Chuck Larsen

I often mention that the New Testament writers refer to all believers as “saints.” I even included that in one of my morning devotions the other day and got several responses from people. I love responses! It encouraged me to know that people are reading these whether they agree with me or not. Several of the responses I received on that specific day didn’t agree with me. Can you imagine that!! As I read Colossians 1:12 this morning, I realized it addressed that issue specifically. Paul tells the believers that they should be giving thanks to the Father because He “has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” View full article »

Excellence is never achieved without discipline and endurance. So Paul continues his prayer for us in Colossians 1:11. He writes, “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy…” Aaron Rogers testimony is a great example for believers everywhere. One news article reported the following about him: I’ll give it exactly as it appeared with only the spaces eliminated. View full article »

Paul prays for the Colossian church to continue to be fruitful regarding their commission to make disciples. Colossians 1:9-10 says, “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work…” View full article »

Paul didn’t plant the church at Colossae. It was planted by Epaphras. Paul didn’t know the members of that church, but that didn’t matter to Paul. In Chapter 1:6-7, you can almost feel Paul’s excitement when he exclaims, “…the gospel that has come to you … is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you first heard it.” View full article »

In 1 Corinthians 13, the famous Love passage, Paul says there are only three things that abide with eternal significance and those three things are faith, hope and love. In Colossians 1, verses 3 thru 5, Paul puts those three crucial ingredients together in his prayers of thanksgiving for the saints. He writes, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” He clarifies these three traits for us. When he talks about faith it’s “Faith in Jesus Christ.” When he talks about love, it’s “Love for each other.” Both Faith and Love are motivated by the hope that’s laid up for us in heaven. View full article »

In the second verse of Colossians, Paul extends a wonderful blessing to his readers. He says, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” Paul often wished these two things on his readers. These two brief words contain everything we need to survive life’s trials, temptations, and troubles. He uses the same greeting for the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Thessalonians and of course the Colossians. His greetings to Timothy and Titus vary slightly but contain the same concepts. Grace and Peace! Who could ask for more?
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I’ve always treasured the fact that Paul often addresses his comments and letters to “the saints” in the various churches. Growing up in the Catholic church, I learned that “saints” were only those who lived exemplary lives and were identified as saints by the authority of the Vatican. When they were “Canonized” as saints, it was only after their deaths. But Paul, and other writes of the Epistles, refers to all believers as “saints.”
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