Day 1: The Perfect Image In A Broken Mirror World
Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
You look in the mirror this morning and what do you see? Maybe it’s the weight you can’t lose. The lines that weren’t there last year. The eyes that carry yesterday’s regrets. We live in a world of broken mirrors– each of us created in God’s image, yet fractured by sin, reflecting a distorted version of what we were meant to be.
But there’s one mirror that never cracked.
Jesus is the perfect image of the invisible God. While we stumble through life as shattered reflections, He stands as the flawless representation of who God is. Every word He spoke, every action He took, every breath He drew– it all perfectly revealed the Father. No distortion. No cracks. No missing pieces.
Here’s what should stop you in your tracks: this perfect image-bearer didn’t stay in heaven, admiring His own reflection. He stepped into our gallery of broken mirrors. He walked among the fractured and the flawed. He touched the pieces we thought were too damaged to repair.
The Japanese have an art form called kintsugi– taking broken pottery and mending it with gold. The cracks don’t disappear; they become beautiful. When Christ saves you, He doesn’t just fix your broken mirror. He fills every crack with His grace, making you more beautiful than you ever were before the breaking.
You were created in God’s image. That hasn’t changed, no matter what you’ve done or what’s been done to you. And now, through Christ, you’re not just a restored mirror– you’re a golden-veined masterpiece, reflecting His glory in ways that were impossible before you were broken.
Do people see Jesus when they look at your life? Not perfection; they see the golden grace filling the cracks where your brokenness used to show.
Prayer: Father, thank You for sending Jesus as the perfect image of who You are. Fill the broken places in my life with Your grace, and let others see Your beauty shining through my mended cracks. Help me reflect Your Son today, not despite my brokenness, but because of how You’ve made me beautiful again. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 2: The One Who Holds Your Chaos Together
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Does your world ever feel like it’s falling apart? The diagnosis came back positive. The relationship is crumbling. The bills keep coming and the bank account keeps shrinking. Your teenager won’t talk to you. Your parent doesn’t remember you. The chaos is real and it’s relentless.
But here’s a truth that will anchor your soul: there is not one stray atom in your universe that is outside Christ’s control.
Think about it. The same hands that formed galaxies are the hands that hold your Monday morning together. The voice that commanded light to pierce primordial darkness is the voice that whispers peace into your panic. Every electron spinning around every nucleus in every cell of your body is held in place by the One who calls you His own.
This isn’t about everything being comfortable or easy. Jesus never promised you a life without chaos. But He did promise that no chaos would ever be stronger than His grip on your life. The cancer cells, the broken marriage, the wayward child, the empty savings account– none of it has slipped through His fingers.
When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, they could see the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. God’s presence was visible. You don’t get the pillar, but you get something better: the promise that the God who holds solar systems in place holds your chaos together too.
Your circumstances may be spinning out of control, but you are not. You are held fast by the One who is before all things, who created all things, who sustains all things. Even when you can’t see how the pieces fit, trust that they’re being held by hands that have never dropped anything that mattered.
Prayer: Lord God, when my world feels chaotic and uncertain, remind me that You hold all things together through Your Son– including my life. Help me rest in Your sovereignty today, knowing that nothing in my circumstances has caught You off guard or slipped from Your almighty control. I pray this in the name of Jesus, amen.
Day 3: He Ran After His Enemies
Colossians 1:21-22 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
You weren’t saved when you were trying to be good. You weren’t rescued when you had your life together. You weren’t chosen when you were seeking God with all your heart.
You were saved when you were God’s enemy.
Let that sink in. The word “enemy” isn’t too strong. It’s exactly what Scripture says you were. Hostile in mind. Alienated. Doing evil deeds. Not indifferent to God– actively opposed to Him. And that’s when Jesus came running after you.
Think about your salvation story. Strip away the religious language and the sanitized version you tell in church. Remember the real darkness. The actual rebellion. The genuine hostility toward anything that smacked of God’s authority in your life. You weren’t wandering around looking for Jesus. You were running in the opposite direction.
But Jesus is faster than your rebellion.
He didn’t wait for you to clean up your act. He didn’t require a good faith effort on your part. He didn’t need you to prove you were worth saving. While you were still shaking your fist at heaven, He was already on the cross, absorbing the wrath you deserved.
This is why grace is so stunning. This is why the Gospel never gets old. Not because you were basically good and needed a little help, but because you were fundamentally opposed to God and He reconciled you anyway. Through His physical body. Through His actual death. Through real blood on a real cross.
Now you stand before God holy, without blemish, free from accusation. Not because you stopped being an enemy, but because the Enemy-Chaser made you His friend.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for pursuing me through Your Son when I was running from You. Thank You for reconciling me when I was Your enemy. Help me never forget the depth of grace that saved me, and let that gratitude fuel my love for You today. In my Savior’s name I pray, amen.
Day 4: The Gospel Came To You On Its Way To Someone Else
Colossians 1:28-29 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Someone risked everything to tell you about Jesus. They opened their mouth when it was awkward. They shared their faith when it wasn’t cool. They invested in your soul when they could have played it safe. The Gospel came to you on its way to someone else.
Now what are you doing with it?
Paul toiled and struggled to make Christ known. Not because he had to earn his salvation, but because knowing Christ had so radically transformed him that he couldn’t keep quiet about it. The man who once dragged Christians to prison became the man who risked prison to make more Christians.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if your life looks identical to your unbelieving neighbor’s life, you might know about Jesus, but you don’t know Jesus. When you truly encounter the One who created everything, holds everything together, and reconciled you when you were His enemy, it changes everything.
