4 x 6 Plan | Read: Luke 2:1-38 & Colossians 4:7-18
After you have read this letter, pass it on to the church at Laodicea so they can read it, too. And you should read the letter I wrote to them.(Colossians 4:16)
After Paul came to know Jesus, he traveled extensively, starting churches (in homes) wherever he went.
Much of the New Testament is made up of Paul’s letters to the people he mentored and the churches he helped start. His letters answer specific questions church leaders were asking. They caution, challenge, and even course-correct those who might be going astray.
But no matter how personal Paul’s letters got, they were shared, read aloud, and passed around from church to church (or house to house) so everyone could grow in their knowledge and understanding of God.
Just like Paul encouraged the early churches to swap letters and learn from one another’s successes and failures, we can learn from each other’s experiences of who God is and how He’s shown up for us.
The church is a place of great diversity. Someone in another state or part of the world is seeing God show up in ways we may not know are possible. One of my best friends was born and raised in Mississippi and I love learning how different aspects of our lives are (and how similar many are as well). And as wise as pastors think they are lol, no one knows everything there is to know about God (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Too often, we find the authors and speakers we like, and we stick to them. We look for people of a similar age and stage of life, and we stick together. Each person bears God’s image uniquely and has something to contribute to our greater understanding of God and His kingdom. What might we miss out on by only reading and listening to people who are like us?
1 Thessalonians 5:21 encourages us to test everything and hold fast to what is good. We don’t have to fear branching out and learning from others. We have the Holy Spirit as our guide and the Bible as our firm foundation. So read and listen. All the wisdom, history, knowledge God has poured out on His people past and present is yours for the taking.
Action Steps
Bible: What is God showing me? What am I going to do about it?
Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.
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