Letters From PaulSample

PREPARE

Take a moment to quiet your heart as you set aside today’s distractions.

Ask God to prepare you to read and receive his holy Word.

READ: Colossians 3:12–17

Dear Friend,

You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful. Christ’s message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.

Your servant,

Paul

REFLECT

In this letter, Paul writes to a church community in southwest Asia Minor (modern Turkey). He had never visited the city of Colossae, but Paul can encourage the Colossians through their shared identity as the body of Jesus Christ. Think about Christians in your own community and around the world that you’ve never met before. How can you pray for them or encourage them, even though you don’t know them personally?

Paul reminds us that, as God’s holy people, we must put on new clothes like compassion, kindness, and patience. Consider your own heart and the “clothes” you are wearing today. What do you need to take off? What can you ask God to help you put on?

PRAY

Paul instructed this early church to “Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts.” Today, instead of praying, choose a favorite hymn or worship song. Sing the song aloud. Pay attention to how the act of worship affects you. End your time with a brief prayer that your attitude of worship and praise will continue throughout your day.