You don’t need a seminary degree to make disciples. You don’t need to be an extrovert to share your faith. You don’t need to have all the answers to tell others about the One who is the Answer. You just need to be a Christian who remembers where you came from and can’t help but talk about where you’re going.
Your teenager at school who’s drowning in anxiety needs to hear about the One who holds all things together. Your coworker who’s going through a divorce needs to know about the One who reconciles enemies. Your neighbor who’s wrestling with addiction needs to meet the One who breaks chains.
The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is working in you. Not just to make you a better person, but to make you a conduit of grace to everyone around you. The Gospel didn’t stop with you. It came to you on its way to someone else.
Prayer: Father, thank You that someone cared enough to tell me about Jesus. Give me courage to be that person for someone else. Show me who needs to hear about Your grace today, and give me boldness to speak and wisdom to know how. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 5: The Creator Lives Inside You
Colossians 1:16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
Many of us woke up this morning feeling ordinary. Maybe even insignificant. Another day of the same routine, the same struggles, the same sense that nothing you do really matters in the grand scheme of things.
But here’s what you need to remember: the One who spoke the universe into existence lives inside you.
The hands that sculpted mountains and carved ocean floors– those same hands now work through your hands. The voice that commanded “Let there be light” and watched darkness flee– that same voice whispers through your voice. The mind that designed DNA and gravity and the precise angle of Earth’s rotation– that same mind dwells within you through His Spirit.
You’re not just carrying around good advice or positive thinking. You’re carrying around the Creator of the universe. Every atom in your body was made by Him, for Him, and is now sustained by Him. The neurons firing in your brain as you read these words were designed by the One who now lives within you.
This changes everything about your Monday morning. Your difficult conversation with your family member isn’t just you vs. them– it’s the Creator of wisdom working through you. Your presentation at work isn’t just your skills on display– it’s the God of all knowledge empowering you. Your struggle with that besetting sin isn’t just willpower vs. weakness– it’s the power that raised Christ from the dead working within you.
Stop living like you’re on your own. Stop acting like you have to muster up strength from somewhere deep inside yourself. The strength is there, but it’s not yours– it’s His. The Creator who flung stars into space and breathed life into dust has made His home in you.
Prayer: Lord God, help me grasp the reality that You, the Creator of all things, live within me through Your Spirit. Don’t let me live like I’m ordinary when You’ve made me extraordinary through Your presence. Use Your creative power in me today for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 6: When Everything Feels Pointless
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Your life feels like it’s on repeat. Same job, same problems, same conversations. You’re going through the motions of faith, but honestly? It all feels a bit pointless. Church feels routine. Prayer feels mechanical. Even this devotion feels like something you’re supposed to do rather than something you want to do.
You’re not the first person to feel this way. Even the most faithful believers have seasons where everything feels flat and meaningless. But here’s what your feelings aren’t telling you: Jesus still has supremacy over your pointless-feeling life.
He doesn’t have supremacy because you feel excited about Him. He has supremacy because He’s the firstborn from among the dead. He conquered death itself. When everything seemed hopeless and finished, when His own disciples thought it was over, He walked out of a tomb and changed everything.
Your current season of spiritual dryness doesn’t threaten His supremacy. Your lack of enthusiasm doesn’t diminish His authority. Your going-through-the-motions prayers don’t reach Him any less than your passionate ones. He’s not supreme because of your feelings about Him– He’s supreme because of who He is.
Sometimes faithfulness looks like showing up when you don’t feel like it. Sometimes love looks like obeying when it doesn’t make sense. Sometimes worship looks like declaring His supremacy when your circumstances suggest otherwise.
The good news is that your spiritual seasons will change. But the better news is that His supremacy doesn’t change with your seasons. Right now, if you find yourself on the mountaintop or in the valley, whether you’re singing with joy or trudging through duty, Jesus remains supreme over it all.
Prayer: Holy Father, when my faith feels routine and my spiritual life feels dry, remind me that Your Son’s supremacy doesn’t depend on my feelings. Help me be faithful in this season, trusting that You’re working even when I can’t sense it. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Day 7: The Mystery Living In Your Kitchen
Colossians 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
You’re making coffee. Ordinary Tuesday morning. The kids are arguing about whose turn it is to feed the dog. Your spouse is running late. You’re mentally rehearsing the difficult conversation you need to have with your boss today. Just another regular morning in a regular life.
But God calls this a mystery– and not just any mystery, but one with “glorious riches.”
Christ in you. Not Christ somewhere up in heaven thinking good thoughts about you. Not Christ as a good example you’re trying to follow. Christ actually in you, right there in your kitchen, while you’re pouring cream and listening to the weather forecast.
This was the mystery hidden for ages. This was the secret that angels longed to understand. This was the plan God kept close to His chest until just the right moment: He would not just rescue His people, but He would actually come and live inside them.
You carry more glory in your Tuesday morning routine than all the treasures of ancient kings. You have more riches walking to your mailbox than all the gold in Fort Knox. Not because you’re special, but because of Who lives inside you.
That difficult conversation with your boss? Christ in you will navigate it. The patience you need with your arguing children? Christ in you will provide it. The wisdom you need for the decisions ahead? Christ in you already knows the way forward.
Stop compartmentalizing your spiritual life. Stop thinking that God only shows up during prayer time or church services. The mystery of the ages is unfolding in your kitchen, your car, your cubicle. Christ in you– the hope of glory– wherever you are.
Prayer: God, open my eyes to the mystery of Christ living in me, even in the most ordinary moments. Help me live with the awareness that I carry Your glory wherever I go, and let that reality transform how I see every moment of my day. In Jesus’ name, amen.