{"id":44,"date":"2010-09-04T07:00:40","date_gmt":"2010-09-04T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fbclafayette.org\/?p=44"},"modified":"2011-12-12T09:29:23","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T14:29:23","slug":"thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Thanksgiving for Faith and Love"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"HandsThis is the first in a series of devotionals from the book of Colossians.\u00a0 As you read these posts we hope that you will read Colossians multiple times; after all, nothing substitutes for actually reading the Bible.\u00a0 Since, the posts will not be able to talk about everything in the passage, we trust that you will find some additional ways to put the Word of God into practice.<\/address>\n

Colossians 1:1-8<\/strong><\/p>\n

1<\/strong> Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,<\/p>\n

2<\/strong> To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are <\/em> at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
\n3<\/strong> We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4<\/strong> since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;5<\/strong> because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6<\/strong> which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing <\/em> in you also since the day you heard of it <\/em> and understood the grace of God in truth; 7<\/strong> just as you learned it <\/em> from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,<\/p>\n

8<\/strong> and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We all know the importance of thanksgiving<\/strong> (1 Thess 5:17).\u00a0 We teach it to our children \u2026 \u201cthank your mother for a wonderful meal,\u201d \u201cthank daddy for faithfully working hard so you have food to eat and clothing to wear,\u201d \u201cthank your teachers for the work they do in order to help you learn about the Lord and what he has done,\u201d and on and on the list could go.\u00a0 We also know that we need to cultivate a thankful heart in all things.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t, frustration, anger, and bitterness are often the alternatives.\u00a0 So, developing thankfulness is clearly important.<\/p>\n

However, it is very instructive for us to understand what Paul prays for and gives thanks for in the NT. After the standard introduction, in Col 1:3-8 we find that Paul gives thanks to God for those in Colosse for two basic reasons:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Their Faith in Christ (v. 4)<\/li>\n
  2. Their Love for all the Saints (v. 4)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Two very logical questions flow from the passage:\u00a0 (1) could others give thanks to God for me because I exercise both of these things? And (2) When I think of giving thanks are these some of the things I think about in the lives of others?<\/p>\n

    From Rags to Riches \u2026 Spiritually [Faith in Christ]<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \u201cFaith in Christ\u201d could refer to object of their faith \u2026 that is Christ.\u00a0 There is no question, of course, that the believers exercised their faith in Christ.\u00a0 However, the emphasis in this passage is that their faith operates while being united with Christ.\u00a0 In other words, Christ is the \u201cliving environment\u201d where their faith operated<\/strong>.\u00a0 Thus, Paul thanks God for the fact that the believers have been transformed by the power of Christ through the gospel message faithfully proclaimed (vv. 6-8).\u00a0 They formerly were lost and dead in their sins (2:13), but now they are alive and in union with Jesus.\u00a0 They were once in spiritual rags and now they have a hope in heaven (e.g. an inheritance) that has made them spiritual rich.\u00a0 For Paul, hearing of a person who once exercised their faith in darkness to now being able to exercise that faith in union with Christ is a great reason to give thanks.<\/p>\n

    Friend, your faith can operate in the world of darkness, where the only hope is found in pursuit of happiness (whatever that may be for an individual) or your faith can operate in union with Christ where there is hope not only for today, but also for the bright future of tomorrow.\u00a0 If you are a follower of Christ then your story is already one of \u201crags to riches.\u201d\u00a0 For you and every person you know in that position, there is great reason to be thankful.\u00a0 For those of you who don\u2019t know Christ, the gospel message is a simple one \u2026 believe that you are sinner and that your sin separates you from a holy God \u2026 believe in your heart that Jesus is exactly who he said he was and that his death, burial, and resurrection was sufficient to pay for your sin \u2026 and confess that you need his forgiveness.\u00a0 We would encourage you to embrace that message today.<\/p>\n

    From Riches to Generosity [Love for all the saints]<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    A second reason Paul gave thanks was the love that these believers exercised for their fellow believers.\u00a0 There is an apologetic value to the world around when believers genuinely love one another.\u00a0 In other words, the riches given in Christ put believers in the best possible position to love others.<\/strong> Murray Harris put it this way, \u201cThe inheritance [speaking of hope in v. 5] of Christians has the effect of stimulating in them stronger faith and deeper love\u201d (Colossians & Philemon<\/em>, (1991), 17). Is that true for you?\u00a0 Do the riches in Christ stimulate you to generosity of love?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    God\u2019s Word in Col 1:1-8 reminds us of the significance of the work of Christ that allows us to exercise faith in union with Christ, and the importance of loving others.\u00a0 So let us encourage you today to:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Put your faith and trust in Christ today by repenting of your sin and believing in heart in the finished work of Jesus<\/li>\n
    2. Demonstrate one act of love each day this week toward your fellow \u201csaints.\u201d<\/li>\n
    3. Give thanks for the faith and love of others in your life<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      This is the first in a series of devotionals from the book of Colossians.\u00a0 As you read these posts we hope that you will read Colossians multiple times; after all, nothing substitutes for actually reading the Bible.\u00a0 Since, the posts will not be able to talk about everything in the passage, we trust that you… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[97],"tags":[109,110,108],"yoast_head":"\nThanksgiving for Faith and Love - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thanksgiving for Faith and Love - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is the first in a series of devotionals from the book of Colossians.\u00a0 As you read these posts we hope that you will read Colossians multiple times; after all, nothing substitutes for actually reading the Bible.\u00a0 Since, the posts will not be able to talk about everything in the passage, we trust that you... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-09-04T11:00:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-12-12T14:29:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/files\/2010\/09\/praying-over-Bible.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rob Green\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rob Green\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/\",\"name\":\"Thanksgiving for Faith and Love - Faith Church Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-09-04T11:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-12T14:29:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/044621790bd51280ac2491914cbf2301\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/thanksgiving-for-faith-and-love\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thanksgiving for Faith and Love\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Church Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/044621790bd51280ac2491914cbf2301\",\"name\":\"Rob Green\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408120942\/GreenRob.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408120942\/GreenRob.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Rob Green\"},\"description\":\"Pastor Rob Green oversees Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries. 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