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“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7).

Do you remember when you received Christ Jesus as Lord? For some it's a very definite memory. In my case (Stephen) I had lived for several months rejecting Christ after a very clear Gospel witness was presented to me. Later that summer I was persuaded to attend an evangelistic meeting in Kansas City and on August 22, 1971 and it was there that I surrendered my heart to Jesus. Brooksyne on the other hand recalls it being at a youth camp in Sapulpa, Oklahoma the summer before her freshman year of high school.

Perhaps you can't recall a specific day or place when you chose to receive Christ. For some this becomes a stumbling block and in my view a tool of Satan. Hearing a dramatic testimony of conversion leaves some listeners concerned that their conversion may not be as legitimate. For others it's as a child in Sunday School or with their parents at a very early age. In their memory they may say "I always believed".

The main question is have you received Christ Jesus as Lord: not when or where nor the particulars about how dramatic or un-dramatic your experience was. In our text Paul is saying that at some point the Colossians by faith laid hold of and took possession of the Truth presented. We must all ask this question: Have I by faith laid hold of and taken possession of the Truth presented, specifically the Truth about Jesus Christ?

Early in the Gospel of John in the prologue is a verse many of us have memorized. "He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11,12).

In Paul's summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 he begins, "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand" (1 Corinthians 15:1).

Back to our main text today, "just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord" We must receive Him as Lord, that is the Master and Controller of our life. This is the only occurrence of the specific name "Christ Jesus the Lord" (literal rendering). 

Bible teacher Dunn notes, "The basic sense of kurios ["lord"] is that of superior to inferior (master to slave; king to subject; god to worshiper), with formally acknowledged rights of the former to command or dispose of the latter. All would have recognized that acceptance of Christ Jesus as Lord included within it submission of the believer to this Christ and unconditional readiness to act in obedience to Him".

In the hymn, "Grace Greater Than All Our Sin" the final verse ends with this question, "Will you this moment His grace receive?" We urge each reader to do so today whether for the first time or as a constantly needed refresher.

Be encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, there are glorious changes You bring to our lives when we receive Your Son as our Savior and Lord. We no longer live for self, we are delivered from Your condemnation and eternal punishment, and we have inner peace because we are now reconciled with You because of Christ Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. Whether our road to salvation was gradual due to our Christian upbringing or whether it was a radical transformation due to the shackles of sin that had long enslaved us it leads to overflowing thankfulness within our hearts because we are  all recipients of Your grace through Christ Jesus our Lord, our Mediator between heaven and earth. Amen.