Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

Colossians 1:27–2:7 (NRSV)

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.

For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

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Reflect

I love a good mystery. When I was in seminary, I wouldn’t let myself indulge my appetite for reading good, gruesome murder mysteries. But when a break came (at Christmas or summer) I would delve into the worlds of Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Scott Turow, and Daphne Du Maurier.

The thing about a good mystery is that it is not so much a puzzle to solve as it is a journey of discovery. One of the great mysteries of faith is that the Christ of the scriptures and the early churches is the same Christ who inhabits us through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the power that binds us together as the Body of Christ. God opens our eyes to the true meaning of life in Christ and the call to be the church.

I often wonder how people live without a community of faith. How grateful I am that I have had such a community throughout my life. The mystery of the Holy Spirit is that we are never alone and we have a constant companion on the journey of discovery we all travel.

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Pray

Remind us, Holy God, that as we travel through this life we are never alone. Your Spirit guides us, empowers us, and energizes us. When our tears are ones of grief and sadness, you cry with us. When our tears are ones of joy and thanksgiving, you dance with us. We are NEVER alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Go with God.