Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

In our devotional passage for today, we are told to "put off" some items and "put on" others. This exhortation is because we have "risen with Christ", Colossians 3:1. Paul tells the Colossians that when they, and thus when we put off the "old man" we also put off his "deeds" - deeds like anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications in addition to fornication, inordinate affection, and idolatry.

These are the deeds of the "old man", which we once were, but in Christ we are told we are the "new man" and therefore have items to "put on". We are to put on holiness, mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another, forgiving one another, and above all, put on love.

I know you have already read in your devotional reading for today all that I have just mentioned. However, it is good to rehearse what we "put off" and "put on" as the followers of Christ. The passage also reveals to us that the "peace of God" is to rule in our hearts and we are to be thankful.

You know, thankfulness is foreign to most of us. Have you noticed how people seem to forget to say "thank you" when you serve them? It is as if we are supposed to serve and those that we serve take it for granted.

Paul exhorts us to serve others anyway. Each day we spend time in God's word we see the instructions there for us to live by in the life He has for us to live today.

I think it is great to know exactly how the Lord wants us to live. Just this reminder, we do not live this way to get saved but because we are saved. The truth is that we could not live this way unless we were saved and empowered by Him to do so.

Before I conclude the devotional for today, a "prophetic prospective" on the passage is needed. Notice the first four verses of our extended reading. The "if" in verse 1 is a conditional "if" and thus could read "since we have been risen with Christ" at salvation then we should seek those things above, in the heavenlies.

In fact, verse 2 says to set our affection, or our focus, our ambitions on these things above. We do this so that when Christ shall appear in His glory we also shall appear with Him in glory.

A close study of current events in light of Bible prophecy will help us to focus on His return and how close it might be. We need to daily study the prophetic word of God to better understand the times in which we are living. This will help us to better seek those things above and set our affections on the future with Him in the heavens.

As we come to our devotional time today we will look at the letter that Paul wrote the people in Colosse, the new church that he had established there, a letter that elaborates our sufficiency in Christ Jesus.

The entire letter is another of the letters that Paul penned during his ministry that would be such a help to the early Christians, as well as to all of us today.

I've been to Colosse, in what is today modern-day Turkey. What remains of the community there is nestled in the mountains high above the area of the church that was located in Laodicea, the area known in Biblical times as Asia Minor.

The area of Colosse today is like the Alps in Europe, breathtaking by it's beauty. Paul reveals to those Christians at Colosse that the beautiful area where they lived had been created by Jesus Christ, verse 16. Jesus created everything and it was created for Him.

We'll take a look at verse 17 in a moment, but first notice what the Lord has done for us by Jesus, through His blood, verse 20. We have been "reconciled" by what Jesus did for us on His cross, verse 21. We who were not in harmony with Jesus, because of our sin, had been alienated from the Lord but by His shedding of blood on the cross we have been "reconciled", brought back into "perfect harmony" with Christ Jesus.

Paul reveals the "mystery" which hath been hid from ages and generations, verse 23, the "church". The "church" is made up of both Gentiles and Jews who have been "born again". That would be all who have trusted in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, that which is the "power of God unto salvation".

Paul told those at the Church in Colosse that because we're born again we have Christ, who "is our hope of glory", verse 27.

Now let me take you back to verse 17. Remember, verse 16 says Jesus Christ created all things in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible, even the angelic creatures, everything was created by Him and for Him.

Verse 17 reveals that all things that Jesus created are being "held together" by Jesus as well, "by Him all things consist", verse 17. That means He holds together every aspect of me as the product of a created being.

The rocks, the mountains, the animals, humankind, by Him all of these things were created. But what holds all of creation together so that today they do not "blow apart"? Jesus is the one who holds all things together. The truth is, one day everything will "blow apart". That's when everything on this earth will "burn up" as foretold in Bible prophecy, II Peter 3:10.

All that Jesus will have to do is release the power that holds everything together and it all burns up, just as Bible prophecy tells us. Then we'll have new heavens and a new earth, the former heavens and earth will burn up. This seems to indicate that Bible prophecy will be fulfilled, seemingly in the near future.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for reconciling me back to You and for holding all of Your creation together until the time of the end.

As I read the extended portion of our devotional today I can hardly contain myself. His glorious power, Colossians 1:11, has given us all long suffering and patience, with joyfulness. Verse 12 says we are "partakers of the inheritance of the saints".

We've been delivered from the power of darkness. We have been redeemed through His shed blood, which means we have the forgiveness of our sins. Then He reveals to us how He can grant all these things to us, He is the Creator of all things, verse 16.

