As the holiday season approaches, host Allen J. Huth urges listeners to maintain their spiritual discipline and connection with the Word, even when life gets busy. Referring to the importance of Bible reading, the reflection stresses how invaluable staying close to the Word is during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. The episode is a heartfelt reminder to invest in one’s relationship with God during both festive and regular times, ensuring a more peaceful holiday experience.
Welcome to AddBible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today we finish the book of Colossians with chapter 4. We’ll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of the 18 verses of Colossians chapter 4.
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Colossians 4 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the Word to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.” Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts. And with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called Justice… These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
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In 1986, in the third journal I ever wrote, I wrote about Colossians 4. Pray that God may open a door for his word. And I was referring to verse 3. Let your speech always be seasoned with salt. Verse 6. Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it. Verse 17. Ten years later, in 1996, I read Colossians 4 on a Saturday morning, which is usually when I go to a Gideon prayer breakfast. So I read the scriptures, but I didn’t write any notes. Moving on to 2006, when I was reading the whole Bible that year and reading Old Testament passages and New Testament passages each day, concerning Colossians 4, I wrote, My prayer is that God will open a door to us, a door for the Word. And I was referring again to that verse 3. Then I continue to write about verse 12. I wish I may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. And then referring to verse 17, I wrote, Say to, and I put a parentheses, Allen, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it. And that ends my journal entries on Colossians chapter 4. As we look at chapter 4, let’s not skip the first verse. It reminds us we also have a master in heaven. Is that a reminder to us that we serve a master? Much like a bondservant serves here on earth, we too serve a master who happens to be in heaven. Are you busy running your own life or are you serving a master in heaven? Verse 3 is a great verse for the Ezra Project and AddBible. It says, at the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the Word. I hope you will do that for the Ezra Project. I hope that you will pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the Word through AddBible and other means of the Ezra Project as we try to connect God’s people to God’s Word. As Paul asked those of the Colossian church to pray for him, I also ask you, the listeners of AddBible, to pray for us. Let’s look at verse 6. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. That verse might touch the heart of several of you. Are the words that come out of your mouth always gracious, seasoned with salt? I know I can’t say that. That verse challenges me greatly. It reminds me of a verse in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 29 that also challenged me from time to time in my life. It says, Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Whoa! No corrupt talk. Only words that are good for building up. Only words that give grace to those who hear. The verse in Ephesians reminds us of the verses in James chapter 3 about taming our tongue. James 3, verse 5 says, For every kind of beast and bird of reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing, my brothers. These things ought not be so. Today, your practical application may be to tame your tongue, to ask the Lord, ask the Holy Spirit to let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. Oh, friends, I know it’s really hard when we’re just reading along in the scriptures and all of a sudden, bang, it starts to talk to us personally. That’s the power of God’s Word, isn’t it? That’s why we stay close to the Word. That’s why we listen to AddBible. That’s why we go back to Colossians 3.16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another. Yes, this passage may be teaching and admonishing each one of us about what comes out of our mouths. And as we close out Colossians chapter 4, there’s some pretty neat greetings that Paul makes to some of his friends. Verse 12 suggests to us that we should stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. Are you maturing in your Christianity? Are you fully assured that you are in the will of God for your life? And lastly, verse 17, see that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. Have you personally received a ministry from the Lord? If so, are you fulfilling it? If you don’t know, if this is a question maybe you’ve never pondered, maybe that’s another practical application today. Ask the Lord what ministry he has for you. I don’t believe that God placed you on the earth just to sojourn in your own desires and your own will. I believe God creates every one of us. for a purpose and a ministry. What is your purpose? What is your ministry? See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord. Those words close Colossians chapter 4. But let’s go back to the beginning when we started this book. We said Paul wrote the Colossians to respond to the threats and to encourage the believers in their growth in Christianity. I think we have seen plenty of things in this book that help us grow in our Christian faith. Colossians is a Christ-centered book. In chapter 1, we were reminded, All things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. We were also reminded in chapter 1 that Christ in you, the hope of glory. And in chapter 2, therefore, as you’ve received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. To do so, in chapter 3, we were reminded to set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. And Paul gave us a list of earthly things and things that are above. And he reminded us, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. And here in chapter 4, he reminds us to tame our tongue, to let our speech be always gracious and seasoned with salt, and that we should see that we fulfill the ministry that we have received from the Lord. All those great concepts help us grow in our Christianity. And Lord, that’s our prayer as we finish the book of Colossians, that from dwelling in the word of Christ richly, we will grow in our walk toward you, that you will reveal a ministry to us and that we will fulfill it in you. Thank you for reminding us of who you are in this book, and thank you for reminding us about who we are. And go with us as we move on to another book of your Holy Bible. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for teaching us through the book of Colossians. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening to AddBible today. It’s the holiday season, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Research tells us Bible reading usually tanks around the holidays. We get busy with the holidays and can’t find time to read our Bibles? Really? What if God got too busy at the holidays and couldn’t find time to hear your prayers or provide for your needs or send out his angels to protect you while shopping? Fortunately, he is never too busy for us. Aren’t you thankful? I encourage you this holiday season to stay the course, keep the pace, and stay spiritually disciplined. Keep listening or reading your Bible. I hope you’re never too busy to invest in your relationship with God, whom we celebrate this time of year. We count our blessings at Thanksgiving. I hope we count His blessings at Thanksgiving this year. My family has a tradition. Around the Thanksgiving table, we each share one thing we’re thankful for. Try it this Thanksgiving and see if even the Lord even shows up in what we’re thankful for. Next, we celebrate the birth of Jesus at this holiday season, at Christmas. Is it acceptable to stop reading His Word as we lead up to that celebration? John 1.14 reminds us, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. He is the Word. Best way to honor the season of his birth is to stay close to him in your Bible. So my encouragement is for you to stay the course this holiday season. My guess is you will have a more peaceful holiday season by staying close to the one we thank and celebrate.
