August 30, 2017
“Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.” Colossians 4:2-4 The Message
We live in a fallen world .. filled with darkness .. gripped in desperation .. with a self-defeating determination to live life on “our” terms. And into that world Jesus walked and touched lives in every form of evil .. suffering .. and despair. When He left .. He left you to walk in His steps. Those steps are your life lived telling the “mystery of Christ”. And just like Jesus, you have to cultivate a life of prayer. Prayer means you have room inside for God to work. It means you know intimately that your faith cannot live without the life of Christ breathing in you. It means you know intimately that your faith is not self driven. You’re not here by accident or coincidence. You’re here to be a grace-filled insider living among outsiders. How could you not bring out the best in others? There will be those who reject and refuse your outstretched gift of grace. Your kindness becomes Christ plain as day. For that to happen God has to work in you .. bringing out the best of you in-Christ. He will meet you in your deepest and darkest jail .. in the very places that would imprison you .. or seek to silence your life. Those places are disguised behind anger .. fear .. shame .. and guilt. Jesus had this to say on the cross: “It is finished”. It is His prayer over your life that you would hear those words and walk free and filled by His life. His prayer becomes your prayer that in you Christ would be plain as day. It only takes a moment …
“Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.” Colossians 4:5-6 The Message
Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent to Plain-As-Day Followers of Jesus (kchesterp1@gmail.com)