Our key verse for today tells us that by Him, by Jesus Christ, "all things" were created. That's "all things" in the heavens and on the earth. All things in creation that are visible to us, and those things we cannot see, the invisible things of this world, He created.

Look at the last words of verse 16, "all things were created by Him, and for Him". I have a note beside this verse in my Bible, "a created one cannot be the Creator". I don't remember where I got that thought from, but it is true.

It seems like the world today is made up of a bunch of "creators", not the "created ones". For sure the "created" are not living in light of the fact that the verse says, "all things were created for Him".

The basis for all prophetic truth in the Bible is the reality that the Creator, Jesus Christ, knows the beginning from the end. He is the only One who can tell us what will happen in the future.

Notice verse 17, "and by Him all things consist". He not only brought everything into existence, but He keeps everything together today. He is in charge and has a plan for the world and for each of us in this world.

The last verse in our reading, verse 18 tells it all. The final events in history happen so that He might have the pre-eminence over, and with His creation.

We started these thoughts with what we have in Him and conclude with each of us as the creation giving Him the pre-eminence. We can do that because of what we have in Him.

It is great that the Creator loves us enough to tell us in the prophetic passages of scripture what will happen as we prepare for His return to be the pre-eminent One.

Remember, the creation brought forth by the Creator is the basis for all of prophetic truth. He has a plan for His creation and He let's us know what it is in His Word. What a wonderful Creator.

This is a very important passage of scripture that we have selected for our devotional reading for today. It will reveal how "two peoples", Jews and Gentiles, became "one". Verses 11-12 explain that in times past these two peoples were apart, "at enmity with each other". But today when both are in Christ, both are believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they are now close, in fact they are "one".

This happens because of the "blood of Jesus". In fact, Jesus is the One who brought peace between Jews and Gentiles, verse 14, by taking out the "wall of partition" that was between the Jew and the Gentile.

The phrase, "wall of partition" is speaking of a "wall" around the Jewish Temple when it stood in Jerusalem to keep the Gentile from entering the sacred area of the Jewish Temple.

The Lord, with His death, burial and resurrection took out the "wall of partition" between Jew and Gentile and when the Temple was destroyed, as Jesus said it would be, the wall of partition was also destroyed at the Temple.

In the Messiah's Temple, the one described in Ezekiel 40-46, there is no "wall of partition", indicating that both Jew and Gentile have access to the Lord Jesus Christ when He sits upon His throne in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. This Temple will be erected at the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of the one thousand year Millennial Kingdom yet to come.

With the wall of partition gone between Jew and Gentile, now we both have access to Jesus. We have become "one in Christ", verse 15. There is not a "Jewish church" and a "Gentile church". There is one Church made up of Gentile and Jewish believers.

There are those who today endeavor to try to put the wall back up between Jews and Gentiles. We must not allow that to happen. There can be no division between the members of the body of Christ, the Church.

The "Church Age", after the Day of Pentecost and until the day of the Rapture, is a time when Jews and Gentiles who trust Christ become one. They are called Christians. Jews and Gentiles, when they are saved, are not Jewish Christians or Gentile Christians, we are Christians.

Before Pentecost and after the Rapture, Jews and Gentiles who believed in Jesus were, or will be "believing Jews" or "believing Gentiles". This is a key principle in understanding Bible prophecy.

It is also important that we understand this principle so that we do not divide the Body of Christ. Jesus took the wall out, we must not try to put it back and divide the Church.

The Lord has a special program for Old Testament Jewish and Gentile saints and those who are Tribulation saints made up of Jews and Gentiles. He also has a special program for Christians and this program and where it is carried out are totally different.

The Lord has given the Jews and Gentiles who come to Christ a peaceful relationship, verse 15, having slain the enmity between the two, verse 16.

What a truth - the message of our key verse in our reading today, verse 8. It is the "grace" of our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - it is the "grace" by which we are saved. There was no work that I could do to be made pure, only the "blood" of Jesus Christ could cleanse me, and you, and make us whole.

It was God who has made us alive in Jesus Christ and given us the "grace" needed to walk, not after the course of this world according to the "prince of the power of the air", but in His power. God's "grace" is that which delivers us from the Satanic power in this world.

By the way, before we leave that thought, notice that the "evil one" is the "prince of the power of the air". Since the fall of man and the end of the original "theocracy", Satan, the devil, has been the "prince of the air", the ruling entity of this world.

Notice also that even though we are saved by "grace" through "faith" and "not of works" lest any of us could boast, there is another side to the story. After our salvation by "grace" and through "faith", we must "work". Verse 10 tells us that we have been created in Christ to do "good works" – not "works" to get saved, but "works" because we are saved.

