The mystery of Christ
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this? ~ Isaiah 53:1 (MSG)
Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ... ~ Colossians 4:3 (MSG)
KEY IDEA:
Christ and how he does things is a mystery to much of the world -- be ready to tell about him anyway.
PRAYER:
Lord God, thank you for sharing the mystery of Christ with us -- that you would become a man,
die a sacrificial death to reconcile us to you, and then rise from the dead. All of that is very mysterious --
even to me. And I admit that I am slow to share what I do not fully understand. Help me to realize that the enigma is an asset to the message and grant me wisdom to share it appropriately. I'm eager to share the mystery of Christ,
Amen.
CHALLENGING WORD:
- enigma -- deep mystery, hard to understand. The more you examine an enigma the more you realize that it is beyond understanding.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
