Daily Meditations from John N N Ng'ang'a: Week of 15th-21st Nov 2010 Minister in fellowship with others
Day 1
Col 4:10-14 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those atLaodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and
Demas send greetings
Paul companions ‘mix’ show the church should have has no ethnicity issues
They include Epaphras,, Mark (ASV) and Aristarchus known from Acts (Acts 15:36-39; 19:29; 20:4; 27:2).
The former, after his lapse on Paul's first mission (Acts 15:36-39), was now restored to the apostle's favor.
In spite of the doubts of F. C. Grant (The Earliest Gospel, pp. 52,53), Mark is almost certainly to be identified with the companion of Peter (1 Peter 5:13) and the author of the Second Gospel.
Luke, then, has a personal, as well as a literary, relation to Mark. Since Luke is not included among those of the circumcision, it is usually inferred that he was a Gentile-the only NT writer so identified. His identity as a physician finds confirmation in the vocabulary of Luke-Acts. Demas. Cf. 2 Tim 4:10-11.
This tells us that Paul had no difficulty working with any one, however different they were from him. No wonder he was the apostle to gentiles.
Do we accept diversity or do we try to change other Christians to behave like us even on matters the bible is silent on.?
Day 2
Col 4:15- Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nymphaand the church in her house.
Mega church was not the New testament model..we still need churches that allow fellowship like house churches The `house-church' was widespread, both in the Pauline congregations and in general (Acts 12:12; 16:15,40; Rom 16:5,23; 1 Cor 16:19; Philem 2)
Sometimes the reason we want to be in mega churches is because we do not want close fellowship yet church as per the bible is the place where the hand helps the leg in fellowship
We need to belong to a fellowship small enough to feel we are part of one another .Obviously however big the houses of those days were the church in her house is unlikely to have had more than 50 people .Will people in your church miss you if you are absent ? Will they look for you as a hand does to the leg that has been hurt?
Day 3
Col 4:16- After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.
Right from the beginning God’s message to you is not for private use but for all to benefit..Colossae letter must benefit others including us .Paul had more people in mind than Colossians when he wrote the letter to Colossians , no wonder the letter is relevant to us today. God was speaking through him.
Paul's 'Letter to the Laodiceans has been the subject of much speculation. In the second century an apocryphal epistle was composed to fill the gap; in recent times the letter has been identified with Ephesians (e.g., Lightfoot; so Marcion, A.D. 140) or Philemon (e.g., Goodspeed)
But whichever letter from Laodiceans, he was talking about the bible which has enough for our spiritual needs .
Let us read it as God's word first to the original readers but then be aware it was also meant for us and hence it talks to us
Day 4
Col 4:17- Tell Archippus: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord."
Your work is a God given mission that must be completed not just started .
The personal note to Archippus, who may have been the son of Philemon (Philem 2), is reminiscent of the apostle's charge to Timothy (2 Tim 1:6). In the Lord he identifies Archippus' ministry as a 'spiritual gift' rather than merely an organizational function (cf. Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:5; Eph 4:12). The concern that Paul voices is ever present in the life of the church: the danger is not a lack of spiritual gifts but spiritual gifts which because of
personal sin,
organizational pressures,
or non-spiritual influences
are smothered, warped, and unfulfilled
Do you sense a particular call to serve God in whichever way? Each of us needs to do the job God has given us to completion.It is not good testimony to start projects and leave them half done. The Way to avoid this is to be proactive and analyze any project fully before committing to start it .
Day 5
Col 4:18- I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. NIV
We do not minister for kicks or for self pity .Even in chains or in hospital ….ministry must go on..be target minded rather than self centered !
Referring to his bonds, Paul reminds his readers that "he who is suffering on behalf of Christ has a right to speak on behalf of Christ" (Lightfoot). On this moving note the apostle closes his letter
Paul was ministering from prison .This letter hardly speaks of the prison yet he wrote it from prison
Do you find that you tend to look for pity from people you are supposed to be ministering to?
We need to be so mission oriented that you will be happy if mission goes on despite or because of your suffering .
Day 6
Col 4:18- I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. NIV
Why does Paul emphasize that he has written the greetings with his hands?
After dictating the letter, Paul confirmed its genuineness, as was his custom (cf. 1 Cor 16:21; Gal 6:11; 2 Thess 3:17; Philem 19), with a greeting in his own hand (cf. Deiss, LAE, pp. 171, 172).
We need to be involved with people whose lives we want to influence.
When last did you write an email to someone you want to inlfunce for Christ ? He could be a non Christian you are trying to reach with the gospel…. Or a Christian you are discipling.
You need to know that correspondence can be a wonderful way to minister. Half of the new testament is like that because of the power of correspondence.
You parents or children could be better because of time you put to write to them
Day 7
Col 4:18- I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. NIV
Grace with you is a wonderful prayer. Grace means that we enjoy the goodness of the Lord that we have no right to and do not deserve.
Paul was praying for them not just wishing them grace like some people want to do in church these days
We need to pray for grace
We also need to accept grace. The devil gives us the impression that what God gives us is because of what we have done for him
But in grace we realize that we can enjoy God's riches at Christ’s expense