email : Webview : Duane Brooks - Every Day with Jesus

June 8, 2018

Colossians 4:12-13

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis.
New International Version (NIV)

                 Next week is Vacation Bible School at Tallowood Baptist Church and many of our sister churches across the country. I love this time because I get to see so many kids loving God out loud singing and hearing God’s word together.

                One of our traditions involves a group of the children coming by my office. They sometimes ask, “What do you do?” You can’t blame them if they think that I stand up once or twice a week to speak. I always answer with two thoughts. “First, I talk to people about God.” This part of my work is more obvious I suppose.   Then I tell them, “And I talk to God about people.”

                Yesterday we saw Paul’s goal of teaching Christians about God until they grew up spiritually. But Epaphras, a fellow pastor who served the Colossians brought Paul word about them. As Paul spent time with him, he observed that Epaphras was always wrestling in prayer for them. The word for wrestle gives us our word agonize. We pray that way for our kids. Do we pray that way for fellow believers? Have we wrestled in prayer for someone today?

                What was all the fuss about? Epaphras wrestled in prayer because he wanted the believers to stand firm in the will of God, mature and fully assured. Out of curiosity, does that describe us? Are we standing firm in God’s will? How mature are we? Do we have full assurance? If we can’t answer yes, that means I have more work to do talking to God about his people. I’ll be wrestling in prayer. Will you?

Pray with me:

Father, thank you for the great privilege of telling people about you and talking to you about people. Release us from the immaturity of refusing to grow up. Help us to stand firm. Make us mature. Fill us today with full assurance in you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This year we focus our Every Day with Jesus readings on Jesus’ story. With references to Tallowood's Read Through the Bible in 2018 daily reading plan, let's focus our undivided attention on Jesus and follow where he lead. He will not fail. Neither will we!
Joyfully,
Duane

Manage your preferences | Opt out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.

555 Tallowood Road
Houston, TX | 77024 US

This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.