Monthly Archives: November 2021

Study of Colossians

Colossians 4:2

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2

Paul’s message in this verse deals with concept of diligence in prayer. This compact verse is filled with wisdom for Believers. God’s blessings await those who hear and obey.

God’s people should continue earnestly in prayer. The message from the Apostle is this—don’t give up and don’t give in to the temptation to slack off in praying. Life has a tendency to overwhelm the saints and this fact makes praying difficult as Christians often fail to come to the Lord during difficult times. Paul reminds the Believer to keep praying, keep asking, and keep seeking the Savior. Pray earnestly Child of God.

The Christian is also commanded to be vigilant in prayer. Praying focuses the heart and mind on Christ. And keep the Christ at the center will propel the Believer to greater vigilance to threats that are out there. The threats of disobedience, compromise, and fear are all around God’s people. However, prayer helps the saved to see things from God’s perspective and leads to greater vigilance in obedience to the Lord God.

Finally, Christians ought to pray in thanksgiving. Over and over God’s people are reminded to be thankful unto the Lord (Psalm 100, Philippians 4, Colossians 3-4) and to be thankful in all circumstances. Be thankful for what God has done for you child of God. And continue in thanksgiving in prayer as you thank the Lord for who He is. After all, He is worthy of our thanksgiving!

Tony French

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.

Psalm 107:2

This verse is so simple and yet so powerful. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! Let the redeemed of the Lord identify themselves. As Christ followers, our voices are not to be silent about our salvation and our redemption. We are to tell those around us about all that Jesus has done for us.

How can we do that? There are many ways one could do such a thing. For our purposes, let us peruse three ways we can and should identify with Christ.

We can identify with Christ by our thoughts. Our thoughts are changed as we read and study the Bible, as we worship with the church, and as we submit our lives each day to the Holy Spirit. This is a process that takes time and effort. If we are willing to follow Christ He will change our thoughts and our minds. The redeemed ought to identify with Christ by how we think.

We should identify with Christ through our words. We will be judged by our words and our words have power. Our words are to be salt and light in the midst of a decaying world- salt to bring healing for lost souls and light to reveal the truth. (Matthew 5:13-16) May our words be words that bring life, peace, and salvation to those around us.

We must identify with Christ in our actions.  John implores us to love in word and deed. (1 John 3:18) James tells to be not simply hearers of the word but doers as well. (James 1:22-23) Deeds and actions that glorify Christ help us to identify with our Savior. After all, even Jesus went about doing good! (Acts 10:38)

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. And may we say it today, tomorrow, and every day!

Tony French

Oh give thanks to the Lord , call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.

1 Chronicles 16:8

The beginning of this Psalm is succinct and clear. Three commands are given and they applicable to every Christian in every age.

Christian, give thanks to the Lord. Thank Him for who He is and for what He has done. God has been so good to us. Thankfulness is the right response to God in all circumstances.

Believer, call upon the Lord’s name. Call upon Him in worship, praise, prayer, and service. God’s people cannot be silent about what the Lord has done. Crying out to the Almighty each and every day will move the Believer closer to the Savior.

Make known His deeds among the people is the final command in this verse. Make known what God has done amongst the Church, child of God. God’s people need to hear how the Lord is working in the lives His children. Do not be silent!

But, Christians also need to publish the good news of the gospel to those outside of the faith. The unbeliever is in dire straits and needs to know that sin can be forgiven, salvation is possible, and hope can be restored. Let us tell them, Believers, as witnessing to our salvation and what Christ can do for the repentant is our calling and delight.

God bless you all!

Tony French

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19

Oh, the Love of Christ. The love that Jesus has for His people is deeper, wider, and longer than any human love can ever achieve. The Lord loves His own so much, probably much more than they could ever imagine. Love like this is hard to comprehend; our Savior loves us so incredibly much. We praise Him for His great love!

Jesus loves us at all times. When we succeed He loves and when we fail He loves. The love of Christ is with us when the times are good and when the times are sorrowful. What a great love this is that Jesus would love sinners such as us.

Jesus’ love desires our ultimate best. He loves us enough to lead us to truth. Even when we would rather not hear the truth, Jesus gives what is best nonetheless. Christ’s love compels His people to growth and maturity. Living in Christlikeness is the best path to follow.

