🦸‍♂️ Colossians 1:9 | Time To Be Different

Happy Friday, everyone!

We’re grateful you’ve journeyed with us this week! I hope this email is a little fuel for your weekend.

In today’s email…

• 🙏 A full recap of our week in Colossians 1:9

• 🦸‍♂️ The bold decision we all have to make

• 📚️ In case you missed it…

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

And so, ____ ___ ___ we ______, __ ____ ____ ______ __ ____ for ___,

_____ ____ ___ ___ be _____ ___ ___ ________ of ___ ____

in all ________ ________ and __________,

Colossians 1:9

CONTEXT 📕 

It’s been a rich week together in Colossians 1:9.

Here’s the journey we’ve walked, day by day:

On Monday, we zoomed out.

We stepped into the world of Colossae: a small, unimpressive city, tucked away in the Lycus Valley. Nothing about it screamed importance.

And yet, Paul writes to them with intensity because ordinary Christians in an ordinary place mattered to God. Paul had never even met these believers.

But he prayed for them without ceasing.

We learned: Prayer is not meant to only be a fire extinguisher when we encounter hardships. It’s meant to be oxygen — the very air we breathe day in and day out.

On Tuesday, we zoomed in on the structure. We saw how Colossians 1:9 is the hinge on which the whole letter swings.

Paul doesn’t pray for their health, jobs, or safety. He prays for one thing: that they’d be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

That prayer becomes the foundation for everything else he’ll write — about endurance, joy, redemption, reconciliation, and the supremacy of Christ.

We learned: if you want to live a life that actually pleases God, it starts with a prayer for wisdom and understanding that only comes from Him.

On Wednesday, we dug into a few key words: filled, knowledge, and will.

• Filled — Not halfway. Not sprinkled. Saturated. Like a sponge dunked under water until it can’t hold one drop more. That’s the life Paul is praying for.

• Knowledge — Not trivia. Not Bible Jeopardy. This is relational knowing, like a child knowing their father’s voice.

• God’s will — Not a cosmic scavenger hunt. Not “Tell me exactly which job I should take.” It’s what pleases God and the kind of life that reflects Jesus.

We learned: Colossians 1:9 is about transformation, not information. Paul wants the guiding north star of our lives to be the way of Jesus.

On Thursday, we made the bridge to Jesus. We asked: How does this prayer actually move us closer to Jesus?

Paul’s answer:

• “In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col 1:19).

• “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3).

When Paul prays for wisdom, he’s not asking God to give us a secret download. He’s asking God to draw us into Jesus Himself.

To be filled = filled with His Spirit.
To know = know Him personally.
To understand God’s will = see how it all points to Christ.

We learned: Colossians 1:9 isn’t about chasing principles. It’s about pursuing a Person. And His name is Jesus.

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

So where does this leave us?

1. Pray differently. Stop asking for safe prayers and start asking to be filled with Christ Himself.

2. Read differently. Don’t just skim the Bible for facts. Pray, “Jesus, show me Yourself here” and expect to encounter a living Person.

3. Live differently. Share this truth out loud. Send a text. Start a conversation. Let wisdom and knowledge flow out of your relationship with Him to other people who need Jesus (hint: that’s everyone).

🙏 Pray:
Jesus, You are the fullness of God. You are wisdom personified. You are life itself. I don’t just want to know about You. I want to know You. Fill me with Your Spirit. Let my prayers, my reading, and my life point straight to You.

NEW RESOURCE 🎨 

We’re excited to announce a new resource: Bible verse coloring pages!

With just a few clicks, you can create a custom coloring book for your kids, grandkids or Sunday school classroom to help them connect with and memorize Scripture!

Here’s how it works:

• ✅ Select the coloring pages you want in the coloring book

• 📁 After payment, your coloring book file will automatically download as a PDF to your phone or computer (pay-it-forward subscribers will see their 100% OFF coupon code below!)

• 🖨️ Print it out and give it to your kids, grandkids or bring it to church (or enjoy some coloring yourself)

You are not currently a pay-it-forward subscriber, but if you’d like to be, click here!

RESOURCES 📚️ 

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into the verse and its themes:

• 📚️ The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence (link)

• 📚 Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Dr. Timothy Keller (link)

• 📚️ Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer by Tyler Staton (link)

• 📚 Fount of Heaven: Prayers of the Early Church by Robert Elmer (link)

• 📚️ Colossians and Philemon (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) (link)

• 📹️ Colossians overview video by BibleProject (link)

• 🎵 AMEN by Forrest Frank (Spotify | Apple Music | Full Malachi Daily Playlist)

Our goal is to make sure we can always keep Malachi Daily completely free.

Part of how we’re able to do that is thanks to a generous group of our subscribers who choose to pay-it-forward.

Want to join them and support our work?

For the cost of a few coffees per month, you can help us strengthen over 400 other believers in their faith this year!

Pay-it-forward subscribers also get:

• Lifetime access to our course — Renew Your Mind: How to Take Your Thoughts Captive and Make Them Obedient to Christ

• Unlimited Scripture coloring pages and unlimited downloads (we’ll continue to add new pages each month)

• And more coming down the line!

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you,

asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 1:9