YL World-wide Day of Prayer; Colossians 1:1

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 7, 2014 is the international, mission-wide day of prayer for Young Life. Would you join me in praying for our mission both here in our area and around the world?

I plan on doing a prayer walk in the morning from 7 to 7:30 AM at Gov. Livingston high school, in the afternoon at Summit high school from 3 to 3:30 PM and at New Providence high school from 4 to 4:30 PM. Finally, I'll prayer walk at Drew University from 730 to 8 PM. Please join me! I would love to pray with you and stand in the gap on behalf of kids at each of the schools.

For those of you who are not able to join me on these prayer walks, please pray! Isn't it the greatest gift we have been given to interact with our Father!? This is the work! Without prayer we are nothing, we accomplish nothing. Prayer gives us access to the One who wants kids to be reconciled to Him more than we do! We get to plead with him to rescue kids in our area!

"Prayer is striking the winning blow. Service is picking up the pieces"

Let us approach tomorrow and our daily prayer lives as if everything we do depends on our prayers.

I would like you to consider fasting tomorrow as well. Fasting is a wonderful mystery and yet in my life when I fast God shows up. If you, like me, have a hard time fasting a full day I would like to encourage you to start the night before. Maybe even early dinner, and then start the fast at 6 PM. I find it easier to fast from 6 PM to 6 PM the following day. But I guess it's not about what is easy, is it? Since we can't all be together and encourage each other in the fast I think it is good to start the day before and finish the following evening.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, (Colossians 1:1 NIV)

Here begins my quest to memorize the first chapter of the book of Colossians. I don't want to just memorize the words and therefore I plan to take time to write about every verse and whatever comes to mind. Whatever insights might occur I will share here.

And before you think 'wow he's so spiritual and wants to memorize stuff that's awesome!' I want you to know that this is an assignment I was given by my boss. Therefore do not think more highly of me then you ought. I put my pants on one leg at a time folks!

So let's take this first verse in the book of Colossians. It seems to simply be Paul identifying himself as the author of the following text. But looking a little closer he identifies himself as 'an apostle of Christ Jesus' - A title he did not earn by spending time with Jesus here on earth, like the other 11 apostles. No, he was a murderer of Christians before "by the will of God" he was called and appointed to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Paul understood quite clearly that it is only by the will of God that he was who he was - an apostle of Christ Jesus. If it were up to his will he would still be a murderer of Christians, hunting them down in villages and cities around the ancient Middle East. (See Acts 8-9 for Paul's early career and his encounter with Jesus that set him on the path to become an apostle.)

But isn't the requirements of apostles to have "been with the Lord Jesus?" (See Acts 1:15-26) How could Paul claim to be an apostle? He gives us a few clues to his qualifications as an apostle in 2nd Corinthians chapters 11 and 12. First he boasts about his sufferings for the gospel how he was beaten, imprisoned, and "exposed to death again and again." And then in chapter 12 he continues to boast about "a man" who had visions and revelations from the Lord. In this way he seems to be referring to someone else's experience. He gives us a clue in 12:6-7 that he is actually boasting about his own experience. So Paul has every right to the title of apostle because he received directly from Jesus certain visions and revelations that equipped him to be one of the apostles.

So why does he referred to himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus? He must be trying to assert his authority to speak into the lives of the church in Colossae. The church had gone astray in their theology and had wandered away from the gospel they had first received. Paul the apostle wanted to bring them back and must have felt that his authority as an apostle would be the ground to stand on as he lovingly coaxed the church back to the gospel they first received. 

"And Timothy our brother,"

I guess Timothy was there with Paul when he was writing this letter or, as some people think, maybe it was actually Timothy's hand that penned this letter. Either way, I'm reminded that Paul the great apostle needed companionship and encouragement. Timothy was his son in the Lord and was a continual source of encouragement for Paul. Just as some kids who have come to know Jesus through Young Life in our area are such a source of encouragement for us leaders and committee members.