Christian, live in the truth that you are loved by Christ. Acknowledge Him and serve Him with trust on this day that He has made. May we cry out the words of the bygone hymn “A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, A wonderful Savior to me.”

Tony French

The word bless, or some variation of the word, appears over 450 times in the Scriptures. At times God is blessed and on other occasions God blesses His people. Jesus gave promises of blessing to Believers in the New Testament. We shall examine three of them this week.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.  

Matthew 13:16

First, Jesus gives the blessing of revelation. He has revealed Himself to us through the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual eyes and ears have been opened. We see Him by faith and we hear Him through His Word. Through Jesus we were made aware of our sinfulness and our need for a Savior. We were made alive and we believed in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. We give praise to Christ for revealing Himself to us. Thank God for revelation.

But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Luke 11:28

Jesus also gives the blessing of obedience. We are blessed when we obey the Word of God. The blessing may not appear immediately but it does arrive. We obey Him because we love Him. And Christ never dismisses our obedience. Rather, He sees our faithfulness and blesses it. Life is not perfect even for Christians. But, it is comforting to know that following Jesus is never in vain. Discipleship always, eventually produces the fruit of obedience.

Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”  John 20:29

Ultimately, Christ gives the blessing of faith. Thomas believed when he saw Jesus. We are blessed because we believe even though we haven’t seen Christ in the flesh. Faith requires trust even when we can’t see or sense the promise. We hold to the Word of God even we can’t sense the final outcome.  Jesus’ promised blessing flows to all who believe in Him and await His coming.

Dear Believer, you are blessed. Be joyful and thankful this week. You are blessed!

Tony French

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.

Psalm 107:2

This verse is so simple and yet so powerful. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! Let the redeemed of the Lord identify themselves. As Christ followers, our voices are not to be silent about our salvation and our redemption. We are to tell those around us about all that Jesus has done for us.

How can we do that? There are many ways one could do such a thing. For our purposes, let us peruse three ways we can and should identify with Christ.

We can identify with Christ by our thoughts. Our thoughts are changed as we read and study the Bible, as we worship with the church, and as we submit our lives each day to the Holy Spirit. This is a process that takes time and effort. If we are willing to follow Christ He will change our thoughts and our minds. The redeemed ought to identify with Christ by how we think.

We should identify with Christ through our words. We will be judged by our words and our words have power. Our words are to be salt and light in the midst of a decaying world- salt to bring healing for lost souls and light to reveal the truth. (Matthew 5:13-16) May our words be words that bring life, peace, and salvation to those around us.

We must identify with Christ in our actions.  John implores us to love in word and deed. (1 John 3:18) James tells to be not simply hearers of the word but doers as well. (James 1:22-23) Deeds and actions that glorify Christ help us to identify with our Savior. After all, even Jesus went about doing good! (Acts 10:38)

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. And may we say it today, tomorrow, and every day!

Tony French

To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  1 Timothy 1:2

Paul’s greeting to Timothy is full of kindness and love. Paul also used a similar salutation in his second letter to the young pastor. He desires three things for Timothy—grace, mercy, and peace from the Lord.

Those divine concepts should be our desire for our fellow travelers as well. Our kindness and love should be demonstrated to others as we live our daily lives. We should be seeking to display these attributes to each person we come in contact with each day.

Grace

We have received grace from God. He has made us His child and adopted us into His family. He has saved us, reconciled us, and redeemed us from our sin. And God did these things not because we deserved it. We most assuredly did not! But the Lord grants us His favor on all those who will believe. Thanks be to God for His grace.

Mercy

God has withheld from us what we truly deserve. As sinners, we merit everlasting punishment and shame. As law-breakers, we deserve to be separated from God’s goodness forever. Yet, in His love, He has mercifully saved us and forgiven us through Christ’s sacrifice. We do not receive what we truly require due to God’s mercy. Jesus mercy is expressed through His finished work on the cross. Thanks be to God for His mercy.

Peace

God grants peace to all who receive Him. We receive the peace that is beyond understanding. The peace of Jesus helps us, sustains us, and secures us despite any and all adverse circumstances. Thanks be to God for His peace.

We have been given these wonderful gifts. Let us now show these gifts to those who are in need. May all around us see the grace, mercy, and peace of Christ in us.

