Category Archives: Worship

Refresh & Restore — March 31, 2022

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.[1]

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 3:7–13We’re back!After a few months off, The King is Coming returns in 2026 with one of the most encouraging letters in Revelation — Jesus’s message to the faithful church in Philadelphia. In a world filled with opposition and weakness, Jesus opens a door no one can shut.In this episode, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison explore:✔️ Jesus’s identity as the Holy One, the True One — God Himself✔️ What the “key of David” means and how Jesus alone opens and shuts✔️ The debated phrase “I will keep you from the hour of trial” — and how to read it biblically✔️ Why “little power” doesn’t disqualify faithfulness✔️ How being kept through the trial glorifies Christ’s strength in us✔️ What it means to be a pillar in God’s presence foreverThis church had no rebuke — only encouragement. And Jesus’s call still stands today: “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (Revelation 3:11, ESV)🔗 Missed earlier episodes in the series? You can click here to catch up and listen from the beginning.✍️ If you’d like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
  1. "Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming)
  2. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Love" (Advent 2025)
  3. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace (Advent 2025)
  4. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of PEACE (Advent 2025)
  5. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of HOPE (Advent 2025)

Greetings Sojourners!

I hope this week’s Bible study finds you well and safe. As I write this today, I am at home, sitting and writing where I can see out my window. Torrential winds are going to come, or they will not. A massive thunderstorm may come, or it may not. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:24-27:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”[2]

Jesus spoke those words as a close to the greatest sermon ever to be recorded, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). There are two reasons why I think they have come to mind right now: 1) I am trying to organize my thoughts to continue walking through the Christ-centered hymn in Colossians 1:15-23, and 2) I am a bit scared. The first reason is obvious as it is what I am doing now. The second is for many reasons. If the forecasted weather comes through, it is likely that my home could be damaged or the home of family, friends, and neighbors could be damaged. More than that, my family is with me here now, so, if the wind and the rains come, I could lose one or all of them. Yet somehow, I continue to sit here and type.

That somehow is faith – faith in the One who “upholds the universe by the Word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3), the One through Whom “all things hold together” (v. 17). And, thinking about what we are studying today and all that we have studied previously, faith is essential in understanding how it all works together. We are jaded and skeptical by nature, and it takes faith to believe that Jesus is Who He says He is in His Word. It takes faith that is birthed out of the belief that we are sinners in need of a Savior – belief that He is the only Savior, “our blessed hope…, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).

We began walking through what we are calling the Colossian hymn last week. Verses 15-17 lay the foundation for everything we are looking at today. Verse 15 tells us that Jesus is God and, rightfully, has all authority, dominion, and power. Verse 16 illustrates how there is nothing in all of Creation that can remotely hope to attain to His power and glory; in fact, all creation finds its beginning and continuation in Him. And verse 17 clarifies that everything He created is still held together by His power.

Today, we will tackle verses 18-20 and see how last week’s verses point us to the reconciliation of God and sinners like you and me.

Diving In

And He is the head of the body, the Church. (v. 18a)

One of the aspects about Jesus and beliefs about Him that I believe is often overlooked is what those beliefs mean to those who believe them versus those who do not. First and foremost, it must be understood that, while we hold that the Word of God is important and the truths it holds are of the utmost importance, God’s Word is true whether we believe it or not. For the Church, His Word is where we find everything that can be known about Him (2 Timothy 3:16-17). But, for the unbelieving world, it seems like foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18).

The beginning of verse 18 helps us to see how this Colossian hymn fits into the lives of believers. Those who are saved are part of what is known as the Church, or the body of Christ. Simply put, Jesus is the head of the Church; He is, ultimately, its sole leader and guides it through His Word and His Spirit.

Look at the “and” at the beginning of this verse; it points us back to verse 17 which says that “He is before all things” and “in Him all things hold together”. The “and” here in verse 18 tells us that, just as He is set over all of creation and is actively holding all of it together, it is the same in the Church. Look at the way that Paul describes it to the church at Ephesus: “…we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

The church at Colossae – and our churches today – need to remember this! We are not the necks that turn the head. Christ, the head, is in the lead. The image created here is a body with members (parts), so if we find ourselves following something else (idolatry), we can no longer call ourselves part of the Church as we have dismembered it by severing ourselves from it. There were false teachers seeking to do that in Colossae, and there are those today who seek to tear down and ravage the body of Christ (1 Peter 5:8-9, Matthew 7:15-19, 2 Peter 2).

We would do well to look to the head, to Jesus, and remember His words from Matthew 7 that we looked at earlier: the wise man, the man whose house is not washed away in the torrents of the storms, is only wise because he “hears these words of mine and does them” (Matthew 7:24).

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. (v. 18b)

I write often about how we have no ability within ourselves to save or to receive glory. But Jesus is worthy of His titles, not just because of His status before the foundation of the world, because He continually proves Himself to be worthy. To say that He is “the beginning” points to Him being the origin of everything we know, but to say that He is “the firstborn from the dead” highlights what He has done for His Church.

