Heavenly Reservation

Paul, in writing to the church in Colossae, begins his letter encouraging the believers in the church to stay true to his teaching about the gospel. Sadly, other philosophies had crept into the beliefs of the people in that church, and they were wavering in the purity of their faith walk. Some of those teachings that were being combined with the teaching of the gospel were paganism, Judaism, and Greek thought. Those teachings were being added to the teaching of the gospel and "watering down" the main intent of the church. This confusion was going to be dealt with by Paul as he wrote to them while imprisoned in a cell in Rome. Paul knew how easy it was for people to drift in their faith walk, and he was bringing them back to the "point" and "purpose" of the church.

Colossians 1: ³ We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, ⁵ which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. ⁶ This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace. Paul's reminder about their changed lives because of the gospel and the new life they had in Christ, which also gave them an eternal home in glory. They had a Heavenly Reservation, and they didn't need to add some worldly teachings to the main thing, and that is, we have a home in glory reserved for all who come to Jesus.

It seems there is always a tendency to drift from the pure and perfect teaching of the promised home in eternity. We need to stay focused on the "main thing" and not let ourselves get distracted from the point. You may say, What is the point in doing that, to which Paul speaks in the above verses. He speaks of the expectation of this heavenly reservation and the promise of God that holds it all together. We do not need to add other philosophies or teachings to the Word of God because it will get us off focus on the "real" teachings of the Word of God. The worldly teachings we live in are bound and determined to get us off center on the main point of why we even live as believers. It is all about the gospel message, with nothing added to it!! Just Jesus and Him glorified in our lives.

I am excited about the book of Colossians, and I will be writing out of it for the next few days because it really speaks in a parallel way to the world we live in and how to handle it. There will always be a need to stay aware of teachings that take us away from what we need to be following, which is Jesus alone. Stay focused on the main thing, and that teaching will keep us focused on what Jesus died for, and that is the lost being saved!!

Today's Message,

David Warren