Christmas
in February
Today's
Three-minute Bible Study
Print,
Study and Apply
Title:
Christmas in February -------------------
Date: 2/3/2002
Keywords:
"patience"
"steadfastness" "strength"
Welcome
to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand
strong in the face of sexual temptation.
For the
next several days, we will be studying one of the
Apostle Paul’s great prayers, found in Colossians
1. This prayer, for spiritual growth for his readers,
is tailor-made for men and women who wrestle with
— and sometimes fail in — a chronic
temptation to use pornography. God bless
you!
Passage:
Colossians 1:9-14*
9. For this reason also,
since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to
pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with
the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding,
10. so that you may walk in a
manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all
respects, bearing fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God;
11. strengthened with all power,
according to His glorious might, for the attaining of
all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12. giving thanks to the Father,
who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of
the saints in light.
13. For He 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.
Questions
1. For what one thing is
Paul praying in verse 11?
2. What two outcomes will be the
result of his answered prayer?
Practical
help
As a Christian, your
God-ordained destiny is to know, by experience, the
strength and power of God! Not that you will be able
to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but that you
will be able to face challenges and temptations
and serve others with love the way Jesus did
while He walked the earth.
According to Colossians 1:11,
when you access the strength and power of God, He will
grace you with two invaluable resources.
First, the gift of
steadfastness. Steadfastness is the ability
to see through the pain to the goal on the other
side of the pain. It is the ability to stay the
course, pay the price and persevere in doing the
right thing.
Second, the capacity for
patience. The patient man or woman is the
one who is willing to put off current pleasure for
the sake of future reward. It is the grace of
delaying gratification.
Both of these commodities are
valuable weapons in the fight against porn. They
enable their possessor to say "No" to porn’s pull
— and mean it, believing that God’s presence
is a better gift than dirty pictures on the
Web!
May God grace you with His
strength and power today as you trust Him.
Enjoy the steadfastness and patience He’ll
provide as you delight yourself in Him.
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2002 by eXXit
*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD
BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation
1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995. Used by permission."
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