INTERCEDING FROM AFAR

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Colossians 2:1-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It’s rare to have everyone you care about living nearby. If you enjoy that blessing, then you are more the exception than the norm.

My wife (Amazing) Grace and I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia but there isn’t one of our family members who live here or even in the state of Virginia.

My mother, two daughters, and my three grandchildren all live in Western Pennsylvania. Ditto for one of my three sisters; the other two live in Ohio and England (yes, in another country altogether). I have one brother who lives north of Atlanta, Georgia, along with most of our family on my wife’s side. She also has a dear sister who lives in Illinois, near the Mississippi and St. Louis, and a brother in Delaware.

You get the point. All of the people my wife and I love dearly are far off from where we live. And with so much happening in life all the time, we often find ourselves in a situation where we need to pray over circumstances happening with family members where they live. In all those situations, you would love to be with them but the reality is that it’s hard to be anywhere on just a moment’s notice.

Thankfully, we have all kinds of means to communicate these days, far more in the days of Paul who was confined to writing letters to fellow brother and sisters in Christ to encourage and intercede for them from afar. Once such letter is the one we have been studying from over the past several weeks, the letter to the believers in Colossae.

What makes this letter different from almost all other letters Paul wrote is that he penned it from a place of imprisonment in Rome. To further distinguish this particular correspondence, we know that Paul hadn’t ever visited the Colossian Christians. All he knew of the church and its members was what was relayed to him by a man by the name of Ephaphras, an emissary from Colossae who came to see Paul in Rome. His report led to Paul having concerns for his fellow Christ followers and so he wrote a letter to intercede for them from afar.

We know this intercession was over an insidious infiltration of false teachings that were infecting the Colossian church and its members. In the first chapter of this letter, we found Paul stressing the full supremacy of Christ, the Savior Jesus who was at the heart of the Gospel. All one needed to believe in Jesus to gain salvation. That was the only teaching that was needed. But here in chapter two, we find Paul detailing some matters reported from Ephaphras that needed addressed. Here’s what Paul highlighted:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. v. 8

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Vv. 16-23

As you can see, the Colossian Christians were being tempted to accept “hollow and deceptive philosophy” based on “human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces” of the world more than the fundamental Gospel of Christ. Paul wanted the believers in Colossae to know that anyone pushing these corrupted doctrines had “lost connection with the Head” of the church which we learned is Jesus in chapter one.

Paul simply asks the church members in Colossae why they would accept any worldly regulations and rules, based on “human commands and teachings”, when they had died to the world and its sinful ways when they accepted Jesus as Savior.

The point was that the Colossian Christians had all they could ever need or hope for in Christ and Christ alone. Paul hoped his words would fend off the attempts of false teachers to pervert the Gospel and keep his brother and sisters in Colossae on the right and righteous path.

Paul didn’t just write to fellow Christians he cared about, he prayed for them as well. He knew that although he couldn’t always be present with the churches of the world, many of which he helped establish, the Lord was with them always and that’s what mattered most.

Today, as we have people we care about going through issues in places outside of where we live, we can follow the lead of Paul, seeking to pray for those we love while asking the Lord to intercede and do what He does best. For in Him and Him alone do we find healing and restoration, provision and relief from worry, wisdom and discernment.

Whether we use instant messaging via text or social media, make a call to speak with someone, or write by email or a card, we have all kinds of ways to intercede for others from afar, knowing that we ultimately bring our concerns before a Lord who knows no boundaries and is limitless in what He can do.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com