May 18, Col 1:17 Bible Study Notes
Welcome!
This blog is used to share some of our notes from each day’s journaling while we were in Bible study with The Holy Spirit. At the bottom of each blog page, you’ll see which Bible we used and additional resources that may have informed our thinking and learning. We are curious and humble #Biblenerds. Each day we GET TO use the Word of God to learn more about His never-changing character, how much Jesus loves us and how The Holy Spirit guides us through a heart transformation one verse at a time. The Bible reads us just as much as we read It.
We hope these perfectly imperfect notes help you as you join us weekday mornings 8:00 - 9:00 EST via Facebook & Youtube. And, of course, we welcome you whenever and wherever you get a chance to learn along with us!
In His Love,
Joy Lee & Tara Ouellette
Joy’s Notes:
1. “He is BEFORE ALL things
&
2. IN Him all things are held together.”
———————————
HE GOES BEFORE ALL THINGS:
Deut 1:29-33
“But I said to you, don’t be shocked or afraid of them! The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he’s brought you to this place. But even after all he did, you refuse to trust the Lord your God, who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night in a pillar of cloud by day.”
Deut 31:1-3,6,8
“When Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the people of Israel, he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, you will not cross the Jordan River, Moses. But the Lord your God himself will crossover AHEAD of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river just as the Lord has promised.
V.6 “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you people. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.
V.8 “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you, he will neither fail you know abandon you!
John 10:4
“After the Shepherd has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know their shepherds voice.
Psalm 23:1,4
The Lord is my shepherd, I have all I need.
Even though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for you are WITH me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
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FEAR
⁃ The enemy uses fear to manipulate us!
—The opposite of fear isn’t faith... it’s LOVE!
— B U T.... We find COURAGE when we know LOVE has gone before me!
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4 stories of women who had LOVE B E F O R E them.
1. Women at the well (john4)
👉Jesus went BEFORE her & waited for her arrival at the well.
👉 she thought she was falling-apart, but Jesus was setting-her-apart
👉(Because—“In him, all things are held together”)
2. Adulterous woman
(John 8)
👉 Jesus was in temple BEFORE the adulterous woman was escorted to see him there
👉 She came in crumbling with guilt and SHAME, but Jesus took away all the BLAME
“Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you? No, Lord, she said. And Jesus said, neither do I. Go and said no more.”
👉 (Because—“In him, all things are held together”)
3. Bleeding woman (Luke 8:43)
👉”coming BEHIND Jesus, she touched His hem.”
👉 she thought she was all ALONE, until he looked in her eyes and was instantly KNOWN
“ daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace”
👉 (Because—“In him, all things are held together”)
4. Alabaster jar woman (Luke 7:37)
👉Jesus was already there, BEFORE she arrived .
“She knelt BEHIND Him at His feet!”
👉she thought her life was like the shattered JAR but Jesus saw her as a MORNING STAR
👉 “I tell you, her sins, are many, have been forgiven, for she has shown me much love. But a person who’s forgiven little shows only little love”
👉(Because— “In him, all things are held together”)
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“IN HIM, ALL THINGS ARE HELD TOGETHER”
Col 2:2
“I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love.
Hosea 11:4
“I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.
• God is a master seamstress, knitting us together with ties of love
ONLY LOVE CAN MEND ME BACK TOGETHER!! (All other ingredients are only band-aids)
“He’s got the whole world in His hands.”
Tara’s Notes:
May 18, Colossians 1:17 Journal
NLT: “He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.”
KJV: “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
MacDonald commentary: present tense holds/is. Timelessness of Deity.
What do you want me to know about this verse, God?
His Spirit took me down memory lane when I first was hearing about God and Jesus.
Then the memory of when it felt like God and Jesus were two separate beings.
I used to think God and Jesus were separate. Like a good cop, bad cop approach.
a. OT God = angry, vengeful, cruel, harsh
b. NT God = loving, merciful, compassionate
c. God, the Father; Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit = same God of love and truth as well as judgment of sin against love and truth
Right now situation that consists.
Ryan text me that he and Ethan are hunting (started at 3:30am and now it’s 6:30am).
“Ethan is on a bird now. Hoping he comes closer. E needs to shake the jinx for his confidence.”
Jinx stood out to me: “a person or thing that brings bad luck; cast an evil spell on”
à wryneck – a bird used in witchcraft (Jesus, what do you want me to know about this?)
Just like in sports we’ll often use language like: bad luck, slump, dry spell, drought, losing streak
I sat and thought about the situation Ethan is in both in the woods and in life. Overall feeling in a slump with some things mostly with hunting – no way is he going to get this pheasant. Nor any deer since he’s started going at 11. (Reflecting on dinner conversation from last night.)
Pray.
Should I? Over a situation such a this?
I felt led to pray and not act like it’s all a coincidence and this situation doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter at all really in the grand scheme and/or to God.
So, I sat and asked God what to pray over this situation. Not wanting my self-centered will, but His. I started, “Jesus, you are in all things. You know this situation and what is really needed. I pray that as E is crawling through the woods at this moment, he experiences Your presence. He feels steady and at peace. I ask that you generously sacrifice the life of this bird for Your relationship with E and the truth of who you are in his life. That this lacking – this scarcity mindset – stops right now in Your presence in Your woods. Ethan is Your warrior. You are the provider of all things. You are before all things and through you this situation consists. There’s no place for curse words such as jinx b/c nothing has more power than you. I pray all of this in Your name, Jesus. Amen!”
Then I text Ryan and said, “Just prayed.”
Then I paused with a little doubt before I sent another text. Immediately I noticed a lie I believed about why I would hold back the thought that just popped into my head which was meant to be a continuation of what I just said. So, I rebuked the lie, focused back on Jesus and specifically thought about Col 1:17 and sent one more text,
“He’ll get one. I believe it.”
As if I was stating I BELIEVE what I just prayed and telling you puts my belief to the test. But the lie I believed was, “Who was I to say such a thing before it happened? That will add to the disappointment…”
5 min later, I got a text from Ryan. A pic of my son and God’s sacrificial bird for His son, Ethan! My goosebumps had goosebumps! My eyes welled up and I began typing it all.
Matthew 6:26-30
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
Jesus you existed before all creation and exist now! You are timeless and stopless (lol unstoppable).
You existed before all church denominations.
You existed before there were political parties.
You existed before this nation.
You existed before sin.
You existed before this negative emotion.
You existed before X natural disaster.
You existed before this pandemic
You existed before life.
You existed before death.
You existed before me.
You exist now.
You exist to save us from all church denominations.
You exist to save us from politics.
You exist to save us from this nation.
You exist to save us from sin.
You exist to save us from this negative emotion.
You exist to save us from natural disasters.
You exist to save us from this pandemic.
You exist to save us from ourselves.
You exist to save us from death.
You will continue to exist to give us an eternal, abundant life.
Joy & Tara’s Primary Source: The Holy Spirit
Secondary Source: Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Tyndale, 1996, 2004, 2015