Words of Hope Daily Devotional
Where Are We Rooted?
Read: Colossians 2:6-13
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (vv. 6-7)
If a plant in a pot does not flower, then we have to carefully examine it. We can check if we have the proper pot, check the soil filling the pot, check the roots of the plant, and whether we have placed the plant in the right spot to receive enough sunlight. Then there is ongoing care—constantly tending to it to remove the dry leaves and feed it with fertilizer.
It is the same with our Christian lives. Without the constant nurturing of Bible reading, prayer, and worship, and the watering of the Holy Spirit, we cannot grow, nor bloom and bear fruit. Being rooted in Christ is important not only to thrive, but also to be firm in our faith, unshaken by different human ideas or philosophies.
God Almighty made it possible for us not only to be planted in Christ through believing in him, but also to bloom in him, because of him, for his great love for us. By living together with Christ (v. 6), we have the whole divine fullness in us (v. 9). Praise be to God! How encouraging and wonderful!
As you pray, ask God to give you a desire in your heart to abide in Christ Jesus, and grow in him. Confess the ways that you are not following God’s ways and ask him to strengthen you.
About the Author
Silvana Tafa
Silvana Tafa finished her studies on French language and Literature in Lausanne, Switzerland. After she returned to Albania, she served with a local church alongside her husband. Now she gives private French lessons and takes care of her three sons in Tirana, Albania. Silvana loves nature, traveling, discovering new things, reading and writing.
These devotionals were first published in Fjalet e Shpreses, Words of Hope’s Albanian devotional. Learn more about Words of Hope Albania, and our work in training and equipping local Christian leaders to write and share the Word of God.
Dead and Buried
Read: John 19:31-42 Since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (v. 42) On Saturday, Jesus was dead. Christians call this day, the day when life itself stopped and Jesus’s body lay in the tomb, Holy Saturday.
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
Read: John 19:17-30 And I, when I am lifted up . . . will draw all people to myself. (John 12:32) Beneath the cross of Jesus was not a nice place to be. The sights and sounds and smells of
The Person Who Carried His Cross
Read: Luke 23:26-33 They seized one Simon of Cyrene . . . and laid on him the cross. (v. 26) There is a street in Jerusalem known as the Via Dolorosa, the “Way of Sorrows.” It is the route Christ
The Judge Who Condemned Him
Read: John 18:28-19:16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. (v. 16) The Apostles’ Creed mentions three names among its 100 or so words. The first, of course, is Jesus; the second is Mary; the third is
The Disciple Who Denied Him
Read: Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75 And immediately the rooster crowed. (v. 74) Many of the people who welcomed Jesus with loud “Hosannas” on Palm Sunday must also have shouted, “Crucify him!” on Good Friday. It’s perilously easy to betray or deny
The Man Who Betrayed Him
Read: Matthew 26:20-25 Is it I, Lord? (v. 22) Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion sets Matthew’s text of the passion story to dramatic music. When the soloist singing Jesus’s words announces to the disciples that one of them will