I recall David Platt recounting a conversation between a Christian missionary and two religious leaders, one Muslim and the other Hindu. They were concerned that some of their people were forsaking Islam and Hinduism and following Christ. They presented the missionary with a metaphor they believed would convince the missionary to leave the territory so that everyone could just keep on believing what they were before he arrived. They were in agreement that religion can be understood through the metaphor of a mountain. Life is man’s journey up the mountain trying to get to god in his lofty paradise. There are many paths, they argued, to get up the mountain but that the destination was the same. They felt quite confident in their presentation until the missionary told them that Christianity was not at all like that. Christianity, he told them, was different because man was completely and utterly unable to make it up the mountain, and God, rather than condemning them for their inability to make it to Him, came down the mountain and made a way for man, basically carrying them up the mountain to be where He abides. The religious leaders were disappointed and left to continue trying to make it up the mountain.

Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead” because, in Christ, God “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He lived a full and sinless life on the earth despite encountering all the temptations we do (Hebrews 4:15). And “for our sake God made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21) – that is, He died the death we deserve to make a Way for us (John 14:6)! More importantly, He did not stay dead but “He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4)! He is “firstborn from the dead” because death could not hold Him, and His Life is the source of our eternal life!

That is why He is “preeminent” – supreme, sovereign, superlative! Paul illustrates this beautifully in Philippians 2:9-11:

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[3]

He has always been worthy because of Who He is to everything that exists. He remains preeminent because He never changes and proves Himself again and again. That’s good news!

For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. (vv. 19-20)

We have already seen that Jesus is fully God in verse 15, but here we see an example of why that is so important: reconciliation.

Reconciliation means “to restore harmony or friendship between two entities formerly divided”.[4] When we use this word in the present day, we use it to describe a relationship where some wrong done by one of the parties has caused a rift in the relationship and the rift is somehow healed. It could be as simple as two friends allowing a misunderstanding to come between them and, upon clearing the issue up, reconciling and renewing their friendship. It could also be used to describe a married couple deciding to stay together and weathering the storm of some indiscretion or issue that could have ended the marriage. In the case of God and man, we caused the rift; our sin did the dividing.

Romans 5 does a better job than I ever could painting the picture of God’s love despite our sin and what His desire to reconcile cost Him:

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.[5]

Our sin made us enemies of God. He has wrath toward sin and toward His enemies. Now, I know this is a scary prospect (not to mention very unpopular), but it is necessary to understand what He did for us – and why it is so important that in Christ “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”.

You see, God would have been absolutely just if he had wiped the slate clean when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-13). He could have smoked them right then and there and been done with the whole lot of humanity in one righteous and just smiting. He did not have to rescue Noah and his family from His wrath in Genesis 6. He would be totally righteous and just if He would have not forgiven me of my sins or reconciled me to Himself. I am a sinner. He has wrath toward sin and toward His enemies. But instead of being only righteous and just, He provided a means for reconciliation that would not compromise what is right – He decided on grace, mercy, love, and propitiation. God Himself paid the penalty for the sins of the world on the cross (1 John 2:1-2).

There is a price to pay for sin. It has a cost. It is different than merely declaring that the stormy sea be calmed because He has already laid out penalty for sin all they way back in the beginning – death. Yet Jesus, in whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”, cancelled the “record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands” and set it aside, “nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). God did it all!

Think on it like this:

“…[A]n altered relationship now exists between God and sinners by Christ’s interposing sacrifice on behalf of fallen humanity. The point of the reconciliation is that God, for Christ’s sake, now feels toward sinners as though they had never offended him. The reconciliation is complete and perfect, covering mankind both extensively and intensively—that is, all sinners and all sin. The cause of rupture between God and sinners has now been healed, a truth wholly independent of humanity’s mood or attitude. While sinners were still the objects of God’s just wrath, Christ, in full harmony with the gracious will of his heavenly Father, interposed himself for their sakes, for the restoration of harmony.”[6]

Or as the hymn of old[7] put it:

“Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with His precious blood.”

All I know is that He could have poured His wrath out upon me but loved me instead. He could have made war on me as His enemy but instead made peace “by the blood of His cross”. That kind of love at such a cost as “the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19) is worth singing about. More than that, a God like that is surely preeminent because there is none like Him in all of existence.

Wrapping Up

I keep thinking back to Jesus’ words from beginning of today’s Bible study (Matthew 7:24-27). They came to mind because of thoughts of wind and rain, but Jesus was talking about so much more. He says that we will either build on a bedrock of faith – a foundation that is not determined by our own ability or strength but His, or we will build a foundation determined by what we can (and cannot) accomplish on our own. He says that His words – listening to Him and, most importantly, obeying what He tells us – ensure that when the rains, floods, and winds come – and they will, the foundation of His Word will never fall away. Those who build on Him will not fall because they have been founded on the rock!

Look at the beautiful words of the hymn “Be Still My Soul”[8] (1855):

“Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He lived below.”

What amazing truths are held in those lines! He has rebuked storms, telling them to be still, and He has allowed storms to rage. He has parted a sea, piled a river into a giant heap, and walked across water like it was solid ground. There are many who are skeptical of such things, but I believe them. I have faith, and that faith is rooted in my rejoicing that I am a sinner who has been reconciled to God by the blood of His cross. Without Him, there is no hope. Without Him, I am just dead in my sins. The more I read of Him in His Word, the more I see my sin. And, the more I see Him for Who He is and me for who I am, I am thankful and humbled that He would love one such as me. The storm is still raging outside my window, and the storms of life still rage as well. But the words of the Colossian hymn – words that proclaim a God who died yet lives, a Messiah who took the wrath I deserve while giving me love and grace – giving me hope. I pray they do for you also.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:15–23.

[2] ESV, Mt 7:24–27.

