Life’s hard; we need a Guide. Enter: the Holy Spirit. He is our Counselor, Guide, Friend and Advocate.

²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26

When I was traveling with my musical group called “Matthew,” I would occasionally be asked to sign an autograph (woohoo!). After butchering my name (I’m left-handed), I would put the Scripture reference, Colossians 1:28-29, which says,

²⁸ We proclaim Him, teaching and admonishing everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

This passage seemed like a good “ministry” verse–little did I know that it would become the basis for my ministry!

1. We proclaim Jesus: His eternal existence, His incarnation, His life and ministry, His death and resurrection, and His ascension and imminent return.
2. Teaching and admonishing (leading in worship) are the main ingredients in my ministry.
3. All wisdom? I consider that phrase to mean that I have the Word of God in my hands, in my head, and in my heart.
4. “Fully mature in Christ” is what happens when we allow the Spirit to lead us in our daily walk. It takes time, and we will not ever be perfect this side of heaven, but even the term, “perfect,” means, “complete, well-rounded, mature.” It can even mean, “without fault or blemish,” which falls right in with Ephesians 5:27 and Jude 24, when He presents us to His Father.

Verse 29 describes the best way to serve the Lord. It’s not in our power, but in the Lord’s power. If we look back at verse 11, we find, “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might…” Learning how to lean on His strength rather than our own usually comes through difficult circumstances and hard times. Paul describes the process aptly in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10,

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What Paul doesn’t tell us is how difficult it is to not act out of anger, to keep the filters on our thoughts and our mouths, and to not quit even when we feel lousy physically and about ourselves. Actually, those are the times when we need to lean on Him the most.

I’m still learning this lesson.

Abba, I hate having to apologize, yet, that “weakness” is when You are strong in my life. May I learn the lesson of John the Baptizer, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). Amen.