the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
As you have received Messiah Yeshua the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7 NKJV).
In the above passage, we are exhorted both to be "established" and to "abound" in faith. What does it mean to be established in the faith? Is there a difference between being established and abounding in the same faith? I believe there is.
Being established in the faith involves becoming solid and secure in one's doctrine, character and lifestyle. It means we have developed a consistent devotional life, are regularly tithing to our local congregation, and are living out the tenets of our faith in our daily lives.
Abounding in the faith, on the other hand, has to do with fruitfulness—a daily fellowship with God that carries us beyond merely being consistent in our walk with Messiah to a place of responding generously to the daily promptings of the Ruach (Spirit). A person abounding in the faith will actively and wholeheartedly pursue God on a daily basis, listening for his voice and obeying his leading. He will hear and respond when God says, "Go over and speak to that person now" or "Give such and such an amount in the offering today."
What about you? Are you established in the faith? Are you experiencing that abounding fruitfulness the above passage exhorts us to pursue? In order to be well-rounded and mature believers, we need to do both!
...choose to become better established in the faith and also to abound in fruitfulness in my daily life.
JB
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