[3] ESV, Php 2:9–11.

[4] Barbara E. Bowe, “Reconciliation,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 1112.

[5] ESV, Ro 5:6–11.

[6] Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale Reference Library (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 1113.

[7] “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, John Wyeth | Robert Robinson © Words & Music: Public Domain

[8] Franz Dickerson | Joel Chernoff © 2002 Galilee of the Nations Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

Refresh & Restore — March 24, 2022

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.[1]

Colossians 1:15-23

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 3:7–13We’re back!After a few months off, The King is Coming returns in 2026 with one of the most encouraging letters in Revelation — Jesus’s message to the faithful church in Philadelphia. In a world filled with opposition and weakness, Jesus opens a door no one can shut.In this episode, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison explore:✔️ Jesus’s identity as the Holy One, the True One — God Himself✔️ What the “key of David” means and how Jesus alone opens and shuts✔️ The debated phrase “I will keep you from the hour of trial” — and how to read it biblically✔️ Why “little power” doesn’t disqualify faithfulness✔️ How being kept through the trial glorifies Christ’s strength in us✔️ What it means to be a pillar in God’s presence foreverThis church had no rebuke — only encouragement. And Jesus’s call still stands today: “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (Revelation 3:11, ESV)🔗 Missed earlier episodes in the series? You can click here to catch up and listen from the beginning.✍️ If you’d like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
  1. "Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming)
  2. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Love" (Advent 2025)
  3. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace (Advent 2025)
  4. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of PEACE (Advent 2025)
  5. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of HOPE (Advent 2025)

Greetings Sojourners!

I have started this week’s Bible study over and over in my head.

Have you ever set out to complete a task and realized that you are woefully inadequate for the task? That is how I feel about this section of Colossians. It is magnificent. It is glorious. It is full to the brim of amazing truths about Jesus. The more I study it, I find myself praying along with the tax collector: “Have mercy on me, O God, a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

The more I learn of Jesus – the closer I get to Him, the more I learn about myself. He, of course, does not change, but my perception of Him grows the more time I spend in His Word. The greater my perception of Him becomes, the worse I realize I am. The more grace I experience from Him, the more I realize the dangers of my sin. Understanding the cost of His sacrifice illustrates how woefully in debt I would be had He not redeemed me.

The good news (for me and for you) is that He is not dependent on the skill of anyone to make Him great. He already is. He does not need me to be eloquent or convincing. He is worthy. And I get to simply point you toward Him.

The Greatest Hymn Ever Written

This passage has long been one of my favorites. Every time I read it, it is like drinking ice-cold water when you are parched and hot. It is refreshes me. Looking at and processing how big and great – how preeminent, supreme, and sovereign – He is gives me indescribable relief.  

The general consensus of many theologians, writers, and preachers over the centuries is that this passage was a hymn in the early church. Since it is recorded in Scripture and all Scripture is “breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16), this hymn is perfect. This hymn does not sing about the Word or what the Word says. This hymn is part of the Word! That, in and of itself, is enough to make it beautiful, but the way that it testifies to Who Jesus is adds depth and beauty that no human mind could think.

This explains why singing songs of the faith (“psalms” – singing Scripture, “hymns” – singing doctrine or what the Bible teaches, and “spiritual songs” – singing testimonies[2]; cf. Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16) are important: they help us carry our beliefs, our theology, from our hearts and minds to our mouths.[3]

There are many beautiful modern hymns that help us communicate deep truths about Jesus. “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (1680) highlights His care and strength:

“Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;
Surely His goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriends you.”[4]

“How Great Thou Art” (1949) illustrates His greatness by reminding what He has done for us:

“And when I think that God His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin”[5]

And, more recently, “In Christ Alone” (2001) reminds us to hope in Christ alone:

“In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand”[6]

But, as beautiful as these songs are, they are not enough. Theology is important – sound theology is very important, but it all pales in comparison to Jesus. And the Colossian hymn – if it helps you to think of it that way – in 1:15-23 is better than the sum of every lyric of every worship song ever written about Jesus because it comes from Jesus Himself, the Word of God. He is more noteworthy than every note ever sung or that will be sung in worship of Him. Let’s dive in and seek to know Him more as we embark on today’s passage.

Diving In

In the last devotion, I tried to illustrate why Paul begins with this section on Jesus: to lay down the essential Truth of Who He is before he deals with the issues of false teaching that plagued the church at Colossae. There is false teaching today that still attacks Who Jesus is – Who the Bible proclaims Him to be. So, I want to be as careful as I possibly can – more carefully even than usual with my handling of this passage.

I always seek to take each passage (whether in my writing or while preaching/teaching) and treat it with the same care that Ezra did when they read from the Law – the Scriptures – for the first time when they came back home out of exile: “They read from the book, from the Law of God clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). On that day, all of Israel stood and listened. They were attentive to the Word because they had starved without it in exile. Dear, Sojourner, we are in exile, too, for “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Let us walk through this hymn together, verse-by-verse, looking at what is clearly seen, giving a sense so that we may understand our reading – that we may see Him.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (v. 15)

There are two descriptions of Jesus in this verse that are very important: “image of the invisible God” and “firstborn of all creation”. They run parallel to each other to help build our understanding of Who He is.

When I see the phrase “image of…God”, my mind is drawn back to the Creation account in Genesis:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)

I love the language in that passage. If you look at the Greek translation of the Old Testament and the original language of Colossians, the word for “image” is the same. It’s the word eikon (pronounced and similar to our word icon). That word is used in other places in the New Testament when Jesus asks whose “likeness” is on the Roman currency (Matthew 22:20) and later on to describe the “image [or statue] of the beast” in Revelation 13:14.

Basically, this is the word used to describe a picture (2D or 3D) that represents something real. The eikon is a visible representative of the real thing. It might be helpful to think of the icons for apps on our phones or computer screens. Think of how broad and vast the internet is, yet all you need to do to access the web is to click on the icon. It seems to simple to look at Jesus on the terms of an app, but there is Scripture to back this up. Hebrews 1:3 is a beautiful picture of this as the author writes that Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature”; Jesus is the literal embodiment of God’s glory and possesses God’s nature because He is God! Jesus said as much Himself in John 10:30 (“I and the Father are one”) and 14:9 (“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father”).

Man was created in the image of God, but that image was disfigured by sin in the Fall. That is the reason that in salvation God begins restoring that image. How does He do that? In salvation, when the old flesh is replaced with “the new self” we begin being “renewed in knowledge after the image of [our] Creator” (Colossians 3:10), to “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). It really is a beautiful picture of God’s grace! He creates man in His image, but man tarnishes that image by continual sin. Rather than ending mankind, God made a Way for us by coming to earth in the Person of Jesus, living a sinless life, dying the death we deserve, and raising Himself from the dead that we can have eternal life in Him (John 1:14, 3:16, 14:6; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21). He, “the image of the invisible God” gives the most beautifully visible representation of God – His love and His justice, His mercy and His wrath – making visible the “King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God” – may He receive “honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17).

The second phrase in this verse describes Jesus as “the firstborn of all creation”.

This phrase has been used to present all kinds of false teaching throughout church history and even today. People try to take this and twist it to say that Jesus is a created being, that He is God’s firstborn. You can look back at the lists of Scripture in last week’s devotion or look throughout the Word for yourself. To say that Jesus is created is align yourself with people like Arius or modern-day Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons and not align yourself with the Jesus of the Bible who has always been, even “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).

To understand why Paul refers to Jesus as “the firstborn of all creation”, you have to understand the context. For example, God tells Moses to explain to Pharaoh that Israel is His “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). God was not saying that He was the literal father of the nation of Israel. He was referring to the status, the position of a firstborn son. All right and authority over everything a father had – the best of the estate and all status that comes with it – went to the firstborn. This matches with how God spoke of David in Psalm 89:27 when he said that He would “make Him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of earth”.

To say that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation is to say that He is indeed the King of kings and Lord of lords. It shows the authority He had on earth – that He has today.

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him. (v. 16)

Look at the way that the verses in this hymn build on each other. Jesus, being the “image of the invisible God” establishes Him as God in flesh; His being the “firstborn of all creation” establishes His authority. Now, we see that He is the source of all that is, all that has ever been created! We have already traced Him being the image of God back to Genesis 1:26-27. But His presence at the dawn of creation can be traced back even farther. In fact, nothing can be traced farther back – He predates time and the existence of everything we can see!

Genesis 1:1-3a – the beginning – shows us the magnificence of God in His Trinity:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said….”

We see the Father and the Spirit clearly. The Son shows up in the speaking – the Word. That’s also where we see His authority. He says “light”, and light shines days before any source of light is invented!

We already looked at Hebrews 1:3 to affirm Jesus as the eikon of God. Now, we see it affirm His bringing all that exists into existence. He, being “the exact imprint” of God’s nature, “upholds the universe by the Word of His power”! That same voice that brought things into being is the very same power that keeps everything together. That creative power keeps the earth spinning at just the right speed, keeps it orbiting the sun at just the right distance and rate, and keeps it tilted at just the right angle to make all of life continue.

John 1:1-3 puts all of this together more beautifully than I could hope to explain:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”

All of creation, everything we can see on earth and all that we hope to see in heaven, everything from the majesty of the mountains and vast oceans to the microscopic atoms that are working below the surface of them all, all of it exists because of Him. There is no throne of man, vast dominating empire, or ruler – earthly or spiritual that can lift a finger against Him because they all originate from “the Word of His power”! Everything that is, was, or will be was created through Him. And everything that is, was, or will be belongs to Him – is “for” Him.

Verse 17 ties verses 15 and 16 together eloquently: And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Just as our Bible study title suggests, Jesus is over all, and He is all. And, just as His words were enough to light up the darkness in the beginning, they are enough to keep all of creation together. They are also better suited to tell us Who He is; in Revelation 22:13, Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Wrapping Up

I plan on continuing to walk through this passage a few verses at a time. Nothing could serve our time together better than in “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

It is my prayer that I grow closer to Him in the writing and you in the reading. If you don’t know Him, I’m thankful to get to introduce you to Him.

I want to close out with some beautiful words about Jesus that, although written in the fourth century by Gregory of Nazianzus, still hold truth today:

He who gives riches becomes poor; for He assumes the poverty of my flesh, that I may assume the riches of His Godhead. He who is full empties Himself; for He empties Himself of His Glory for a short while, that I may have a share in His fullness.[7]

Hallelujah, and amen!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:15–23.

[2] This breakdown of the terms from Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 draw on conversations with pastor friends of mine many years ago and has evolved and grown over the years. I am not entirely sure where this particular breakdown came from, but the group effort and community of faith have been foundational in my understanding of this.