Tony French

Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. 

Romans 12:9

Romans 12 is one of the most practical chapters in the entire Bible. After explaining our guilt and offering Christ as the answer to our depravity in the first portion of the letter, Paul goes on to explain how we are to live beginning in Chapter 12. It is one of the most important chapters in the New Testament.

Let us examine one verse from Romans 12 in this post. Three commands are given to us to learn and observe. A perusing of each one is in order.

**Love must be without hypocrisy. We are to love one another in a pure, authentic way. We shouldn’t simply be nice to people to their face and then tear them down behind their back. We shouldn’t to pretend to love for appearances sake. Rather, we ought to love people as Christ has loved us—sacrificially, purposefully, and fully.

We are all difficult to love at times. Yet, Christ loves us and gave Himself for us. Jesus now commands us to love one another. (John 13:34-35) That love must be true and without hypocrisy. 

**Detest evil. Christians are to live holy lives. We are meant to be set apart because of our salvation and due to the sanctifying work of Christ on the cross. Therefore, we are commanded by Paul to hate evil. Evil works, evil deeds, and even evil thoughts are in view here. We are not called to hate people. We are called to hate and detest the evil around us. May we detest evil and avoid it at every turn in order to example the difference that Jesus makes in our lives.

**Cling to what is good. We must pursue and hold onto the good in order to live consecrated lives also.  It’s not enough to avoid evil. We should also chase after the good, the noble, the true, the righteous, and the pure. Sometimes these qualities are difficult to find in our present age. But, we will find them if we only look.

Love authentically. Detest and avoid evil. Hold fast to what is good. Following these three commands will draw us closer to Christ each day. May the Lord help us to follow these commands!

Tony French

6 Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things; 7 For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. 9 They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; 11 For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

Proverbs 8:6-11

Wisdom is personified as a virtuous women in Proverbs 8. This wisdom is opposed to the wickedness of the adulterous women one reads about in the earlier chapters of Proverbs. The virtuous women reveals Godly wisdom for holy living. Let us pursue these truths from God’s Word as we study the Holy Scriptures. And may God add His blessing to the study of the Bible, God’s Holy Word.

Biblical wisdom is excellent. It excels above all earthly pursuits and philosophies. This wisdom is righteous and sanctified. The instruction we find in God’s Word leads to a life of joy and peace. Christians have access to heavenly joy and peace no matter the difficulties they face. The excellence of Holy Scripture is unsurpassed and unstoppable.

God’s wisdom is also truthful. In a day in which truth is considered to be little more than circumstantial, subjective whims, the Lord’s wisdom is immutable and authentic. The principles we find in Scripture are worthy of our study and obedience. We can live in biblical truth and apply it to our lives each day without any hesitation. The wisdom of God is to be desired beyond anything this world can offer. It is the truth we see flowing from the one who is truth, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us be thankful for Godly wisdom. May we read and study the Bible knowing that it contains all that we need to traverse this life. And let us give praise that God has revealed Himself to us!

Tony French

So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.   Genesis 1:27

We live in society where life is cheap. We, as a nation, have forgotten the value of humanity. I want to take this opportunity to remind of us a Christian theology for life. It’s really quite simple when you think about it from a Biblical perspective.

1) God creates life. The Genesis accounts teach us that God created all things. The crowning arch of His creation is found in the creation of Adam and Eve. God creates life in His own image. The Imago Dei (image of God) is found in every human being. We are not mere animals or accidents of evolution. We are created by the one true God who alone gives life.

2) God values life. God is the giver of life and values it above all. Human begins are not to murder because God values life. (Exodus 20:13) Every human life, no matter the hardship, has value in God’s sight. There are no accidents or mistakes with God. He gives life and He values it.

3) God’s people should value and protect life. Since God creates life and God values life we, His people, should take steps to value and protect life. No life is unworthy and every life deserves protection from conception to death. A stand to protect life may not always be popular. But, the willingness to preserve life is always right and moral. 

I will grant that these principles are simplistic to understand. Even a child can grasp them. I would also say that in a sinful, fallen world, sometimes complications arise. I’m thankful that we have these principles to guide us along the way.

May we give thanks today to the giver of life. He is worthy of all our praise and honor!

Tony French