Daily Bread 2010 - Colossians 4
2Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him to have an open door through which to proclaim the Gospel. Back then Paul could be put in prison for preaching and indeed he was. We sometimes don’t realize how valuable our freedom to proclaim our belief is. Would you realize an open door for the Gospel if it was in front of you? Would you be ready to share the Gospel?
What do I mean by this? Well if you sensed someone may not know God would you be able to see what might be an open door to a spiritual conversation. Most people are afraid of these open doors for fear they might be termed a “religious zealot”. But there are ways to talk about your faith that are not offensive.
Paul describes this as being full of grace and seasoned with salt. Back then seasoning was a must and protected the people from diseases. It also gave flavor and made the food more enjoyable to eat. When we talk to people about Jesus and about our faith, it is good to remember that our words are to be seasoned with grace which will make the conversation more enjoyable.
Often times when people are down or dealing with difficult circumstances and this situation can lead to an open door. It might be an open door to share how God and Christ have helped you through a hard time. It might be an open door to offer a simple, short prayer asking God to help your friend, colleague or family member. It might be an open to door to help them understand that God is not vengeful and angry all the time, but desires a relationship with all of us regardless of our background. It might be open door helping a person to get healing from a bad church experience, or an experience with a Christian who judged them rather than getting to know them. There are many open doors to a spiritual conversation.
The bible promises us that the Holy Spirit will help us in these conversations to have words that are full of grace (God’s unconditional love) and also seasoned with salt. The key is when we see an open door, to walk through it trusting God for what we will find on the other side. I think you will see that if you eyes are open you will see a lot of them.
Jesus help us to make the most of the opportunities we have to have a spiritual conversation that could possibly lead someone to you. We know life is short and this open door might be part of Your plan for this person to come to you. Take away our fear and fill us with the Holy Spirit so that our words might be your words and full of grace and seasoning! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him to have an open door through which to proclaim the Gospel. Back then Paul could be put in prison for preaching and indeed he was. We sometimes don’t realize how valuable our freedom to proclaim our belief is. Would you realize an open door for the Gospel if it was in front of you? Would you be ready to share the Gospel?
What do I mean by this? Well if you sensed someone may not know God would you be able to see what might be an open door to a spiritual conversation. Most people are afraid of these open doors for fear they might be termed a “religious zealot”. But there are ways to talk about your faith that are not offensive.
Paul describes this as being full of grace and seasoned with salt. Back then seasoning was a must and protected the people from diseases. It also gave flavor and made the food more enjoyable to eat. When we talk to people about Jesus and about our faith, it is good to remember that our words are to be seasoned with grace which will make the conversation more enjoyable.
Often times when people are down or dealing with difficult circumstances and this situation can lead to an open door. It might be an open door to share how God and Christ have helped you through a hard time. It might be an open door to offer a simple, short prayer asking God to help your friend, colleague or family member. It might be an open to door to help them understand that God is not vengeful and angry all the time, but desires a relationship with all of us regardless of our background. It might be open door helping a person to get healing from a bad church experience, or an experience with a Christian who judged them rather than getting to know them. There are many open doors to a spiritual conversation.
The bible promises us that the Holy Spirit will help us in these conversations to have words that are full of grace (God’s unconditional love) and also seasoned with salt. The key is when we see an open door, to walk through it trusting God for what we will find on the other side. I think you will see that if you eyes are open you will see a lot of them.
Jesus help us to make the most of the opportunities we have to have a spiritual conversation that could possibly lead someone to you. We know life is short and this open door might be part of Your plan for this person to come to you. Take away our fear and fill us with the Holy Spirit so that our words might be your words and full of grace and seasoning! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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