Colossians 3:18 – 4:1

I am thankful for a church with the guts to preach uncomfortable and unpopular parts of the Bible instead of quietly skipping over them! As Pastor Dave ably described, this passage on submission is unwelcome today because the views of the culture that surrounds us are antithetical to God-ordained authority structures. As Dave suggested, ask God to renew our minds (Romans 12:2), to shake us out of the world’s mold and help us think biblically about authority.

Before we spend time bemoaning our culture’s rejection of authority and praying for people “out there,” we must ask how we in the church are doing. How consistently and how ungrudgingly do I recognize and submit to authority in my life? I am personally under the authority of my husband, my church leaders, my government, and God Almighty as laid out in His word. How about you? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your blind spots regarding authority. Here’s a correction I received recently: I sometimes (OK, often) ignore “Trail Closed” signs at the park. I think, “I walk through here every day and it’s fine. The park rangers are just paranoid that tree branches might fall. I know better!” A minor example, perhaps, of rebelling against authority but a telling one.

On the other side, we also need to examine before the Lord how well we are exercising God-given authority. Are you a husband? A parent? Do you actively exercise authority in your family or do you passively abdicate that responsibility? In any position of authority – at home, at church, or at work – do you lead in the scary knowledge that you are directly responsible to God, careful to maintain the balance He lays out in His word? Pray for courage and wisdom as you exercise authority.

Dave put Sunday’s passage in context, explaining that it demonstrates the Pauline pattern of increasing clarity. Paul expressed a big idea – the command to walk in Christ – back in Colossians 2:6 and then develops it in more detail. “Walk in Christ” is a pleasingly vague command, isn’t it? The enemy can tempt us to believe we may define what walking in Christ looks like. “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands” is uncomfortably specific. Affirm before the Lord that He is our King, our Master. He commands; we obey. Affirm that the Christian faith is a whole, not a salad bar that lets us pick and choose what parts to obey.

Calvary Family

Pray for any among us whom the Lord is calling to baptism. Perhaps they have been feeling a nudge from the Holy Spirit but have been avoiding a public “all in” profession of faith. Pray that they will be open to attend the baptism class next Sunday.

Think about the many blessings God lavished on FunFest last Saturday – blessings to the leadership team, to the many who served, to those who attended – and thank Him.

If you are a long-time reader of the blog, you may recall the difficult life journey of Amber Gallegos. She left Calvary and California nearly two years ago as a divorced mother of three to move to a state with lower costs of living. She returned to SoCal almost one year ago to be treated for Stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer at City of Hope. I learned last week that Amber’s journey on this earth ended October 11. I think she would ask us to continue praying for her children: 10-year-old Lily, 8-year-old Elijah, and almost-5-year-old Samuel. They are with their grandmother, Connie, who has been caring for them in recent months. Pray for them as they grieve the loss of their mother’s loving presence. Pray also for Connie and for the children’s father, Anthony, as they navigate their own grief and help the children.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert
Calvary Community Church of Brea