Paul summarizes his thoughts so far in his letter to the Colossians. We are to have an attitude of gratitude to God at all times for the great gift of Jesus in our lives. As in daily life, our inner attitude finds its way out in verbal and practical expression.

We are God’s covenant people, and when we gladly accept this role, it has practical implications.

“Honor Christ and put others first” (Ephesians 5:21). This is the principle underlying this passage. In our desire to please God we are to live out our personal relationships by placing the other person ahead of ourselves. This is how it works in the kingdom of God.

Paul shows us here how to deal with two areas that many Christians struggle with, namely prayer and sharing the gospel. His advice is pithy and plain – pray diligently and speak the truth of the gospel at every opportunity. These are matters in which Satan manages to deflect and defeat us more often than we’d like to admit.

Have you ever been on a trip or camping experience which involved shared adversity? Our church small group once went camping for a long weekend. Some were not hardened campers and were there under sufferance. We all had young kids. It rained and rained. We had no group shelter.

In this letter to Philemon Paul was dealing with an issue raising its head at that time. As the gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire, it knew no social boundaries. People from every level of society were receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour. This created challenging situations for the accepted order.

The psalm raises the question for us at all levels – personal, family, church or nation – “In what do we place our hope?”, God, or other sources of hope like professionals and experts?

Throughout the book of Proverbs the author exhorts us concerning the merits of a life lived with wisdom at the core. In these verses he stops and presents us with examples of how God used wisdom, knowledge and understanding. It might appear obvious that God would use these tools to create the majesty of the mountains …