New Testament | Colossians 1:21-29 (with Nick Locke)

Opening Song:
Meet Me There by Lydia Laird and Michael Farren

Lyrics:
When it feels like I’m slipping through
Your fingers
When the weight of my sin’s too much to bear
When the enemy whispers that I’m still who
I once was
Sweet Jesus meet me there

Meet me in the struggle
Meet me in the fight
Meet me in the trouble
Of my darkest night
Walkin' through the valley
Of shadows ev'rywhere
Sweet Jesus would You meet me there

When I’m sure I’m forgotten and forsaken
When I find myself all alone and scared
When the chains of anxiety have brought me
To my knees
Sweet Jesus meet me there

Even when it seems all hope is gone
Please meet me there
When the arrows fly and the nights are long
Please meet me there
My soul will not be downcast
I know You’ve never once ignored my prayer

Passage:
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.

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
(Colossians 1:21-29 ESV)

Musical Reflection:
I Need Thee Every Hour (NEED) by Robert Lowry

Reflection Notes:
Each stanza of this familiar hymn was written by Annie Hawks as part of a poem. When she showed the composition to her pastor, Robert Lowry, he added the refrain and set the text to music for their congregation to enjoy. The musical lines always tend upward before falling back down, an apt parallel to the textual pleas reaching up to God.

Prayer:
Eternal God, the refuge of all your children, in our weakness you are our strength, in our darkness our light, in our sorrow our comfort and peace. May we always live in your presence and serve you in our daily lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
-Boniface