[3] This is also why we need to be vigilant in singing songs with good theology because they are saturated in God’s Word. I plan on writing on this more at a later date, but in the meantime, you can look at the Songs for Sunday section of the website for examples of looking at the Scriptures represented by songs sung in corporate worship.

[4] Catherine Winkworth | Joachim Neander, © Words: Public Domain; Music: Public Domain

[5] Stuart Wesley | Keene Hine, © Copyright 1949 and 1953 Stuart Hine Trust CIO Stuart K. Hine Trust (Administration: USA All rights by Capitol CMG Publishing, except print rights for USA, North, Central and South America administered by Hope Publishing. All other non USA Americas rights by the Stuart Hine Trust. Rest of World – Integritymusic.com.)

[6] Keith Getty | Stuart Townend, © 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

[7] Elliot Ritzema, 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Early Church, Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).

Songs for Sunday, March 20, 2022

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Philippians 2:5-11 —

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

  • Scripture | Isaiah 53:3-5 —

3  He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4  Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5  But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

  • Scripture | 1 Peter 1:3 —

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead….

  • Offertory | Into the Sea —

If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.

Songs for Sunday, March 13, 2022

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Ephesians 1:15-23 —

15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

  • Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 —

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

  • Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:19 —

19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

  • Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 —

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

     “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55  “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.

Songs for Sunday, February 20, 2022

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Titus 3:1-7 —

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

  • Scripture | Isaiah 53:3-6 —

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.

Refresh & Restore — February 17, 2022

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.[1]

Colossians 1:3-14

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 3:7–13We’re back!After a few months off, The King is Coming returns in 2026 with one of the most encouraging letters in Revelation — Jesus’s message to the faithful church in Philadelphia. In a world filled with opposition and weakness, Jesus opens a door no one can shut.In this episode, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison explore:✔️ Jesus’s identity as the Holy One, the True One — God Himself✔️ What the “key of David” means and how Jesus alone opens and shuts✔️ The debated phrase “I will keep you from the hour of trial” — and how to read it biblically✔️ Why “little power” doesn’t disqualify faithfulness✔️ How being kept through the trial glorifies Christ’s strength in us✔️ What it means to be a pillar in God’s presence foreverThis church had no rebuke — only encouragement. And Jesus’s call still stands today: “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (Revelation 3:11, ESV)🔗 Missed earlier episodes in the series? You can click here to catch up and listen from the beginning.✍️ If you’d like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
  1. "Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming)
  2. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Love" (Advent 2025)
  3. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace (Advent 2025)
  4. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of PEACE (Advent 2025)
  5. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of HOPE (Advent 2025)

CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO VERSION!

Greetings Sojourners!

Welcome back to our study of Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae! We started with the above passage last week with the understanding that it would take us a few weeks to work our way through it. To refresh our memories and keep our study in its correct context, let us do a bit of a recap.

Colossians 1:3-14 is Paul letting the church at Colossae know what he has been praying for them and why he is praying for them. We even broke this section into smaller chunks to help us wrap our heads around – and to look at how Paul’s prayer for the Colossians has an impact on the Church today[2]:

  • Paul thanks God often for what he has heard about the church at Colossae – their faith in Christ, love for each other, and hope found in Him – because of the gospel bearing fruit in their midst (vv. 3-8).
  • Paul prays specifically for their continued growth in knowing God and walking with Him so that they can continue the gospel work in Colossae (vv. 9-12).
  • Paul reminds them that the gospel that they believed is the basis for their faith in Christ and his prayer for them – which is enough to combat the false teaching they are encountering (vv. 13-14).

Today, we will dive into verses 9-12 at the specific things that Paul was praying for God’s Spirit to do in the lives of the Colossian church and what we should be praying for the Church at large and, especially, the local churches to which God has called us.

A Prayer Worth Continuing (or Not Ceasing) (vv. 9-12)

All of these aspects of the what Paul is praying here flows out of the why that we looked at last week. Since Paul had heard of their “faith in Christ Jesus” (v. 4), “the love that [they] had for all the saints” (v. 4), and the hope they knew was “laid up for [them] in heaven” (v. 5), that knowledge – that testimony of their relationship with Christ – motivated Paul to continually pray for them. I love the way he words it: “from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you” (v. 9). This is a beautiful picture of the relationship and care between believers that is supposed to exist because of common faith in Jesus.

Today, as we walk through what Paul – and those who were serving with him (“we” – v. 9) – prayed for the church at Colossae, let this study move you to pray for your church. To help keep our prayers grounded in the Word and what God’s Spirit wants for His Church, explanations will be minimized and more attention will be given to showing what the Bible says about these requests. After all, how much better could our lives be if God granted our prayer, giving us these “characteristics” of a life that is pleasing to God, dependent on His power, and overflowing with fruitful thankfulness because of all that Jesus has done for us[3].

…asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding… (v. 9)

  • ch. 3:16 – Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
  • Ephesians 1:17 – …that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him….
  • Ephesians 5:17 – Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:14 – The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to Him, and He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
  • Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

This is a request for God to fill the Colossian believers with His knowledge – knowledge that comes from His gospel and grows through His Spirit inside them. Part of the reason for this request is for the knowledge of God and His will to counteract and overpower whatever false teaching is occurring in Colossae. But we all need to be filled with “the knowledge of His will” and interpret it with the “wisdom” that comes from His Spirit – to understand based on the new life we have in Christ and His indwelling Spirit rather than with our own worldly brains and experience.

