Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

May 17
Saturday


SURFACING

READ:
Colossians 1:15-23
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By Him all things were
created that are in
heaven and that are
on earth, visible and
invisible.
__Colossians 2 16
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Human beings straddle visible and invisible realities__the natural and the supernatural. I thought about these two worlds when I went out in a boat to watch whales off the coast of New Zealand. A whale would rest on the surface for a while, then breathe deeply a few times, his exhalations creating a spectacular spout, before plunging a mile deep to feed on squid.

Despite having its own lively habitat of marine plants and sea creatures the whale must surface for oxygen from time to time or it dies. Though it knows little about the world above, it needs vital contact with it to survive.

I sometimes feel like that whale, coming up for spiritual air at regular intervals to stay alive. But there is no neat division between the natural and the supernatural. The world we live in is not an either/or world. What I do as a Christian__praying, worshiping, demonstrating God's love to the sick, needy, and imprisoned__is both supernatural and natural.

The same God who created the world that's visible to us actively sustains it and has made a way for us to approach Him, the invisible. Paul wrote, "You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death" (Col. 1:21__22).

All our actions take place in the visible world, which we can touch, smell, and see. yet the Creator and Sustainer of all things has provided a way for us to breathe the spiritual air we need and crave. __Philip Yancey
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God's throne is always accessible to His children.

****************************Today's Bible Reading __ Colossians 1:15-23***************************

15 He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn
over all creation. 16 For by
him all things were created
that are in heaven and that
are on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or
principalities or powers. All
things were created through
Him and for Him. 17 And
He is before all things, and
in Him all things consist.

18 And He is the head of the
body, the church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all
things He may have the
preeminence. 19 For it
pleased the Father that in
Him all the fullness should
dwell, 20 and by Him to
reconcile all things to
Himself, by Him, whether
things on earth or things in
heaven, having made peace
through the blood of His
cross.

21 And you , who once
were alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked
works, yet now He has
reconciled 22 in the body of
his flesh through death, to
present you holy, and
blameless, and above
reproach in His sight_

23 if indeed you continue in
the faith, grounded and
steadfast, and are not
moved away from the hope
of the gospel which you
heard, which was preached
to every creature under
heaven, of which I, Paul,
became a minister.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Some skeptics have cited Colossians 1:15 to argue for Jesus being a
created being: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
over all creation." But in the Jewish mind "firstborn" did not
primarily refer to birth order, instead, it meant the preeminence
of the firstborn male over the family property. Clearly, Paul is
emphasizing the preeminence of Christ.