My Favorite Verses - Vol V (Feb 17 to Jun 17)
An illustrated collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and some of its least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
An illustrated collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and some of its least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
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Colossians 4:2 … Alert in Thanksgiving<br />
(04/25/20<strong>17</strong>)<br />
“Devote yourselves <strong>to</strong> prayer;<br />
keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.”<br />
~ Paul (Colossians 4:2)<br />
First & foremost, it is important <strong>to</strong> remember that Paul would have us devote<br />
our lives <strong>to</strong> religious worship of Jesus himself (much like the Christian church that<br />
was founded on his self-authored teachings) – which is exactly the opposite of what<br />
Jesus himself wanted us <strong>to</strong> do (namely, <strong>to</strong> pray in secret whenever we pray – see<br />
Matthew 6:5-6, and <strong>to</strong> worship not himself but the Father, via acts of selfless service for<br />
others – see Mark 10:18, Matthew 16:28, John 13:15-<strong>17</strong>, Matthew 25:35-40 et al) …<br />
Second, note that Paul would have us pray for our own salvation, and somehow<br />
“keep alert” by giving thanks for our own blessings, while Jesus would have us<br />
pray only “in his name” – in essence only <strong>to</strong> be of ever-greater service <strong>to</strong> those<br />
around us (see Matthew 1:23 + Matthew 21:22, John 14:13-14, John 15:7, John 16:23 et<br />
al). And the only way we can remain truly "alert" in such a spiritual paradigm is<br />
<strong>to</strong> return continually <strong>to</strong> Loving others selflessly (see Matthew 18:3-4, Matthew 23:12<br />
et al) – and <strong>to</strong> giving thanks for the Grace that allows us <strong>to</strong> do this in every<br />
moment of our lives … Third, note as well in closing that Colossians, if it was<br />
written by Paul at all, would have been written by Paul while he languished away<br />
in a prison cell near the very end of his life; possibly the reason he would invite<br />
others <strong>to</strong> a similar form of passiveness (seeing as how the misery of all those steeped<br />
in self-centeredness tends <strong>to</strong> love the company of those in similarly meaningless misery).<br />
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