Let us pray that God would grant us knowledge according to His Word that shows us His will. Let us ask to rely on the wisdom and understanding of His Spirit instead of leaning on our own understanding.

…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him…. (v. 10)

  • Ephesians 4:1 – I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called….
  • Philippians 1:27 – Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel….

Understanding this particular request requires a little bit of understanding and context regarding the original language. When it says “to walk” here, it is referring to one’s “manner of life”[4]. It is also related to the command of Jesus for His disciples to “follow” Him (Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 10:38, 16:14, 19:21; Mark 1:17, 2:14, 8:34, 10:21; Luke 5:27, 9:23, 9:59, 14:27, 18:24; John 1:43, 10:27, 12:26, 13:36, 21:19-22). You also need to understand that when it is translated as the English word “worthy” it is not referencing our value to be saved or ability to save ourselves. The original word had a connotation of being suitable or fitting[5]; it referred to one’s walk showing evidence of actually following Christ. This was important to the church at Colossae and in our churches today. And it only occurs when our own lives reflect the gospel that our mouths proclaim. But there’s a catch: it is not based solely on actions that can be observed by man because it requires a new heart that can only be observed by God (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26; Hebrews 4:12-13). Oh, that the content of our lives would be pleasing to Jesus!

Let us pray for God to make our hearts and our lives match. Let us pray that the knowledge of His will that we gain from His Word would impact our lives in such a way that people recognize we are walking with Jesus.

…bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…. (v. 10)

  • ch. 1:6 – …which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing – as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth….
  • Matthew 7:16-20 – “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in to the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
  • John 15:1-6 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
  • Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Hopefully by now you have noticed that these prayer requests build on each other. There is no way to do one without God having granted the former (i.e., walking a walk that is fitting for a believer requires knowing what God wants a believer to walk like). This request is a little tougher. This request requires a bit of pruning.

Ultimately, the idea of bearing fruit is a metaphor, but it is one that is important to understand. Paul has already used it to describe how the gospel bore fruit in the Colossian church and that its message was bearing fruit all over the world (vv. 5-6), so the Colossians could connect that with what he was praying for them now. To “bear fruit” is for what is inside to produce outside results. So, walking “in a manner worthy of the Lord” is fruit of new life in Christ Jesus. Yes, good works can be fake or faked, but what is inside will always show out in the end. If you just thought of a particular person (who is not you) when you read that, you need to know the same is true for you, too! The verses above that Jesus – God Himself – spoke about this show its importance: the kind of fruit one bears indicates what kind of tree they are (or are not). Our churches need regular pruning to make sure that God’s fruit (singular) – that “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” – shows that inward change has happened because none of those (individually and especially collectively) are not natural to sinful humans.

Let us pray that God helps us recognize whether or not we are bearing fruit and deal with the reality that a lack of fruit may indicate for us. Let us pray that we have a desire to bear fruit – not only in completing “good work” for Him but increasing in our knowledge (intimacy, not academics) of Him.

…being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy…. (v. 11)

  • Ephesians 3:16 – …that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being….
  • Philippians 4:10-13 – I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 – Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Think about the illustration that Jesus gave of people being able to do nothing if they are not connected to Him – that no one can bear fruit unless they are connected to the Vine. If there is a good work to be accomplished, He provides the strength. If there is an obstacle to be overcome, He provides the boost needed to climb over it. So often, people misunderstand 1 Corinthians 10:13 to mean that God will not give them more than they can handle. This particular request relies heavily on 1 Corinthians 10:12 (remember how important context is): “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Paul’s request for the Colossians is not for them to display their spiritual strength and ability. No, he recognizes what they are up against and prays that God’s strength will be what carries them through, giving Him glory in the process. He does not ask for them to be successful in worldly sense but, instead, seeks for them to endure whatever trial with patience, holding onto the joy that comes from Him alone – from the “hope laid up for (them) in heaven” (v. 5).

Let us ask the same for ourselves – for God to supply His strength to help because our own is not enough, for God to magnify Himself in our weaknesses and accomplish so much more than anyone would ever think could be done in or through us. Oh, what a glorious revival would come if we as individuals, and especially in our churches, relied on the power of God’s Spirit to complete His mission!

…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (v. 12)

  • Ephesians 3:15 – And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
  • Acts 26:18 – …to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Paul’s last request is what will truly occur once all of the others have been granted: thankfulness. Once God has saved us – turned us from dark toward His Light, from Satan’s power to the finished work of Jesus Christ, once we have grown in the knowledge of Him and His will, once our manner of life is fitting for one following Jesus, once we have been pruned and bear His fruit, and once we are running under Holy Spirit power and not our own steam, there is NO other result than thanksgiving. If we are in Christ, we have moved from the wages of our sin – death (Romans 6:23) – to sharing “in the inheritance of the saints in light”. We should pray as Paul did for our churches. We should pray it for ourselves. Let us do so!

Reflecting & Closing

There are a few things that are on my mind as I wrap up this week’s study.

First, I am scared to pray these things for myself. What if God answers them all with a resounding “yes”? I look at my own life and see the changes that need to happen – that will happen as I grow more in Christ and my fear of praying these things gives way to the faith in Him who does the changing in my heart. So, I recognize that changes need to be taking place that are not – just as I am sure there are the same in your life. Know I am praying for these things to happen for you, whether you want them or not! If you do not like that, feel free to get your revenge by praying for me, too.

