Daily Devotional

-August 23, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-A Worthy Walk, A Fruitful Life-

“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

(Colossians 1:10).

Paul expresses his desire by praying for the spiritual growth in the lives of the saints in Colosse in Colossians 1:9-12. Today’s verse is so practical encouraging. He shows how important it is to live a worthy and fruitful life for Christ.

There are four prongs to this verse: walk worthy, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful, and increasing in the knowledge of God. These four things form a square adding up to a balanced Christian life. A balanced life leads to a stable life, which leads to a consistent life, which leads to a rich and full life.

• Walk worthy of the Lord – None of is every worthy of our salvation, yet we are called to live a worthy life in Christ. We represent Christ as His ambassadors. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:1, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” May who name the name of Christ be worthy of the Lord in our character, conduct, and conversation. We want others to see Christ in our lives and follow Him also.

• Fully pleasing Him – So many today try hard to please others, but when we please Christ that is what really matters. When we fully please Him, others we will be pleased also. It is not to say that we will not have opposition when we live for Christ and speak of Him, we will. Proverbs 16:7 promises, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

• Being fruitful in every good work – Jesus calls us to be fruitful, to bear fruit, and to bear much fruit. Fruitfulness in the NT has two aspects: personal growth and service, and public testimony and witness. The former involves our relationship with the Lord and the progress we make toward spiritual maturity and service toward others; the latter speaks of our soul winning for Christ in terms of sharing our faith, and bringing others to Christ. The former is mostly in view in our text.

• Increasing in the knowledge of God – It should be our life’s pursuit to know Christ more, in His attributes, His ways, and His will for our lives. The type of knowledge that Paul is referring to is more than head knowledge, it is heart knowledge. We not only want to know about Him, we want to know Him, intimately and personally.

These four things lead to a happy, fulfilled, and satisfied life. We will then be worthy, pleasing, fruitful, and knowledgeable. How are we progressing in our spiritual lives?

Have a blessed day walking in a worthy manner, growing, and pleasing the Lord, and being fruitful. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean