Growing in Christ

Morning Watch for New Christians

Growing in Christ

Deborah S. Morris

Olathe, Kansas www.moreoftheking.com

Growing in Christ Morning Watch

Thanks to Ramona Jack, Lynnette Goebel, Heidi Morris, and Becky Pummell for their input and suggestions.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION7. NIV7. Copyright 8 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United State of America

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So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

How did you receive Jesus Christ as Lord? Wasn’t it by faith ? You realized that you could do nothing to save yourself. You could do nothing to impress God. Your sin was hanging around your neck, stinking up the place, and it had to be dealt with.

The only solution : trust that Jesus’ shed blood would wipe out the stench of your sin and make you clean before God.

And that’s how you live the Christian life, too. It’s not up to you to live a holy and obedient life. You can’t—not good enough for God’s standards. So once again you have to put your hope and trust in Jesus .

Trusting in Jesus’ death pleased God and washed you clean; trusting in Jesus’ life (because he obeyed God perfectly—ALL. THE. TIME.) pleases God and gets you growing.

Growing in Christ is not about keeping a checklist or a bunch of rules. Growing in Christ means getting to know this amazing Person who loves you, prays for you, roots for you, and died FOR YOU.

Take your time as you work through these pages. Think about it. Talk about it with an older Christian. Linger over it and let it sink in. Ask questions and don’t stop looking for answers. The Treasure is worth digging for.

Day 1 You Have Been Rescued!

1. If you were a prisoner in a dungeon, what would make life miserable? Draw in those details (e.g. spiders, dripping water) in the cell below.

What would you hope for and dream of? ______

2. The book of Colossians talks about a rescue from a dark place. Read Colossians 1:13-14 .

Who needed to be rescued?

______

What was the place of captivity called?

______

Cap•tiv•i•ty – the state of being a prisoner, or a period of time that somebody is held prisoner.

3. What was keeping you chained to that dark place? (You can read more about this darkness in Psalm 107:10-11 .)

4. Who rescued you from this darkness? ______

How did he do it? He forgave your______.

Where are you now? Colossians 1 gives 3 different answers:

• In the kingdom of

______(Col. 1:13)

• In the kingdom of

______(Col. 1:12)

• In ______(Col. 1:2)

Do you think those are 3 different places or all the same one?

Think about it: How close is a Christian to Christ? Where is he when you’re happy? When you’re sad? When you’re worried? When you need help?

Memorize: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. Colossians 1:13

Say the verse a few times. Then cover up some of the words with three coins and see if you can still say it.

Pray: Tell God how you feel about your rescue. Ask him to help you to learn how to live and grow IN CHRIST .

Day 2 Who Is This Son He Loves?

1. How would you describe your favorite person in the whole world?

Would others be able to tell how you feel about that person by your description?

2. The Son that God loves is described in Colossians 1:15-19 . What are some of the things you learn about this Son?

______(v. 15)

______(v. 16)

______(v. 17)

______(v. 18)

______(v. 19)

3. Can you tell how God felt about his Son? How pleased was God with his Son? (Circle your answer below.)

OFF THE CHARTS pleased

VERY pleased

SOMEWHAT pleased

NOT pleased

4. This beloved Son was given a job to do. Read about it in Colossians 1:20-22 . What did Christ have to do?

Who benefited from what he did? ______

5. Compare how you are described Re•con•cil•i•a•tion – the ending of conflict and before (in v. 21) and after (in v. 22) this renewing of a friendly reconciliation took place. relationship between disputing groups.

Before After v. 21 v. 22

Pray: Thank God for sacrificing his beloved Son for you, even though you were his enemy.

Review the memory verse from yesterday (Colossians 1:13) and see if you can fill in the blanks below.

For ____ has ______us ______the

______of ______and ______us

______the ______of the ______he ______.

Day 3 Unlocking the Mystery

1. Some people love a good mystery. Even Colossians speaks of one that was “kept hidden for ages and generations, but now is disclosed.”

Read Colossians 1:25-27 and 2:2-3 to find out what the mystery is.

2. It turns out that this mystery is n ot a what but a who .

Why do you think Jesus was such a mystery? What kinds of questions might people have about him? Add to the list below.

• Where did he come from?

• Is he really God?

• How can he be both God and man at the same time?

• How could God die?

• ______

We can find answers to many of these questions, but some we’ll never fully understand. One of the adventures of life is to continue to get to know Jesus—not as a matter of curiosity, but as a friend, as a constant companion, as a loving Master.

Memorize: So/then,justasyoureceivedChristJesusasLord, continuetoliveinhim, Colossians 2:6

Finish dividing the words and learn the verse.

One man who lived the adventure of knowing Jesus was missionary John Paton. He sailed to a South Sea island of cannibals in the 1860s. For years he worked to make known “the glorious riches of this mystery” so that the people there might know Jesus. But the islanders fought hard against such knowledge and often wanted to kill him.

Once when John escaped with his life from one warring tribe, another tribal chief hid him for a time in his village. Later he told John to go and climb a large chestnut tree in the bush and stay there until the moon rose. John wondered if he could trust this man, but he followed the instructions.

Later he wrote, “The hours I spent there live all before me as if it were but of yesterday. I heard the frequent discharging of muskets, and the yells of the Savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the arms of Jesus. Never, in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul than when the moonlight flickered among these chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Saviour’s spiritual presence, to enjoy His consoling fellowship. If thus thrown back upon your own soul, alone, all, all alone, in the midnight, in the bush, in the very embrace of death itself, have you a Friend that will not fail you then?”

John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides (Carlisle PA: Banner of Truth, 1994) 200.

3. Colossians 1:27 says that the mystery is “ Christ in you .” But wait a minute! Colossians 1:2 says that the Christians are “ in Christ .” So which is it—Christ in you or you in Christ ? YES!

What do you think a Christian’s relationship with Jesus is like?

A polite acquaintance Ac•quain•tance – someone A distant relative you know only slightly, not A fair-weather friend well. Someone who knows you better than you do yourself and who loves you no matter what and who will never leave you

Day 4 Hidden Reality

1. What are some things that you can see right now where you are? List or draw a few of those things in the left-hand box.

Things I can see right now Things that I cannot see

2. Colossians 3:1-4 names some things that you cannot see with your eyes. List them in the right-hand box above.

• Which of those things are real?

• If something is invisible, does that make it less real?

• Which of the lists above does Jesus want you to think about most and focus on? (Circle it.)

3. Does t hat mean it’s okay not to care about what’s going on around you?

Does that mean God isn’t interested in what you can see or hear or touch?

Read Colossians 3:5-14 to find the answers to those questions.

• According to those verses, how does God want you to treat the people around you?

• According to those verses, how does God want you to use your body (or to not use your body)?

• According to those verses, what kind of words does God want you to use? What kind of words does he NOT want coming out of your mouth?

4. Does all that seem like a lot to remember? Who can really live that way, anyway? Doesn’t God know how hard it is to “be good”?

Of course he does! He knows you can’t obey him perfectly. He knows you like to do things your way. He knows you are naturally selfish and rebellious.

So where does that leave you? Where can you find hope? Who can you turn to?

Memorize: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, Colossians 2:6-7a

Pray: Thank Jesus that he lived the perfect life that you couldn’t. Ask him to help you to remember that your life is now hidden in his.

Day 5 Healthy Roots = Healthy Plants

1. The Bible often likens spiritual growth to a plant’s growth. Look at Colossians 3:1-4 and Colossians 3:5-14 as if they were part of a plant.

• Which of those passages would be part of your root system? • Can it be seen? • How vital is it for the plant’s growth?

• Which would be the leaves and flowering parts? • Can they be noticed by others? • How much do they depend on healthy roots?

2. In the top part of the box below write what you think would make up the leaves and flowers from these verses. In the bottom part of the box write what you think would make up the root system from these verses.

------

3. When a seed is planted, which develops first—the roots or the flowers?

So of these verses, which do you need to tend to first?

4. How we think —what we set our hearts and minds on—must be in line with God’s Word if we ever want our actions to please him.

Meditate on Colossians 3:1-4. Turn over in your mind what you know about Jesus from these verses. One way is to divide it up according to time.

• What did Jesus do in the past?

• What is Jesus doing now?

• What will Jesus do in the future?

• Why does all this have anything to do with you?

Pray: Read Romans 8:31-34 to find out what Jesus is doing as he sits at God’s right hand. Tell him how that makes you feel.

Review the verses you learned yesterday. Try writing the verses on index cards (a couple of words on each one), mixing them up, and putting them in order.

Day 6 Got Strength?

1. Remember John Paton, who at times was alone, all alone, except for the presence of Jesus? That may sound like he was a Lone Ranger Christian. But that was not the case.

John, like all Christians, needed the help and care of others. For example: • He grew up with godly parents and 10 brothers and sisters. His father shut himself in a small room after each meal and poured out prayers for the family before going back to his workshop. • They regularly attended church (walking 4 miles each way!) where their “souls were on the outlook for God” and their spiritual interest was kindled. • He worked in the Glasgow City Mission under the care of directors. • He and his wife were sent together to be missionaries. • After his wife died, he still had the help of native teachers from a neighboring island. • He sometimes visited other missionaries living on the other side of his island of Tanna.

