Takeaway Verse: Colossians 4:5
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.
Story: Diane at the baseball game and Dad!
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Transcription:
Welcome to The Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica Parkerson. This is the place where we meet up to read half a chapter of God’s word together, and remember how loved we are. Jesus extends an amazing invitation to us in the Bible. He says, come to me and I WILL give you rest. This is us RSVPing: Yes!! to that invitation. So take a deep breath and let’s get started.
The name of today’s episode is, “Squeeze the Day”. Paul is about to wrap up his letter to the church in Colossi, to people he had never met before, but who he wanted to encourage from his very own jail cell. Now God’s word is alive and active, so this word is for me, and it’s for you today. It’s hot off the press, from the heavenly press. So join me in a word of prayer before we conclude our time together in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, knowing that you have something for us today. Your word is alive, and we feel that, we know it every time we crack it open. So Father, please open our eyes and our hearts to what you want us to see and understand in your word today, in the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
All right. Let’s dive in to the last chapter of Colossians chapter four. Paul writes, “Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a master in heaven. Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” There it is another mention of thankfulness. It’s important to God, making a note of that. “Pray for us too that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.” This is Paul sitting in a jail cell asking for prayer as he encourages others. That’s an example to me.
Here’s our takeaway verse, “Live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”
I wanna pause here and tell you this story before we wrap up Paul’s letter to the Colossians, because, oh, this probably happened about 25 years ago at a baseball game. I prayed for my dad for a very long time. I’m talking a couple of decades. He was not a believer, and I so wanted him to come to Christ. And this was early in that time. So early at the beginning of those couple of decades, I was so worried that my dad would never choose Christ. I was at a baseball game and his whole company was there. And a woman named Diane came up to me very quietly and said, “I talk to your dad about the Lord all the time.” And I was frozen. I was frozen with joy! I was overflowing with thankfulness. I realized that the Lord sent Diane to my dad’s company to witness ,to perhaps say things that I could never say. Diane squeezed the day! She seized every opportunity to talk to my dad about the Lord. Think about it, if you were making a picture of freshly squeezed oranges, orange juice, you’re gonna squeeze the juice out of every single one of those oranges, every drop.
This is what Diane did. And my dad did come to Christ. He is a believer now, he was baptized. It was one of the best days of my life. So God answers prayer. And Diane lived out this verse, “Live wisely among those who are not believers. And make the most of every opportunity.” Mm. I am so thankful for Diane. Ah, it’s just a beautiful story.
All right. Let’s finish Paul’s letter to the Colossians now. “Tychicus will give you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here. Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you his greetings. And so does Mark, Barnabas’s cousin.
As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way. Jesus, the one we call Justice also sends his greetings. These are the only Jewish believers among my coworkers. They are working with me here for the kingdom of God, and what a comfort they have been.” Squeezing the day, seizing the opportunity. “Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus sends you his greeting. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God. I can assure you that he prays hard for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved doctor sends his greetings, and so does Demas. Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house. After you read this letter, pass it on to the church at Laodicea so they can read it too. And you should read the letter I wrote to [00:06:00] them. And say to Archippus, ‘Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.'” Powerful words. “Here is my greeting in my own handwriting, Paul. Remember my chains. May God’s grace be with you.” Indeed. You are loved.
Thank you so much for listening to the Bible for Busy People. If you need prayer or you’re ready to go a little deeper in your faith, we’ve posted some resources for you in our show notes. We’d love for you to share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach even more people with the hope of Jesus. This podcast is part of Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and live in God’s purpose for your life. Find more podcasts that will recharge you at onpurposely.com.
