"I want you to know God's will for your life, and to continue to grow in wisdom." Kathy Spampinato

What is the fruit of your relationship with Christ? What has changed in your heart, your mind, and your life because you've come to believe? Has being born again given you a new perspective? I'd like to look at Colossians 1 in this regard. Paul and Timothy address the people to encourage them to persevere. This was a new church established because of the spread of the Gospel into a new area, and they were growing.

Colossians 1:2 - 4, 9 ESV "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding."

I am praying for you this way, today. Whether you are a seeker, a new believer, or someone who has followed Jesus for many years, I am asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. I want you to know God's will for your life, and to continue to grow in wisdom.

Colossians 1:21 - 23a states, "And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard."

Do you recognize that you were once alienated and hostile to God and His plan for your life? Did you resist His call? Jesus' death and resurrection has made you holy and above reproach before the Father. Jesus has reconciled you to the Father through your faith and trust in Him. Don't get distracted and shift from the hope of the gospel and you will continue to grow and bear fruit. Colossians 1 speaks about Jesus' attributes and the power of His resurrection to change your life. Here are some bullet points from verses 15-20.

• He is the image of the invisible God.

• By Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth: visible and invisible.

• All things were created through Him and for Him.

• In Him, all things hold together.

• He is the head of the body, the church.

• All the fulness of God was pleased to dwell in Him.

• He reconciles all things to himself, making peace.

Regardless of the challenges that we face, Jesus is all we need for a life full of blessing and wisdom. He is the lover of our souls and the redeemer of our lives. Verse 27 "... To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. "

The mystery is that God has made a way for us to become His people. We belong to Him and bear His image. The hope we carry compels us to believe that Jesus is at work in our lives and our minds are being renewed. Our lives bear fruit for His glory. Can you see the imprint of God on the changes in your life? That is fruit.

Colossians 1:10-11a The Bible encourages us to persevere, "so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might."

I leave you today, with these words of wisdom from Jesus..

John 15:16 "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."