Second, I know that the local church God has called me and my family to be a part of (Christ Community in Grenada, MS) is not perfect and will change if God grants these prayer requests. It might not feel like I am used to it feeling. Good. I also pray that God’s Spirit will give us a good swift kick in the seats of our comfort zones and do a little uncomfortable pruning so His church (not mine) will bear His fruit.

Third, I know that some of you probably do not have a church home right now. Covid is still a thing. Your old church was probably full of hypocrites and sinners. But we need a local body of believers to stir us up to the good works that we need to be doing – to keep us in check and focused on Jesus’ imminent return (Hebrews 10:23-25). All of the people who hold me accountable are in my church, and it ticks me off to no end when they have to do it. Pruning hurts. But you will never know if you are a thistle, a thornbush, or a Galatians 5 tree if you are not planted in a grove of other believers. Let that sink in. Christianity is not for spectators or solo artists. It exists in the communities God plants because that is how He decided to do it.

I am praying for you and love you. Let me know if I can serve you in any way.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:3–14.

[2] Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008), 81.

[3] Charles L. Quarles, “Colossians,” in The NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible, ed. R. Albert Mohler Jr. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021), 1654.

[4] Compare the language and intent of Colossians 1:10, Ephesians 4:1, and Philippians 1:27.

[5] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[6] No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Songs for Sunday, February 6, 2022

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | Psalm 96 —

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
tell of His salvation from day to day.
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
bring an offering, and come into His courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for He comes,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

  • Song | The Son of God Came Down —
    Scripture References / Inspiration for the Song: Luke 2:7, John 1:1-5, John 1:14, John 1:34, Ephesians 2:14-16, Philippians 2:5-8
  • Scripture | Philippians 2:5-11 —

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.

Songs for Sunday, January 30, 2022

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Psalm 145:1-13 —

1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.

  • Scripture | Proverbs 30:1-4 —

1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.

The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
2 Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is his son’s name?
Surely you know!

  • Offertory | There’s Just Something About That Name —

If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.

Songs for Sunday, January 23, 2022

It’s almost Sunday!

I find myself excited at the prospect of Sunday every week. I find myself needing it. More than an experience or a service, I find myself needing Jesus – needing to worship Him and hear from Him.

I know He is Emmanuel and with me always, but there is something about gathering with my faith family to worship Him. There is something about hearing from Him in the preaching of His Word. There is something about hearing about Him from the voices of my brothers and sisters pouring out their hearts to Him. There’s something about knowing that in seeking Him He is always found.

I know that all of that can be true on any day of the week and in many applications, but there is something special about Sunday.

It all hails back to that one Sunday when the tomb was empty, when death was defeated, Hell was silenced, and the defeat of the devil was sure. It hails back to that one Sunday where the angel preached the good news that “He is not here! He is risen as He said!” Every Sunday joins that one because every Sunday the tomb is still empty. Every Sunday He is still risen as He said. That’s still good news!

We are singing a new song Sunday that proclaims that good news beautifully:

For my life He bled and died
Christ will hold me fast
Justice has been satisfied
He will hold me fast
Raised with Him to endless life
He will hold me fast
‘Til our faith is turned to sight
When He comes at last!

“He Will Hold Me Fast”

And, Lord willing, we will gather tomorrow and celebrate that one Sunday as we wait to celebrate Him face-to-face when He comes!

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | Jude 24-25 —

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

  • Scripture | 1 Peter 1:17-21 —

17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

If you have not been gathering, consider gathering with your church family again. Various variants are still issues in this prolonged pandemic, but prayerfully consider gathering in the 10:00 Bible study where there is plenty of room for social distancing and one could slip out before the worship crowd comes in for the 11:00 service.

Refresh & Restore — January 20, 2022

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 3:7–13We’re back!After a few months off, The King is Coming returns in 2026 with one of the most encouraging letters in Revelation — Jesus’s message to the faithful church in Philadelphia. In a world filled with opposition and weakness, Jesus opens a door no one can shut.In this episode, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison explore:✔️ Jesus’s identity as the Holy One, the True One — God Himself✔️ What the “key of David” means and how Jesus alone opens and shuts✔️ The debated phrase “I will keep you from the hour of trial” — and how to read it biblically✔️ Why “little power” doesn’t disqualify faithfulness✔️ How being kept through the trial glorifies Christ’s strength in us✔️ What it means to be a pillar in God’s presence foreverThis church had no rebuke — only encouragement. And Jesus’s call still stands today: “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (Revelation 3:11, ESV)🔗 Missed earlier episodes in the series? You can click here to catch up and listen from the beginning.✍️ If you’d like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
  1. "Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming)
  2. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Love" (Advent 2025)
  3. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace (Advent 2025)
  4. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of PEACE (Advent 2025)
  5. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of HOPE (Advent 2025)

Greetings Sojourners!

It is my joy to continue studying God’s Word with you in 2022! And, in so doing, I am ecstatic to start with the epistle of Colossians – by looking at how Jesus is indeed over all, how He is preeminent and indeed everything.

Before we begin, I want to try something a bit different from our past normal. Just as we looked at the idea of Bible meditation last November, I believe that by meditating on Colossians before we begin studying it together we may glean more of what He – that is God through His Spirit – is saying to us than to hear my feeble words fumble around trying to help. We do not need me, but we absolutely need Him – to hear from Him and commune with Him and worship Him. So, let us look the letter that God sent to the church at Colossae through His apostle Paul (and thereby the letter that God sent His Church today at the same time).

It typically takes thirteen to fifteen minutes to read through Colossians. If you prefer to listen, there are many options available for your translation of choice (I use the Dwell app for Bible listening), or you can access my audio reading via the podcast feed above.

Greeting

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Thanksgiving for the Colossian Believers

3 We give thanks always to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, 4 since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, which you have heard about beforehand in the word of truth, the gospel, 6 that has come to you, just as also in all the world it is bearing fruit and increasing, just as also among you from the day you heard about and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow bondservant who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 who also made clear to us your love in the Spirit.

Prayer for Maturity Based on Christ’s Preeminence

9 Because of this also we, from the day we heard about it, did not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual insight, 10 so that you may live in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good deed and increasing in the knowledge of God, 11 enabled with all power, according to His glorious might, for all steadfastness and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you for a share of the inheritance of the saints in light, 13 who has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins, 15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, 16 because all things in the heavens and on the earth were created by Him, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him, 17 and He Himself is before all things, and in Him all things are held together, 18 and He Himself is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself may become first in everything, 19 because He was well pleased for all the fullness of God to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to himself, by making peace through the blood of His cross, through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

21 And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in attitude, because of your evil deeds, 22 but now you have been reconciled by His physical body through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, 23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and steadfast and not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul’s Suffering and Stewardship

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings on behalf of you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ, on behalf of his body which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister, according to God’s stewardship which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but has now been revealed to his saints, 27 to whom God wanted to make known what is the glorious wealth of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, 28 whom we proclaim, by admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, in order that we may present every person mature in Christ, 29 for which purpose also I labor, striving according to his working which is at work powerfully in me.

Christ, the Mystery of God

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on behalf of you, and those in Laodicea, and all those who have not seen my face in person, 2 so that their hearts may be encouraged, united in love and into all the wealth of the full assurance of insight into the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, 3 in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. 4 I say this in order that no one will deceive you with persuasive speech, 5 for even if I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

Made Alive in Christ

6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, live in Him, 7 firmly rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding with thankfulness. 8 Beware lest anyone take you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ, 9 because in Him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you are filled in Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority, 11 in whom also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, by the removal of the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And although you were dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 having destroyed the record of debt that stood against us, which was hostile to us, and removed it out of the way by nailing it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them in public, triumphing over them by it.

Do Not Be Judged by Human Religious Rules

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with reference to eating or drinking or participation in a feast or a new moon or a Sabbath, 17 which are a shadow of what is to come, but the reality is Christ. 18 Let no one condemn you, taking pleasure in humility and the worship of angels, going into detail about the things which he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by the ligaments and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as if living in the world? 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch,” 22 which things are all meant for destruction by consuming according to human commandments and teachings, 23 which things although they have, to be sure, an appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and unsparing treatment of the body, do not have any value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Seek the Things Above

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised together with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Put Off the Old Behavior

5 Therefore put to death what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustful passion, evil desire, and greediness, which is idolatry, 6 because of which the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which also you once lived, when you used to live in them. 8 But now you also lay aside all these things: anger, rage, wickedness, slander, abusive language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, because you have taken off the old man together with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all, and in all.

Appeal for New Behavior

12 Therefore, as the chosen of God, holy and dearly loved, put on affection, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, 13 putting up with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone should have a complaint against anyone, just as also the Lord forgave you, thus also you do the same. 14 And to all these things add love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And the peace of Christ must rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God, 17 and everything whatever you do in word or in deed, giving thanks for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus to God the Father through Him.

Mutual Responsibilities in Christian Relationships

18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they will not become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not while being watched, as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, accomplish it from the soul, as to the Lord, and not to people, 24 because you know that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the one who does wrong will receive back whatever wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

4:1 Masters, grant your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you also have a master in heaven.

Further Advice for the Christian Life

2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving, 3 praying at the same time for us also, that God may open for us a door of the message, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which also I am a prisoner, 4 so that I may reveal it, as it is necessary for me to speak. 5 Live with wisdom toward those outside, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how it is necessary for you to answer each one.

Exhortations Regarding Fellow Workers

7 Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful servant and fellow slave in the Lord, will make known to you all my circumstances, 8 whom I have sent to you for this very reason, in order that you may know our circumstances and He may encourage your hearts, 9 together with Onesimus, my faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all the circumstances here.

10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions—if he should come to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only ones who are fellow workers for the kingdom of God from the circumcision, who have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, greets you, a bondservant of Christ always struggling on behalf of you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify to him that he is working hard on behalf of you and those in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the physician, our dear friend, greets you, as does Demas. 15 Greet the brothers in Laodicea, and Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And whenever this letter is read among you, see to it that it is read also among the Laodicean church, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus, “Direct your attention to the ministry that you received in the Lord, in order that you may complete it.”

Final Greeting and Benediction

18 The greeting is by my hand, Paul’s. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.[1]

[1] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Col 1:1–4:18.

There are a few instances (1:19, 2:14) where the writer has chosen the rendering of certain phrases from the English Standard Version, as well as a differing in the rendering of the word doulos as “bondservant” where it refers to those redeemed by Christ and “slave” where it refers to that particular status – as there is a definite need for clarification between the two in Colossians and Philemon.