The Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Colossians

Remain Steadfast in Christ and the Faith

The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Colossians while in a Roman prison; his first imprisonment in Rome in which he spent over two years under house arrest. Paul wrote this letter in 60 A.D., also writing Ephesians and Philemon the same year, while under the same incarceration; arrested in Jerusalem, he was turned over to Roman authorities to be transported to the Roman prison.

Several hundred years before Paul’s time, Colosse was a leading city in Asia Minor[Present day Turkey]. Located on the Lycus River and the respected east-west trade route beginning at Ephesius on the Aegean Sea to the Euphrates River. By the first century A.D., Colosse had fallen behind in business matters. The town was sadly reduced to a second rate commerce-city.

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Colossians 1:21-23- Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22- But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—23- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and which I, Paul, have become a servant.

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Out of Christian concern, Paul attempts to remind the Colossians just how badly they, as a church, had,  in the past, drifted from God. Their heinous behavior caused a separation between themselves and the Lord. Then they, as a congregation, repented, and became right with God.

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2:1- I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2- My purpose 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, 3- in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4- I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5- For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

vs 6- So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7- rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

vs 8- See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

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Paul pleads with the Colossians, not to let themselves be led astray by false teachings of the world. Do not become ritualistic in your worship. Remain steadfast in Christ and the faith.

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vs 11- In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ 12- having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

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Paul reminds them that not only have they been crucified and buried with Christ, they have also received a deeper spiritual covenant with God, the circumcision of their hearts by Christ.

Deuteronomy 30:6- The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Jeremiah 4:4- Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—burn with no one to quench it.

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vs 13- When you were dead in your sins, and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.

3:1-2- Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2- Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.

vs 5- Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, which is idolatry. 6- Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

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Your behavior should reflect the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruits of the Spirits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Some of these behaviors are easier to achieve than others. Many take work and training. We are called as Christians to master them.

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3:17- And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving to God the Father through him.

4:2- Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3- And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

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Paul is wearing leg and arm irons, in prison, while writing this letter to the Colossians. He writes due to hearing reports that the people of the church of Colosse are expressing and possibly teaching and/or practicing heresy.
The church of Colosse had a history of both; apostasy and returning to biblical doctrine and faith in Christ.

It is easy to fall into the apostasy that Paul is describing. In today’s world it has never been easier to drift from the doctrine of the church and Jesus Christ, and away from God entirely—for many people.

For Christians, the bible warns of a great danger in doing that very thing.

Matthew 10:33- Jesus said, “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

It is very dangerous for a Christian to drift into apostasy. We are out of the will of God. God cannot use us. We are on a road to disaster. God might have mercy on us, and be patient with us, but eventually he will call us to repentance—If we are his child. If not, that is also a road to disaster—hell with Satan.

Do you need to re-dedicate your life to Christ?  Have you ever accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? To receive Jesus into your heart or re-dedicate your life to Christ, I invite you to pray this Believer’s Prayer to God.

Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I am sorry for all my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Thank you Lord Jesus. A-men.

If you prayed this prayer for the first time, you are now a child of God. Through the Holy Spirit, you have a personal relationship with the creator of the universe and Jesus Christ.
If you were already a Christian, only in a state of apostasy of sorts, now you are back in fellowship with the living God, our creator.

Either way, we are called to walk in the Faith, daily. That means to pray continually, study the Word of God[Bible], and attend church regularly with other believers in Christ.  By doing these things, we will be able to stand firm against Satan and his schemes—thus avoiding apostasy.

May we all stand firm in Christ and stand against Satan and his schemes,

Gary The Tested

Are You Ready?—When Jesus Returns?

Jesus Is Returning Soon!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14- We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15- According to the Lord’s own Word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16- For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with a voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17- After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18- Therefore encourage each other with these words.

1 Corinthians 15: 52- 53-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53- For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with the immortality.

John 5:28-29- Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice 29- and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

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Daniel 12:1-2- At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2- Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

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Everyone dead will rise at that moment, the non-believers in Christ, during the rapture will rise from their craves. (John 5:28-29) All will rise.

Will non-believers receive a resurrected body, as believers in Christ do, or remain in spirit? (Luke 16) Jesus tells the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus. Lazarus dies and goes to heaven. The rich man dies and goes to hell. His tongue was (is) overheated from the fire he is in. He was(is) in torment. A spirit body would not feel pain. A physical body of some type would feel torment.

Matthew 10:28 – Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

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The scriptures suggests people in hell have some type of physical body that can be tormented.

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What will our ( Believers in Jesus Christ) resurrected bodies be like? Paul gives us an idea in (1 Corinthians 15:35-54) Our heavenly bodies will be completely different from the earthly bodies. Changed forever, immortal. Imperishable, raised in glory, raised in power, also a spiritual body, people from heaven- likeness of Christ.

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2 Corinthians 5:6-8- Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  7- We live by faith, not by sight. 8- We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

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When our earth body fails to function, we are taken immediately to heaven to be with our Lord. This process takes only a second. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death , is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55)

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REVELATION6:9-11- When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10- They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? 11- Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers were to be killed as they had been was completed.

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According to this scripture, as our souls(Us-Who we are-Our person) waits for the rapture and our resurrected bodies(Which will be out of this world), we live in heaven with the Lord. We are given some type of temporary, physical body that is capable of supporting a robe. That scripture is a hint of the bodies we will have at that time.

Then, at the moment of rapture, all the dead will rise from their graves, no matter where their graves are. All will receive their resurrected bodies. (I believe the bodies of Christ’s followers will be different than that of non-believers. Our bodies will be designed by God for heaven, Christ-like. Non-believers bodies will be designed by God for a total separation from the Lord in hell, the burning lake of fire, for all eternity.)

We believers in Christ, will live with our Lord Jesus and the Lord God Almighty and the Holy Spirit in heaven for all eternity. We will have our resurrected bodies designed for His purpose.
Non-believers will spend all eternity in the lake of fire with Satan, his fallen angels, in their resurrected bodies designed by God to endure that environment, separated from God.

Where are you going to spend eternity? Jesus said, “If you are not for me, you are against me.”
If you do not choose Jesus, you are choosing Satan. It’s that simple. It does not matter if you don’t like it. It does not matter if you remain in denial your entire life. If you reject Jesus for any reason, you are choosing Satan.

Please choose Jesus.  Your eternity depends on it.

How do you choose Jesus? You must believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins. That He took your punishment for your sins. He died for your sins. Jesus went to hell in your place; for you. On the third day, God raised him out of hell and the grave and gave him a resurrected body. You must believe this happened for you; because Jesus did it for you. All mankind; every person who will ever live. He bought our way into heaven. That is the only way we could get there; by Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. A free gift, we must accept it and believe.

Next, with the repentance of a child, pray to the Lord that you are truly sorry for your sins and you want God’s forgiveness for your sins. That you want Jesus to be the Lord of your life. You want him to be your Lord and Savior. Pray this in Jesus name. A-men. Pray with a sincere heart with true repentance.

If you prefer, there is a Believer’s Prayer at the beginning of this blog. Pray that prayer with sincerity and repentance. Jesus will become your Lord and Savior. He will change your life for all eternity. It is God’s Will for all to receive Him and come to His Son, Jesus.

Become a believer in Christ and wait expectantly for Christ’s return,

Gary The Tested

Put On The Full Armor Of God

Protect Yourself From Satan

Ephesians 6:13-18- Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

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If you are called by the Lord to read or study the gospel of Job you are being tested.
Satan petitioned God at His throne in heaven to test you. And God allowed Satan to do so for a reason. That’s right. Satan and God had a conversation at the throne of God in heaven and they discussed you. In time, God will reveal to you why He allowed Satan to test you.

During his testing, Satan attacks your emotions; agonizing fear and terror. Deep loss and depression. Uncontrollable crying. No appetite (food repulses you) and more. All to the point of near or possible death. He will cause you to lose your church, job, home, children, spouse, family, everything, life. He can only do what God allows him to do.

Job 1:12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Job 2:6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well then, he is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”

Satan will study you, look for your weakness, then use someone or something to attack you. If you are married, he will study your spouse as well. He will attack whichever of you two he feels is the easier target for him to destroy you and your spouse. His goal is to destroy your life—completely and totally.

Satan will use someone from your church, family, job, neighborhood, close friend, etc to betray you and his testing will begin. This person will behave demon-like. They will terrify you to the point of almost death. Remember Satan will manipulate your emotions. You will feel deep emotions that you would not normally feel. His testing may go on for years. You could be reduced to skin and bones while struggling to sleep or eat. You may be barely able to function in life as you attempt to keep your family together as you deal with whatever outside crisis Satan has brought into your life via this person or thing or circumstance he is using (his tool to torment you). This can go on until you are nearly to the point of death or your family is broken apart. You may lose your job, your home, lose everything.

The person Satan uses is always someone who is not saved but who is faking Christianity. If you remember back through history with this person, there were lots of red flags. And you did not know what to do with the warning signs so you ignored them. God tries to warn us to stay away from these people, but we must heed His warnings. Someone who is very loud, always drawing attention to themselves, is someone to keep an eye on. God loves the humble and meek. Learn to be a good fruit inspector. If God shows you the red flags, you don’t need to understand. Obey the Lord and keep your distance, you’ll be glad you did.

