December 9, 2026 -The Body of Christ

COLOSSIANS 1:24-4:18

Chronological Bible Readings

^{Colossians 1:24} I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. ²⁵ God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.

I was talking with a friend who is a faithful servant of God in the church who has a heart to serve and care for the body of Christ. Our brothers and sisters in Christ like us are human and in our humanity we can create problems. No matter how good intentioned we may be there will be misunderstandings and hurtful words and actions that can cause suffering to everyone involved. But as a leader in a church that suffering is magnified. Not only do we feel the suffering of our own situations and feelings, but we carry the burden of the suffering of those in the flock. It can be difficult to not get caught up in those intense feelings and respond in our own human emotion. If we can be like Paul and not look at the suffering as something personal for us to endure but as a way of being brought closer to Christ, we can keep our attention focused on proclaiming His message.

^{Colossians 2:2} I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. ³ In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Our hearts desire and prayer should be for all those in the body of Christ to be "knit together by strong ties of love." I just finished with our small group meeting the Table and I thank God every week that He has done just that with our group. The ties of love are very strong with us. We have complete confidence in Christ and we know the value of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge He offers us. In these situations, the suffering I feel for the body is when I share in their suffering. Be it illness, worry and pain we suffer with one another because of the love we have for each other in Christ.

^{Colossians 2:8} Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. ⁹ For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. ¹⁰ So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

We just talked tonight about a video that presented a 7-year-old as being a prophet about things to come this month. We discussed how important it is to be alert to the lies. I believe that God can speak to us through a 7-year-old, and I think we can look at things like this with an open mind as long as it is with a clear mind as well. We cannot let the world tarnish our understanding of the truth. We know that if someone predicts something the first time that something doesn't happen, we should no longer trust the other things they say. We all have union with Christ through the Spirit and through that union we can discern the things that are worldly and true. We can consider all things as long as Christ stays number one not the things what we are looking at.