Look at that list again. Is there anything there you wouldn’t want to be true of your life? Of course not! Realize that God made all thesethings available to you as you grow spiritually. Note the thought expressed inverse 13. If you've invited Christ into your life you have been declared a citizen

in Christ’s kingdom. You were held hostage in the kingdom of darkness, butnow you are free in Christ.

Your time from now to eternity will involve learning what it means to be a citizenin Christ’s kingdom. Now there’s a life worth living!

Think about these questions as you read Coloss ians 1:7–14:

What changes do you want God to make in your life?

How does it make you feel to know, once you’ve accepted Christ, that

you’re a citizen of heaven?

 Apply It Are there parts of your life that are particularly challenging right now? God wantsyou to have faith and know that He is in control of your life, but that can beoverwhelming and difficult to understand when you’re just starting to know whatfaith is. If you already have a Christian friend, ask them to pray for you and helpyou understand what God is doing in your life. If you don’t know anotherChristian, try to find a new Christian friend.  And above all else, keep asking God

to give you the faith you need to trust Him.

Express ItReading and thinking about God’s Word is all about letting God speak to you.Praying is all about you talking to God. It’s not a ritual or just repeating somethingyou’ve memorized. Prayer is talking to God from the heart. If this is a new habitfor you, stop for a moment and ask yourself, “What would I want to say to JesusChrist if He walked up and sat by me right now?” Go ahead and tell Him thosethings, and ask Him those questions. That’s basic prayer.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission

of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.