God is With Us
Colossians 1:15–20 (NLT)
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
God is with us: to see a magnificent sunset, to look up at the stars, to see a universe beyond our imagination, to gaze at a bright full rainbow with awe and think how wonderful and awesome these are.
God is with us when God the creator came down in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to live among us and show us how to get our lives back on track, a new beginning, a new birth and a new wholesome life. How awesome is that?
God is with us when the birth of Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes laying in a manger could change things so much and so many lives--including mine. His life, his blood, his cross so that I and we could have redemption and the forgiveness of sin. Wow, now that's awesome.
God is with us: we can have a new birth, by his life he shows and teaches us how to live, by his death brought reconciliation. This Jesus has restored us to our original relationship with God. How great and awesome is that?
God is with us. He calls us to be disciples to live and serve in an imperfect world, a world full of imperfect people crying out for help. Wow.
We have something to share: that life with Jesus is a life that cannot be imagined and to begin to understand that God is with us.
Prayer: God our creator, we confess our shortcomings, trusting your mercy and forgiveness and finding new life that is renewed every day and to examine our lives in the light of his. Amen.
God is with us when God the creator came down in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to live among us and show us how to get our lives back on track, a new beginning, a new birth and a new wholesome life. How awesome is that?
God is with us when the birth of Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes laying in a manger could change things so much and so many lives--including mine. His life, his blood, his cross so that I and we could have redemption and the forgiveness of sin. Wow, now that's awesome.
God is with us: we can have a new birth, by his life he shows and teaches us how to live, by his death brought reconciliation. This Jesus has restored us to our original relationship with God. How great and awesome is that?
God is with us. He calls us to be disciples to live and serve in an imperfect world, a world full of imperfect people crying out for help. Wow.
We have something to share: that life with Jesus is a life that cannot be imagined and to begin to understand that God is with us.
Prayer: God our creator, we confess our shortcomings, trusting your mercy and forgiveness and finding new life that is renewed every day and to examine our lives in the light of his. Amen.
Blaine Cecil, Wesley Chapel and Rock United Methodist Churches, Rock, WV, blainececil@gmail.com, Certified Lay Minister
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