• The more I study Colossians, the more I'm enjoying it. When you really force yourself to slow down and find something in each verse, you discover things you never saw before, and think more in-depth about the meaning of each verse, rather than just the "face value". It always amazes me what can be learned out of only a few words in the Bible! God has blessed us so greatly by giving us His written word!

  
  

  Col 1:4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

• The Christians at Collosse obviously had a faith that could be seen, experienced, and evidenced in their life. Is my faith being lived out in a tangible way? Would others “hear” my faith by looking at my life?

• Paul and Timotheus didn't wait until they met the Colosse Christians and “made sure” they were really saved, or they were the “same stripe” , or even that they were doing everything the “right way”. As soon as they heard of the Colossian's faith in Christ, they began giving thanks and praying for them. Am I willing to do the same? Or do I spend more time questioning motives, evaluating behaviors, etc. That's not my job. My job is to pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ, to give thanks for them, and to leave the judgment up to God. (that doesn't mean that if a brother is living in sin, I can't try to help him : only that it is God's place to pass judgment, not mine )

• The Colosse Christians didn't have specific “circle of friends” that they associated with, excluding all others. They loved ALL the saints. And shouldn't we? After all, they are all our brothers and sisters. Sure, I may be closer to some of my siblings than others, but I love all of them! It is so easy to love wise, joyful, sweet Christians, but what about those immature Christians? What about those that are always making bad decisions, or haven't learned to behave as a disciple of Christ? We need to love them too. If new Christians are immature, who can blame them? Instead, we need to love them enough to point the way to victorious living in Christ.

• How can I better display love to all my fellow Christians? What can I do to be an encouragement?