2. As you read Colossians (written not to an individual, but to the ______in Christ [1:2]), look at the activities the Christians are involved in. Are they doing these things alone or with others? (In the middle column below name the activities mentioned in the verses and then circle the left or the right box to show whether they were done alone or with others.)

Colossians 1:3 -5

Colossians 1: 6-8

Colossians 1:9 -12

Colossians 1:28 , 3:16

3. Why do you think the teaching, prayers, encouragement, and love of other Christians are so important to your spiritual growth?

Where can you find such a group of believers?

How much effort should you put into meeting with them?

Memorize: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, Colossians 2:6-7b

Add today’s phrase to the index cards you used yesterday.

Pray: Ask God to help you to find a good church that will help you grow.

Day 7 Overflowing!

1. What are the top 4 complaints that you’ve heard this week? List them below.

______

2. Would you say that your week has overflowed with complaints or overflowed with thankfulness? Which would you prefer? Why?

3. Look at today’s memory verses, Colossians 2:6-7. Why do you think “and overflowing with thankfulness” is part of that sentence? How is it connected to each of the other phrases in the sentence? (After each phrase below write what there is to be thankful for in that phrase.)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,

______

______continue to live in him,

______

______rooted and built up in him,

______

16 strengthened in the faith as you were taught,

______

and

overflowing

with

thankfulness.

Review the memory verses. Then cover them up and see if you can fill in the blanks below.

S__ t______, j______a__ y____ r______

C______J______a__ L______, c______t__ l______i__ h____, r______a____ b______u__ i__ h____, s______i__ t____ f______a__ y____ w______t______, a____ o______w______t______.

Day 8 What’s Next?

1. Now that you have been rescued from the dominion of darkness, now that your sin has been forgiven, now that you are in Christ , what should you expect? Smooth sailing? Rough waters? What lies ahead?

Paul, who wrote Colossians, loved the adventure of getting to know Jesus and of telling others of this treasure. Read Colossians 4:2-18 and see what circumstances he was in when he wrote this letter.

•Where was he? (vv. 3, 10, 18) ______

Wait a minute! Aren’t we right back where we started—in prison?!?

Yet, Paul’s attitude towards his chains is interesting.

•How much detail about it did he give? ______

•What did he ask prayer for? (vv. 3-4) ______

______

Think about it: Why do you think he didn’t ask the Colossians to pray for his release or for more comfortable conditions?

2. What sorts of things could Paul have complained about? (Besides Colossians 4 , look at 2 Corinthians 11:24-29 .) What was there to be thankful for? (Write your answers in the boxes on the following page.)

Paul could have Be thankful for : complained about: Col 1:3-6

Col 1:12

Col 3:15-17

Col 4:2

• Which of the lists above seemed to affect Paul the most? • Which did he think and talk about the most?

• Which list changed, depending on the time and the place? • Which list NEVER CHANGED, no matter what the circumstances?

3. Make your own lists below. On the left side name hard things that you are facing. On the right side name some of the riches of God’s grace that you have read about in Colossians.

I could complain about: I am thankful for:

Day 9 Because I am in Christ

1. Suffering is a normal part of this life. No one can escape it, and being a follower of Jesus may even increase it. (That’s not what you wanted to hear, is it?)

Read a little more from John Paton’s account below and see how he dealt with suffering.

Life in such circumstances led me to cling very near to the Lord Jesus; I knew not, for one brief hour, when or how attack might be made; and yet, with my trembling hand clasped in the Hand once nailed on Calvary, and now swaying the scepter of the Universe, calmness and peace and resignation abode in my soul. . . .

Trials and hairbreadth escapes strengthened my faith, and seemed only to nerve me for more to follow; and they did tread swiftly upon each other’s heels. Without that abiding consciousness of the presence and power of my dear Lord and Saviour, nothing else in all the world could have preserved me from losing my reason and perishing miserably. . . .

It is the sober truth, and it comes back to me sweetly after twenty years, that I had my nearest and dearest glimpses of the face and smile of my blessed Lord in those dread moments when musket, club, or spear was being leveled at my life. Oh the bliss of living and enduring, as seeing “Him who is invisible”! (Paton, 117.)

2. Faithful, obedient servants of God, like John Paton and Paul and even Jesus himself, had to face great hardships. Paul seemed to expect the Colossians to face trouble, too, because he prayed for their endurance and patience. Read Colossians 1: 10-12.

Take your time to read through this prayer and see how each request is connected to the next. Finish filling in the phrases on the next page. (Different versions may use different words.)