I have said all of this to bring you to the verse that is such a blessing for each of us - verse 6. Because of His grace made manifest in my salvation and yours, the Lord has in His mind raised us up to Heaven and there to sit with Him in the heavenlies. Now, we recognize that we are on the earth, not in the heavenly places yet. However, God sees us with His Son Jesus in the heavens.

This is such a precious promise to those of us who have been saved by His "grace". For a period of time yet, we are still in this evil world under the "prince of the power of the air," Satan. But our "blessed hope" is that because of what we have in Christ there is the "blessed hope" of the future abiding place for each of us who know Him as Lord and Savior.

You remember, do you not, that at the wedding, spoken of by John in Revelation, we as the "bride of Christ" are married to Jesus Christ. Our wedding gowns will be made up of our "righteousness", Revelation 19:8, which is basically the "righteous acts" or deeds that we do.

Jesus is the one who created us to do these "good works", until He comes. He is also the one who empowers each of us to do His work. All of this as a result of His grace bestowed upon each of us.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Lord because of Your grace, I am saved, but help me to fulfill that which You created me to do as a new creature, to work for you.

Paul's message in Galatians is that salvation comes by "grace through faith". He also warns Peter in a public chastisement that a Gentile does not have to become a Jew to then become a Christian.

As Paul prays for the people of Galatia, he writes to them that he wants to be present with the people to work with them "until Christ be formed in them", verses 19-20.

Paul is eager to warn the Galatians that God's grace alone will give them salvation. The Apostle uses a method of presentation to illustrate "grace over works". Paul discusses Abraham's sons, the two that are best known would be Ishmael and Isaac.

The first-born, Ishmael, was born to a "slave woman", and Isaac, the second born, was born of the "free woman". This illustration is speaking to the issue of the one under bondage to the "law", the Mosaic Law given at Mt. Sinai and the one free through "grace".

Paul carries the theme through out this text to conclusion with the statement that "we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free woman", verse 31. This is great doctrinal truth that is applicable for our daily walk with Christ; however, there is more for us to glean from this "field of truth", there is more that we must learn.

In verse 29, Paul uses the text to explain the children of the "flesh", Ishmael, and the children of the "Spirit", Isaac. Paul wrote that these two would be in conflict spiritually and physically. Paul also says that was the case in his day, verse 29. Notice the last five words of verse 29, "even so it is now".

These five words shout out the reality of today, Ishmael against Isaac. Ishmael went to live in Arabia and fathered the people who would become the "Islamic" people of today. Mohammad himself stated that he was a direct descendant of Ishmael. We know that Isaac was the father of Jacob, who became Israel, the Jewish people of today.

There is today a conflict between these two boys, Ishmael, the Islamist and Jacob, the Jews. It is interesting to note that the descendants of Hagar, the Ishmaelites are still slaves to sin.

Though the Jews are still in bondage to sin, one day in the future these sons of the "son of promise", Isaac, will be free in their Messiah, Jesus Christ. But until then the conflict between these two "brothers" will continue, as we see unfolding in our world today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank You Lord for the grace that You gave me for my salvation.

That phrase, "the fullness of time be come in" is the lead-in to what God did, He sent forth His Son for us. Have you ever thought of what is meant by the phrase, "the fullness of time?"

Let me suggest several things to consider. At the first coming of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire ruled the known world. It is because of the "Roman rule" that there was a situation in the world for the coming of the Messiah.

For example, there was stability across the known world due to the strength of the Roman government. These days, some 2000 years ago, were days of constant conflict but the mighty Roman army helped to bring a world-wide stability.

The Romans also had an elaborate road system in place that would enhance travel to all parts of the known world. This would allow for the spread of the Gospel message to all parts of the world as the Lord had directed His disciples to do after He departed.

Travel over this road system put in place by the Romans would still need a common currency across the empire so that the travelers could pay their way from place to place as they would spread the message. That common currency was the dinarius.

By the way, in order to spread any message, there needed to be a common language for man to be able to communicate with his fellow man. At this time in history, in the "fullness of time", there was the Empire-wide common language of Koine Greek.

The one other factor that would enhance the spread of the gospel would be a meeting place in each town to gather the citizens of that community together to reason with the facts of what Jesus Christ had come to earth to do, to become the Saviour of all of human kind. That meeting place would be the synagogues, which had been built during the time of the Babylonian Empire and were still in operation almost everywhere.

These Jewish worship centers would provide the comfortable venue to discuss the claims of the Gospel and study to see if indeed Jesus Christ was the Messiah He claimed to be and the Saviour promised to the world. In the "fullness of time," God brought forth His Son to be that Saviour.

