the land of the Hittites

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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the land of the Hittites

Joshua 1:4-5 (JDV)

Joshua 1:4 Your territory will be from the open country and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River – all the land of the Hittites – and west to the Mediterranean Sea.
Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just like I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.

the land of the Hittites

Why did God give Joshua and his people the land of the Hittites? Couldn’t God have found some unoccupied land to bless his people with? I mean, he created the whole planet. He could have created new land for them, without them having to fight to possess it. So, why give his people land in this way — already taken?

There are many reasons, but I want to concentrate on the relevance of that question to you and me today. As citizens of God’s kingdom, we have a mission. That mission does not require that we fight for land, but for something even more valuable. He has called us to claim the minds and hearts of people for his gospel and his Christ. But every one of those minds will begin as enemy territory. No one comes with a ready-made occupancy for the gospel. We must invade the land of the Hittites and claim it for Christ.

God’s promise if we dare to take him up on his challenge is that no one will be able to stand against us. The task will not be easy, but we will always have his help.

Lord, send us to those whom you are calling to join us as your people, and give us the courage to claim them for your kingdom.

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a mission manual

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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a mission manual

Joshua 1:1-3 (JDV)

Joshua 1:1 It happened after the death of Moses Yahveh’s servant. Yahveh spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant:
Joshua 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people get ready to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites.
Joshua 1:3 I have given you every place where the sole of your foot marches, just like I said to Moses.

a mission manual

Joshua is the mission manual of the Old Testament. It helps us understand and accomplish the missions that God gives us.

God is not calling us to fly to Israel so we can do battle with the Canaanites. That was the mission he gave Joshua and his generation. The missions he gives you and me are different than that. He wants us to make disciples of all nations, to love him with all our hearts, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. But I have discovered that the lessons we learn from the book of Joshua are just as valid and helpful for my missions as they were for Joshua’s.

Lord, teach us how to accomplish your mission each day.

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someone else’s letter

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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someone else’s letter

Colossians 4:7-18 (JDV)

Colossians 4:7 Tychicus, our dearly cared about brother, faithful assistant, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you everything about me.

Colossians 4:8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and so that he may encourage your hearts.

Colossians 4:9 He is with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly cared about brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),

Colossians 4:11 and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in every preference of God.

Colossians 4:13 You see, I testify about him that he works hard for you, for those in Laodicea, and for those in Hierapolis.

Colossians 4:14 Luke, the dearly cared about physician, and Demas send you greetings.

Colossians 4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the congregation in her home.

Colossians 4:16 After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the congregation of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

Colossians 4:17 And tell Archippus, “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”

Colossians 4:18 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Favor be with you.

someone else’s letter

As usual, Paul concludes this letter with a long list of people who are important to him. He always had a team who helped to spread the gospel.

This letter was intended for a group of congregations in a particular region, but it was also intended to be copied and passed along to other groups of congregations in other regions as well. The Colossians would also benefit from the reading of the letter to the Laodicean congregations.

The whole Bible is God’s gift to us, not just the bits we tend to hover over. There are storehouses of treasures we deny ourselves when we only stick with our favorite bits.

Lord, open our minds to your truth in every book of your divine library.

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the master’s purpose

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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the master’s purpose

Colossians 4:2-6 (JDV)

Colossians 4:2 Persist in prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:3 At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains,

Colossians 4:4 so that I may disclose it as I need to.

Colossians 4:5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the season. [1]

Colossians 4:6 Let your word always be in favor, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

the master’s purpose

Paul had just told the Colossians to do everything “for the Lord and not for humans” (3:23). He now explains how to follow that instruction.

First, bathe every moment in prayer. The master in the sky has a purpose for this moment in your life.

Secondly, make every interaction with outsiders count for the gospel. This season may be the only one you have to present the gospel to them.

Thirdly, watch every word you say. Know the words which will lead people to Christ, and not away from him.

Lord, fill our minds with your purpose, so that our actions and words lead others to you.
_______________________

[1] καιρός = season.

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a master in the sky

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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a master in the sky

Colossians 3:18-4:1 (JDV)

Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is suitable in the Lord.

Colossians 3:19 Husbands, care about your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they won’t become discouraged.

Colossians 3:22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for humans,

Colossians 3:24 knowing that you will get back [1] the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:25 You see, the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.

Colossians 4:1 Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a master in the sky.

a master in the sky

We are told that this passage identifies a God-given hierarchy, and that this hierarchy should be followed carefully because it is how God governs the world.

Malarkey.