Live a life worthy of the Lord

Please him in

Bear fruit in

Grow in

Be strengthened with

Have great

Joyfully give

How is ANY of this even POSSIBLE? How can you drum up that kind of goodness? Doesn’t God know how often you DON’T do the right thing?

3. The end of Paul’s prayer (vv. 12b-14) is where you’ll find your ONLY HOPE . We are right back where we started—remembering that he has rescued us from ______and brought us into ______.

That gospel—that GOOD NEWS —is not just for salvation, but for your whole life . You are not by yourself, but you are connected to Jesus. You are growing IN CHRIST !

Pray: Ask God to help you to keep in mind your connection to Jesus. Pray each phrase of Paul’s prayer above and add “because I am in Christ” after each one.

Review the verses you have memorized.

Day 10 Whatever You Do

1. What’s on your list of things to do this week? Who do you want to talk to? Make your lists below.

I want to: I want to ta lk to:

2. Consider Colossians 3:17 below.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

If you do something in someone else’s name, what does that mean? (Check your answers below.)

You’ve stolen his identity. You represent him. You think about his interests more than your own. You don’t want to bring dishonor to his reputation.

How might this verse affect the lists you made above? Do you need to make any changes in your plans?

3. But what happens when your plans get messed up? What happens when people or circumstances get in your way? How do you react? (Check your answers below and add another.)

I blow up. I grit my teeth and suffer through it. I sulk. No problem—I roll with the punches. ______

4. John Paton often faced messed-up plans. Read how he dealt with it.

Several of the few goats, which I had for milk, were also killed or driven away; indeed, all the injury that was possible was done to me, short of taking away my life, and that was now frequently attempted…. (p. 100)

The things I planted [in a garden] on Tanna the Natives stole and carried away, making themselves extremely troublesome. But God never took away from me the consciousness that it was still right for me to be kind and forgiving, and to hope that I might lead them to love and imitate Jesus…. (p. 181)

This is strength; this is peace:--to feel, in entering on every day, that all its duties and trials have been committed to the Lord Jesus,--that, come what may, He will use us for His own glory and our real good!” (p. 139)

Pray: When your plans get messed up, or when you mess up and you react badly, talk to God. Ask for his forgiveness, ask for his strength, ask him to help you to think straight and to remember where you are—in Christ!

Talk with another Christian and share some of the things you’ve learned from this study.

Keep Reading the Word

You’ve looked at a lot of passages in Colossians. Read through the book again. Especially take note every time you see the words “in Christ” or “in him.” Keep a list of all the things you have because you are in Christ.

Ephesians is another book that speaks often of what we have “in Christ.” Read it and add to your list.

Take your time and look up cross references once in a while. They can help you better understand a phrase or a word. If you get stumped, ask your pastor or another older Christian for some help. There’s nothing better to discuss with another believer than God’s Word.

This reading plan for Colossians and Ephesians can help you get started. Choose a verse from each section to memorize. Or you may want to try memorizing a whole chapter! Ephesians 1 & 2 are great ones to do. Find a memorizing buddy.

Colossians 1:1-8 Colossians 4:2-6 Ephesians 4: 1-6 Colossians 1:9-14 Colossians 4:7-9 Ephesians 4:7-13 Colossians 1:15-20 Colossians 4:10-18 Ephesians 4:14-16 Colossians 1:21-23 Ephesians 4:17-19 Colossians 1:24-27 Ephesians 1:1-6 Ephesians 4:20-24 Colossians 1:28-29 Ephesians 1:7-10 Ephesians 4:25-28 Ephesians 1:11-14 Ephesians 4:29-32 Colossians 2:1-5 Ephesians 1:15-23 Colossians 2:6-8 Ephesians 5:1-7 Colossians 2:9-12 Ephesians 2:1-5 Ephesians 5:8-14 Colossians 2:13-15 Ephesians 2:6-10 Ephesians 5:15-20 Colossians 2:16-19 Ephesians 2:11-13 Ephesians 5:21-28 Colossians 2:20-23 Ephesians 2:14-18 Ephesians 5:29-33 Ephesians 2:19-22 Colossians 3:1-4 Ephesians 6:1-4 Colossians 3:5-11 Ephesians 3:1-6 Ephesians 6:5-9 Colossians 3:12-14 Ephesians 3:7-11 Ephesians 6:10-13 Colossians 3:15-17 Ephesians 3:12-13 Ephesians 6:14-18 Colossians 3:18-21 Ephesians 3:14-19 Ephesians 6:19-20 Colossians 3:22-4:1 Ephesians 3:20-21 Ephesians 6:21-24