This great truth is applicable for today as well - as we look at current events in light of Biblical Prophecy, we can recognize that once again, in the "fullness of time" God will bring forth His Son, for the Second Coming.

Paul, in his letter to the churches of Galatia, wrote on the authority of the "resurrected Jesus Christ". Jesus was the one who made Paul the apostle, not man, and the author of this book lets the recipients of the letter know on whose authority he was speaking.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, the "cornerstone of our faith", is in reality the only authority we have in order to serve Him. But what other authority do we need? With this authority, Paul moves ahead with the central message of this letter to the churches of Galatia. That central message is that a Gentile did not have to become a Jew before he would or could become a Christian.

Later in this book, Paul upbraids Peter for having one foot in Judaism and one foot in Christianity. In fact, Paul writes that any other gospel than the Gospel, the good news, of the "grace of Christ" is heresy and must not be preached.

Paul actually calls for the preacher of any other gospel to be accursed, verse 9. Paul also told the Christians in Galatia that he was not only made an "apostle" by Jesus Christ, not man, and that he was not the "servant" of man and thus would not seek to please them.

Paul made it clear that he was the "servant of Christ", verse 10, and Him alone. Paul was a preacher, an apostle, made so by the Lord Jesus Christ appointed to preach the "grace of Christ" and serve Him only. This was all possible because Paul had been converted to Christ by what Christ did, dying on a cross to become sin for him and take away man’s sin, verse 4.

Notice what else Paul says about the "grace of Christ" in verse 4. Paul tells the believers in Galatia that they would be delivered from sin according to the "will of God". Rejoice dear friend we will be delivered from sin and this evil world.

That deliverance is yet future when Jesus shouts to call us up to be with Him at the Rapture. We will then be delivered from the "presence of this evil world". What a "blessed hope" that is for each of us as believers.

Sometimes people say, "you believe in the Rapture? You believe in an 'escapism' religion". They are absolutely right. We will "escape" from this evil world and it will be the "will of God". I am looking forward to escaping this evil world and doing it in the will of the Most High God - praise His name.

As we come to our reading today, I am eager to share several thoughts with you about the experiences of the Apostle Paul. These experiences in the life of Paul will give us insight into biblical principles that we each can appropriate for ourselves.

Let me remind you that Paul was a brilliant man. Some scholars have said he was one of the five greatest minds that ever lived. His writings are masterpieces of literature, from a worldly perspective.

Paul tells us that in order for him to not be exalted above measure, above what he should be, he was given, by God, a "thorn in the flesh", verse 7. We don't know exactly what the "thorn" was except that it was something physical, a physical ailment of some type.

Verse 8 tells us that Paul went to the Lord in prayer to request the removal of the "thorn." It is with this backdrop of weakness that God's divine power is displayed. Just think of the awesome statement from God to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

Even as I wrote God's statement I had to pause to think about it. This philosophy is opposite to what the world, even some elements of the Church, believe is for today. We are told all you do is pray and God will heal you. That was not the case with Paul. God's plan for Paul was to make manifest in his life the power and strength of God in his weakness, his physical ailment.

Notice in verse 10 that Paul says he took pleasure in his infirmities because it was for the "sake of Christ" that this was happening to him. In weakness Paul knew he was made strong. This is such a blessing to each of us as we face everyday with our own weakness. His grace is, indeed, sufficient.

But now look again at the beginning of our reading for today, verses 2-4. Paul writes that he knew a man who about 14 years earlier was caught up into heaven, the "third heaven". Let me explain the three heavens.

The "first heaven" is where the sun and the clouds are located. The "second heaven" is where the stars and galaxies are located. The "third heaven" is where God and Jesus are today. You see the first heaven "by day", the second heaven "by night" and the third heaven "by faith".

Paul spoke of himself as "a man in Christ" and not as one of great worthiness or as one who had achieved spiritual excellence. Paul was "caught up" into the third heaven in the will and plan of God. By the way, the phrase used here "caught up" is the same phrase describing the "Rapture" in I Thessalonians 4:17.

Paul experienced the "Rapture," the event that he had explained to the people in Thessalonica. Remember Paul's last words in II Timothy 4:8, he was looking forward to a "crown of righteousness" as he eagerly looked for Jesus to Rapture the Church into heaven.

He had the experience of the Rapture and wanted to go to heaven in that way, instead of by death. I want that also, don't you?

PRAYER THOUGHT: Lord, help me to understand Your strength through my weakness and also eagerly await Your call for me to join You in heaven.