Chester ARP Devotional Podcast

Don't be held captive by impressive philosophy, deceitful signs, or human traditions. Rather, walk in the triumph of Christ by remaining steadfast in the simple biblical gospel.  

We are to walk in Christ by faith and with thanksgiving for the great salvation he has worked in our lives. 

Paul was willing to endure all things so that the Colossians would know the mystery of Christ in them. Are we willing to do the same? 

Jesus is the supreme Lord of all creation. We will inherit eternity with him if we maintain the faith we heard in the gospel. Don't walk away. 

We can follow Paul's example when we don't know how to pray for one another. He prayed a deeply spiritual and yet practical prayer for the Church in Colossae. 

Paul was thankful for the Colossians' faith in Christ and love for one another. We should also be thankful for the same things in the lives of other believers. 

We are thankful for those who partner with us in the gospel ministry. It is a great blessing to partner in the Lord for the advancement of his kingdom. 

We do all things through Christ, who strengthens us in his grace. 

We are to rejoice in the Lord always, and let our reasonable faith be known to all as we resist anxious worry by petitioning God with thanksgiving. Focus on the things of God and find his peace in this life.

We need to find faithful Christians to imitate as we follow Christ. We can't do it alone, and we shouldn't try. Follow those who are following Christ and growing in him. 

We are to find our identity in Christ alone. He is the one who reconciled us to God. He is the one who puts our lives back together. 

We are to put no confidence in any human works of righteousness. We put all our confidence in the finished work of Christ. 

Paul reveals his human side to the Philippians and us in the middle of his letter. His affection for Timothy and Epaphroditus personally connects to us. 

Paul challenged us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, meaning we should stop being unserious and silly in our Christian lives. We are to serve the Lord with pleasure, without grumbling or complaining. 

We are to elevate others when following Christ's example humbly. He became a servant to the point of death. We are to follow him on this path of self-denial through his power and grace. 

Paul was convinced that to live is Christ and to die is gain. That's 100% true. If we live, we do so in Christ for his glory and enjoy his benefits. If we die, we go to be with him. Both are gains for us. 

Everything that happened to Paul happened to advance God's glory in Christ. We should understand that this is true in our lives as well. 

The Lord will complete the work he began in each of us on the day of Christ. It will be a wonderful day! 

Paul wanted to give the Ephesians a report about his work to encourage them. He loved them, and they loved him. The report did them all well. 

Stand firm in the strength of the Lord's might while putting on the armor of God to extinguish the flaming darts of the Devil. We must rely upon the Lord's strength. 

We are to obey our leaders and those in authority over us genuinely as we are doing it unto the Lord. Paul wrote of children obeying parents, parents not provoking children, servants obeying masters, and masters being good to servants. 

Paul instructs the husbands and wives on how to live with one another as Christians in this passage. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves his Church, and wives are to submit to their husbands as we submit to Christ. 

We are to imitate God as a child imitates his father. To do that, we are to put away the things of the world and pursue the things of Christ's kingdom. 

We are to walk in love for the glory of God in Christ, following him in faith. 

We are called to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ by walking in humility, gentleness, with patience, forgiveness, and unity. We are to build one another up in love to maturity in Christ. 

Paul concluded Ephesians 3 with a benediction to the glory of God's power, which can accomplish more than we can ask or imagine. He also prayed that we would grow in our capacity to comprehend the immeasurable greatness of God. 

God reveals his manifold wisdom for the restoration of the world through his work in the Church. He gives us the privilege of being a part of his plan by grace in Christ. 

We are united to one another in the Lord Jesus Christ. All those who have been made alive in Christ through faith are united in Jesus. This is a lovely mystery. 

All of those who have trusted Christ are united in him. There is no distinction between them. Nothing matters except faith in Jesus. 

We were dead in our trespasses and sins following the prince of this world and walking according to the flesh. But God, being rich and merciful, made us alive in Christ. He saved by grace through faith. 

Paul thanked God for the Ephesian Christians because of their great love for God and all the saints. He prayed God would give them knowledge and wisdom. 

Our Lord has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. We thank and praise him for his goodness to us. 

God chose to bless his people simply because he loves us. Period. There is nothing in us that made God love and save us from our sins. 

Nothing we do to earn the righteousness of God matters. The only thing that matters is the new creation of the Holy Spirit works in our lives. 

Bearing one another's burdens is one of Paul's final instructions to the congregation in Galatia. We are to encourage one another in the Lord and assist one another in the work of the Lord. 

Christians are to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They are to be full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Christ has set us free for freedom. We are to stand firm in that freedom and live lives devoted to him and full of love for our neighbors. 

Sarah and Hagar represent two different ways for us to interact with God. Sarah is promise and grace, and Hagar is works and law. Which will you choose? 

Paul had a burden before the Lord for the Galatians. He wanted them to know the freedom that is theirs in Christ and not fall back into the performance trap. 

God freed us in Jesus Christ at the perfect time. He was born of a woman (human) and under the law (Jew).  

Abraham was made right before God by faith. The Old Testament Law, which came 430 years after God's covenant with Abraham, can't change the fact that we are all saved by grace through faith. 

Don't try to make yourself right by any aspect of the law. If you do, you open yourself up to the curse of not obeying it fully. 

Paul asked the Galatians who fooled them into thinking they needed to pursue another gospel. We should ask ourselves the same question if we start to wander from the true gospel in Christ. 

We are justified by faith in Chrsit alone. Why would we add to it? 

Paul challenged Peter for his hypocrisy. We can learn consistency in life by listening to Paul's testimony of his interaction with Peter. 

We are to focus on the most important. For Paul and the early Christians, it was the gospel. It should be for us as well. 

Paul preached a gospel from God. We still believe in the same gospel and trust in the same Christ. 

Paul was astonished that they would consider abandoning the gospel they had heard for another. The truth is, there is no other gospel. 

Paul sets the stage for his letter to the Galatians in his introduction. His authority comes from God. 

We are to examine ourselves before God to ensure we are walking in the faith. 

God gave Paul a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble and teach him to depend wholly upon the Lord's strength. God does the same thing to us.