Paul was not adding to the gospel here. He was not setting up a separate set of laws that Christians are obligated to follow, and he was definitely not advocating slavery, or encouraging children to follow their ungodly parents into sin, or commanding wives to allow themselves to be abused by hateful husbands.

The key to unlocking the meaning of this passage is the previous verse, where Paul says we are to “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” We have one master in the sky: it is not our employer, or our parents, or the “man of the family.” Everything we do should be as a direct response to the commands of our master in the sky: Jesus.

Every act of submission is to be more than an act. It is to be “from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for humans.” Every leadership choice is to be done with consideration, justice and fairness, because everyone in authority has to answer to a higher authority: the master in the sky who is coming back, and will hold us all accountable.

Lord, we want to live for you, to lead by following your example, and to follow those who lead us as is suitable to you.

________________

[1] ἀπολαμβάνω = get back.

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low things and high things

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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low things and high things

Colossians 3:1-17 (JDV)

Colossians 3:1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the high things, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on high things, not on things of the land.

Colossians 3:3 You see, you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:5 Therefore, consider dead your parts which are on the land: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:6 Because of these, God’s wrath is coming,

Colossians 3:7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.

Colossians 3:8 But now, put away all these: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old human with its practices

Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

Colossians 3:11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, [1] Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, devoted and dearly cared about [2], put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

Colossians 3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.

Colossians 3:14 Above all, put on care, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also invited [3] in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or in achievement, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

low things and high things

Yesterday’s text warned us not to get caught up in human religious traditions that are actually unspiritual, temporary and without value. Today’s text speaks to those who would think that means Christians do not have to grow, because we already have everything we need in Christ.

Yes, we do have all the benefits of what Christ did for us. We need not go to the cross and die for our sins. Jesus did that.

But we need to work on the benefits of Christ in us. We need to seek the high things, which are the character traits of God and Christ fleshed out in our everyday lives.

Seeking the high things means putting to death the low things: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language, lies, ethnic pride, pride of social and economic status!

In their place, we need to seek the high things: equality, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, care for one another, peace with one another, thankfulness, the word of God, the shared worship of God, the name of the Lord Jesus!

Lord, help us to die to the low things, and keep seeking the high things.

____________________________________________
[1] βάρβαρος = barbarian (using unintelligible words) Acts 28:2, 4; Romans 1:14; 1 Corinthians 14:11; Colossians 3:11.
[2] ἀγαπάω = care.
[3] καλέω = invite.

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unspiritual super-spiritual

Posted on July 13, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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unspiritual super-spiritual

Colossians 2:6-23 (JDV)

Colossians 2:6 So then, in the manner that you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,

Colossians 2:7 being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.

Colossians 2:8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

Colossians 2:9 You see, the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,

Colossians 2:10 and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every priority and authority.

Colossians 2:11 You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ,

Colossians 2:12 when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the achieving energy [1] of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:13 And when you were dead in violations [2] and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.

Colossians 2:14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:15 He disarmed the priorities and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.

Colossians 2:16 Therefore, don’t let anyone condemn you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.

Colossians 2:17 These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.

Colossians 2:18 Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind.

Colossians 2:19 He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God.

Colossians 2:20 If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations:

Colossians 2:21 “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”?

Colossians 2:22 All these regulations refer to what is destined to perish by being used up; they are human commands and doctrines.

Colossians 2:23 Although these have a reputation for wisdom by promoting self-made religion, false humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.

unspiritual super-spiritual

Colossae had its share of people who were super-spiritual – people who spent all their time looking down their noses at the riffraff and condemning them for not following the latest religious fad. Paul had a word for these kinds of people. He called them unspiritual.

He explained to the Collossian Christians that they already had all they needed in Christ. In fact, anyone who insisted that they needed some kind of supplement to the holiness they already possessed were just adding onto a list of temporary things that will not last into the coming kingdom. Those man-made regulations are destined to perish by being used up. God’s grace is free, and it is the only thing that will last.

Thank you Lord, for our wholeness and holiness in Christ.

_____________________________

[1] ἐνέργεια = energy.
[2] παράπτωμα = violation.

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what sharing Christ entails

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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what sharing Christ entails

Colossians 1:24 -2:5 (JDV)

Colossians 1:24 Now I celebrate while I suffer for you, and I am finishing in my flesh the balance of Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the congregation.

Colossians 1:25 I have become its assistant, according to God’s business plan [1] that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

Colossians 1:26 the mystery hidden for ages [2] and generations but now revealed to his devotees.

Colossians 1:27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:28 We proclaim him, warning and teaching every human [3] with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Colossians 1:29 I labor for this, striving with his strength that achieves [4] things powerfully in me.

