Grains of Sand

I'm posting over at Journezine this morning (thanks, Laury) so go over and check it out: http://www.journezine.com/on-this-particular-christmas-day/ But I do have a verse for today. The whole book of Colossians was my assignment this morning but I didn't have to go far to find an "aha." Paul begins the letter by complimenting the Colossian believers on the wonderful reports he's received about them. Because of what he has heard the apostle has been praying for that church and his prayer is a significant one. " For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you" (1:9a, NIV). We're going to stop there for a second. I confess that as my prayer list gets longer, the content of my prayers for individuals gets shorter. But Paul didn't settle for a "Lord, bless the Colossian church." He must have a had a huge prayer list, but the length of the list didn't stop him from being specific about what he ...

I haven't done the research but I suspect that the second letter Paul wrote to Timothy contains the most references to losses of all of the letters that the apostle wrote. Perhaps it's just because the book is only four chapters long. Perhaps Paul is having one of those "down" days. Whatever prompted this not-so-encouraging list of losses, Paul named names in his brief letter to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy: Phygelus and Hermogenes (among others) who deserted Paul in Asia (2 Timothy 1:15) Hymenaeus and Philetus, who tasted the truth and then corrupted it (2 Timothy 2:17, 18) Demas, who went back into the world (2 Timothy 4:10) Alexander, who opposed Paul's message and did a lot of damage (2 Timothy 4:14) At the beginning of chapter 3 and early in chapter 4, Paul mentions other nameless losses to the ministry—those who had corrupted the Gospel or persecuted the believers. It's easy to focus on the losses in ministry. Unhappily they are many. I...