Galatians 5:22- 23a- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Satan petitions God night and day to test the Lord’s people. To protect yourself against Satan’s testing, don’t tell lies, don’t gossip, don’t steal, pray continually, live a righteous life, live a Christ-like life. Be honest, good, humble, and fair. Do not have any unconfessed sin in your life. Read and study the bible (Word of God). Make sure your faith is sure and steady. Believe God keeps his promises. Make certain you are saved. That Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Then pray in the Spirit for all the saints. And attend church.

Pray for wisdom. Pray for the Lord to draw you close to Him.

Psalms 91:11- For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Pray for God’s hedge of protection. He will send His angles to protect you.

Pray that God will increase your faith; use you for His glory in this world.

When Satan is finished with you and your testing comes to an end, if your family is still intact, and you still have your job and home, you have fared better than most.

Know this, Satan always betrays the person he used to betray and test you (his tool). After Satan is finished with you and your family, he betrays that person and goes after them, but much, much worse. If you thought you got it bad, what you got was child’s play compared to what that person got from Satan.

Final note: The Lord (via my wife) asked me to write this article. The information I am giving you about testing and Satan, except for the scriptures, is from my own experiences.

Put on the Full Armor of God,

Gary The Tested

Jesus Healed Us On The Cross

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and through the Lord makes his life a guilt offering.

1 Corinthians 15:3- 4 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve.

Matthew 3:16 -17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17- And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

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By His Wounds We Are Healed- Jesus deserves so much more than a thank you for what He did for us. He truly deserves our worship, praise, and admiration. The goal of our lives should be to live a life modeled after Him.

When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He who had no sin became sin. Jesus took upon his shoulders the sins of all mankind – freely. It was the Fathers will.

 (Luke 24:39 – Look at my hands and my feet. It is myself? Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”)

The disciples saw His nail scars. In heaven, Jesus retains the wounds from His crucifixion on His resurrected body; the nail scared hands and feet, the scares from the crown of thorns, the wounds on his arms and back and sides from the Roman metal flagrum(cat of nine tails). I believe God kept the scars on Jesus’s resurrected body for all eternity so we believers who are there will never forget what he did for us.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

Jesus bought our way into heaven. He paid our price. We could not get to heaven on our own.
(Romans 3:23) He took our punishment for every sin, every person on earth ever committed, and ever will commit. The price has been paid. Your price has been paid. He took your beating. He was crucified on that terrible cross for you and me and died. He went to hell instead of you and me. On the third day God raised him out of hell and the grave and into his resurrected body.

Let us never forget what Jesus did for you and me and everyone.

John 3:16-For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

To become saved you must believe that Jesus did this for you. And accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation. Sincerely, with a repetitive heart, pray the Believer’s Prayer above this article. Pray it several times. Jesus will save you. He will give you eternal life.

As believers, we also will receive a resurrected body. Ours will be perfect, without blemish. Do you want Jesus? To live throughout eternity with a perfect, resurrected body in heaven with the Lord?     

Don’t wait. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Pray the Believer’s Prayer and repent of your sins as a child before the Lord.

May the Lord Jesus Christ burden your heart for His salvation,

Gary The Tested

Born Into Eternity

Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother‘s womb. 14- I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15- My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16- your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

Job 33:4 The spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

John 5: 24 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

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We were all formed by the Lord in our mother’s womb. God breathed life into us, bringing us into eternity. That means, from that moment, the person we are (our soul) lives throughout eternity.

As everyone knows, one of the grim facts of life is that everyone dies in the Lord’s good time. If we consider that we are all born into eternity, then only our body ceases to function. We are still alive for all eternity.

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Acts 7: 56 + 59 (The stoning of Stephen) “Look”, he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 59- Then he fell to his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

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For believers in Jesus Christ, heaven opens up and Jesus descends to escort us (soul) to the throne of God, at the moment of our bodies death.

For the unbeliever, Satan claims that person (soul) for all eternity.

Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Are you prepared for the next step in eternity? When we die. Are you going to spend eternity in heaven or hell? It’s your choice. The choice is very real.

Repent of your sins and ask Jesus into your heart and you will live for all eternity with the Father and Jesus, and every Christian.

There is a believer’s prayer above. Sincerely pray with a repentant heart and repent of your sins and experience Jesus’s forgiveness. Jesus will save you and become your Lord and Savior. This will insure your name is written in God’s book of life. You will have eternal life in heaven. You will be a Christian.

May God lead you to His salvation,

Gary The Tested