Colossians 2:1 You see, I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person.

Colossians 2:2 I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in care, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery – Christ.

Colossians 2:3 In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:4 I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with arguments that sound reasonable.

Colossians 2:5 You see, I may be absent in body, but I am with you in breath, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.

what sharing Christ entails

For Paul, each congregation of Christian believers is a part of his body – a manifestation of his presence. It is not a contradiction for that body to both suffer and celebrate, because Christ did both. Sharing Christ entails both.

Paul’s urge to proclaim Christ everywhere is also a part of that drive to share him. The mission of our covenant with Christ involves proclaiming the gospel and planting congregations everywhere, so that the whole world will get the chance to experience him – through us.

That drive to share Christ creates a tie with every congregation, even the ones we cannot be physically present in. Christianity is a global movement, making Christ known in local communities.

Lord, show us how to share you with everyone we can.

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[1] οἰκονομία = business plan.
[2] αἰών = age.
[3] ἄνθρωπος = human. Colossians 1:28; 2:8, 22; 3:9, 23.
[4] ἐνεργέω = achieve.

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he is the priority

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Jefferson Vann

 

he is the priority

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Colossians 1:15-23 (JDV)

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the unseen God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1:16 You see, everything was created by him, in the sky and on the land, [1] what can be seen and what cannot be seen, whether thrones or dominions or priorities [2] or authorities – all things have been created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:18 He is also the head of the body, the congregation; [3] he is the priority, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.

Colossians 1:19 You see, God was delighted to have all his fullness dwell in him,

Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on the land or things in the sky, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds expressed in your evil achievements.

Colossians 1:22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you devoted, faultless, and blameless before him –

Colossians 1:23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under the sky, and I, Paul, have become an assistant of it.

he is the priority

All of life is a juggling of things that we deem important, or even urgent. We choose our friends and associations based on the things that we feel are important, and we choose who to listen to, and who to ignore based on those personal choices. The lesson of the New Testament is that Jesus himself is the priority. It was that lesson that Paul was reminding the Colossians about.

Even churches can get sidetracked here – which is why Paul had to bring this up to the Colossians.

Lord, ground us in yourself as our first priority. May we focus on keeping your covenant, following your commands, and obeying your great commission.

_________________________

1 γῆ = land. Colossians 1:16, 20; 3:2, 5.
2 ἀρχή = priority. Colossians 1:16, 18; 2:10, 15.
3 ἐκκλησία = congregation. Colossians 1:18, 24; 4:15-16.

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time capsule

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Jefferson Vann
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time capsule

Colossians 1:3-14 (JDV)

Colossians 1:3 We are always thanking God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, while we pray for you,

Colossians 1:4 because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and about the care [1] you have for all the devotees

Colossians 1:5 because of the hope reserved for you in the sky. [2] You have already heard about this hope in the word of truth, the gospel

Colossians 1:6 that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate God’s favor.

Colossians 1:7 You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly cared about fellow servant. He is a faithful assistant [3] of Christ on your behalf,

Colossians 1:8 and he has told us about your care in the Breath. [4]

Colossians 1:9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his preference in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

Colossians 1:10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good achievement [5] and growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully

Colossians 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the devotees’ inheritance in the light.

Colossians 1:13 He has rescued us from the dark domain and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he cares about.

Colossians 1:14 By him we have release, the forgiveness of failures. [6]

time capsule

I was thinking last night (while not sleeping) that I actually engage in a bit of time travel with these devotionals. This one was written seventeen months before it was posted. So, even though it is not exactly time travel, each is a kind of time capsule. I am sharing my thoughts today with the world of the future.

Paul’s prayers also travel into the future. He can speak of his confidence that the Colossian Christians will inherit the hope that is reserved for them in the sky. But he can also pray that they stay strong and grow in their walk and work in the present. He acknowledges that they need God’s help to continue sharing the light of the gospel in the dark domain of the 1st century Roman empire. But he can also confidently assert that they have been rescued out of that dark domain and transferred into Christ’s kingdom.

We are in two realms simultaneously: the current dark domain wants our allegiance, but we are promised to a kingdom to come.

Lord, may we stay true to the king of eternity, though we wrestle here in the dark domain.

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1 ἀγάπη = care. Colossians 1:4, 8, 13; 2:2; 3:14.
2 οὐρανός = sky.
3 διάκονος = assistant. Colossians 1:7, 23, 25; 4:7.
4 πνεῦμα = breath. Colossians 1:8; 2:5.
5 ἔργον = achievement. Colossians 1:10, 21; 3:17.
6 ἁμαρτία = failure.

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