Abridged from Cliff Notes: January 15th, 2025: Colossians 1:10: The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says, “Live a life worthy of the Lord, please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” This verse is a great reminder for every day.

People often feel bored, dissatisfied, and discouraged in life. They may be unhappy and looking for something to take them out of their boredom and give them encouragement, hope, and peace. We need to understand that Jesus was always filled with purpose and meaning during His life on earth. He came to fulfill the heavenly Father’s will, which is the plan of redemption for a lost and dying world. Jesus’ purpose extended beyond just descending from heaven to enter the manger scene. He lived, was nailed and died on a cross as our perfect Savior, and was resurrected on the third day. This is essential to our faith as Christians. We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, our Savior who died for our sins. We recognize our need for salvation.

We come from the cross, accepting and trusting Jesus Christ as our Savior. This acceptance gives us the power of His blood to wash away our sins, transforming us into new creatures in Christ daily. We follow, trust, and walk in His footsteps, understanding that everything Jesus did glorified and honored the heavenly Father. We must emulate Jesus’ obedience to His plan for redemption and follow His example in our daily lives. By doing so, we can experience God’s new purpose, goals, and joy. Growing in our knowledge of God through our experiences with Him is essential to living the Christian life. We should strive to experience God daily through prayer, worship, and obedience. As John 15:5 states, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” This statement challenges our perception of our capabilities, reminding us that we can only do what God calls us to do. We can deviate from God’s plan for us as Christians and live life on our own terms.

My grandfather once said he wanted to do something right or wrong, but he would try to do it right. The attitude is to follow Jesus, trust in Him, abide in Him, and know that He abides in us. His presence is evident in our lives. He’s with us, so we should be mindful of that and abide in Him to walk in fellowship with Him and seek to do His will.

In the life application study Bible, it discusses dealing with various issues, heresies, false teachings. Paul faced many false teachings in the early church that sought to divert people from Jesus. There was also false faith, religion, and a distortion of the gospel. Satan wanted to corrupt and pollute the church and Christian life spiritually. In verses 9 through 14 of chapter 1 of Colossians, the study Bible suggests how to pray for leaders we haven’t met. Paul, who had never met the Colossians, faithfully prayed for them.

Paul’s prayers teach us how to pray for others, regardless of whether we know them. We can request that they understand God’s will, gain spiritual wisdom, please and honor God, bear good fruit, grow in God’s knowledge, be filled with His strength, have great endurance and patience, stay full in Christ’s joy, and give thanks always. All believers have these basic needs. When you don’t know how to pray for someone, use Paul’s prayer pattern for the Colossians. He was praying for them to be mindful of God’s presence and their lives, and the danger of being swayed by false teaching and saintly influence.

It’s your decision and you face the consequences. We’re all tempted by Satan. We know Jesus was tempted, so if Satan tempted Jesus, he can tempt us too. But Jesus never sinned because He said no to Satan. When we’re tempted by Satan and the influence of this world, which comes from the great deceiver, we need to grow in our experiential relationship with God daily, through His word and prayer, living from Jesus daily, so we can say no to Satan’s temptations and grow in our relationship with Him, experiencing all the things He desires for us. As we grow in this wonderful purpose, there’s no greater purpose in life than walking in a relationship with Jesus.

That’s the greatest purpose in life. As we face a new day and this new year of 2025, remember the greatest purpose for your life this year is to grow in experiential knowledge and relationship with your Savior, Jesus Christ, who’s with you and loves you very much.