Be Built Up!

August 27, 2026

Be Built Up!

We look to lots of things and lots of people to build ourselves up.

+We look for the affirmation of other people.

+We look for the acceptance of other people.

+We look for the approval of other people.

We look to lots of things and lots of people to build ourselves up.

+We look to our status in the club or the church or the community.

+We look to our retirement account balance.

+We look to the prestige of our job.

We look to lots of things and lots of people to build ourselves up.

+We look to the praise of other people.

+We look to the validation of other people.

+We look to the recognition of other people.

We look to lots of things and lots of people to build ourselves up.

+We look to the type of house in which we live.

+We look to the brand of car we drive.

+We look to the type of vacations we take.

We look to lots of things and lots of people to build ourselves up.

Is it any wonder we go through days or weeks when we are discouraged? Is it a surprise when we struggle with depression so often? Is it a shock when we feel we are not making much progress in growing into the likeness of Jesus?

It is easy to place our faith in another person with the hope they will provide exactly what we need. It is just as easy to place our trust in our stuff with the hope we will be successful. It is easy to place our confidence in other people and other things with the hope we will become a better person.

And yet, our misplaced faith rarely yields very much fruit. Our life is not any better, our career is not any more successful, and our relationships are not any more healthy. Too often, we focus on things and people that cannot provide what only Jesus can provide.

In Colossians 2:6-7 Paul writes; “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him,rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Paul reminds the Christ-followers in Colossae that their life and their faith are built on and built up in Christ.

I find myself asking some questions.

+Why do I continue to pay more attention to my stuff or my status or my success than I pay attention to the ways Jesus wants to build me up?

+Why do I continue to focus more on the affirmation or acceptance or approval of other people than I focus upon the ways the amazing grace and tender mercy and unconditional love of Jesus build me up?

+Why do I continue to give so much of my time and energy to what other people think of me than I give time and energy to remembering what Jesus thinks of me?

Jesus wants to build me up into His likeness every day for the rest of my life. Jesus wants to grow my relationship with Him to a deeper level of trust, to a deeper level of intimacy, and to a deeper awareness of His power and His glory and His presence.

Paul mentions two things we can do to be built up by Jesus.

First, we can be “rooted…in Him.” We find our foundation established in Him, our thirst quenched in Him, and our security certain in Him. We can be rooted in Jesus by reading the Bible (try the Gospel of John), by praying each morning (use a daily devotional guide), and worshipping with other believers (try going to church this weekend).

Second, we are to be “…abounding in thanksgiving.” We can take time several times each day to give thanks and praise and worship to Jesus. We can express our gratitude for His grace when we do not deserve another chance. We can express our gratitude for His forgiveness when we are not able to erase our guilt and shame. We can express our gratitude for the beauty of His creation, for the gift of His love, and for the hope of His heaven.

When we are rooted in Christ and our hearts and mouths are filled with thanksgiving for who Christ is, we will see our life being built up into the likeness of Christ. When we see our growth, our hearts will overflow with delight in the Lord.   

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug