That's what's been happening with me and Colossians. Now that I'm putting extra emphasis on it because of a sermon series I've been hearing, I find verses from Colossians popping up all around, at various times, from different sources. I'm loving the book of Colossians even more than I used to!
Here are the latest verses to jump out at me:
For by him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
~ Colossians 1:16-17
I suppose the reason these verses stood out to me is because lately, I feel like I've been re-examining EVERYTHING. All my beliefs have come under scrutiny again, as I (along with Jeff, of course) try to figure out what direction we are being called to go by God. We are standing at a crossroads, having left one church at the end of this past year and not having completely settled into a new one yet. So I question and ponder and study...
What do I really believe about the roles of men and women, particularly in the church?
What do I really believe about the way the Holy Spirit works in this day and age?
What do I really believe are the absolute essentials that must be found in a church, the things on which I will not compromise?
What do I really believe about the way the printed words of the Bible intersect with culture?
And on and on...
Well, as Julie Andrews sings in The Sound of Music, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start..." (I can hear her voice in my head as I type.) Back to Genesis, I go.
I just started reading The New Answers Book 1, edited by Ken Ham; and in the first chapter, I had to smile a little when I read this in the section on "How Do We Recognize the Evidence of Intelligence?":
Why do scientists become so excited when they discover stone tools together with bones in a cave? The stone tools show signs of intelligence. The scientists recognize that these tools could not have designed themselves but that they are a product of intelligent input. Thus, the researchers rightly conclude that an intelligent creature was responsible for making these tools.In a similar way, one would never look at the Great Wall of China, the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., or the Sydney Opera House in Australia and conclude that such structures were formed after explosions in a brick factory.Neither would anyone believe that the presidents' heads on Mt. Rushmore were the products of millions of years of erosion. We can recognize design, the evidence of the outworkings of intelligence. We see man-made objects all around us--cars, airplanes, computers, stereos, houses, appliances, and so on. And yet, at no time would anyone ever suggest that such objects were just the products of time and chance. Design is everywhere. It would never enter our minds that metal, left to itself, would eventually form into engines, transmissions, wheels, and all the other intricate parts needed to produce an automobile.
Clearly, there IS evidence of design. There IS evidence of a creator.
For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
~ Romans 1:20
