Prayer Call: You've Got Mail

Good Morning BFB & Friends!

This morning’s devotional invites us to pause and consider a simple truth: God is still sending us messages. Paul’s words in Colossians 3 remind us that heaven has placed something in our inbox — a message meant to lift our focus above the noise of life and anchor our hearts in Christ.  So this morning — before we go into prayer — I want to draw our attention to this thought: You’ve Got Mail.

I know I’m dating myself, but I grew up excited about AOL. Some of us still have our AOL emails, and that’s fine. I still have one of mine. Back then, it was new and exciting to get online, have an email address, and hear that ringtone: “You’ve got mail.”

That’s where we’re going today, because I truly believe God is still sending us mail. The question is: Are we reading it?

You may be asking, “Pastor, where are you getting that from?” I know — I can be a little different. But stay with me.

We’ve traveled to Rome in one of Paul’s letters. We’ve been to Corinth in another. This morning, we’re heading to Colossae and reading from Colossians 3.

“Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” - Colossians 3:1–2 (NIV)

Colossae was a small but culturally rich city in what is now modern‑day Turkey. It sat along a major trade route, which meant the people were constantly exposed to loud influences, competing voices, and ideas that tried to crowd out the message Paul had given them.
And Paul wasn’t writing from comfort — he was writing from prison. Even there, he was encouraging this small but important church to stay grounded in Christ despite the noise around them.

God’s Message Is Bigger Than What We’re Going Through
In these two short verses, Paul reminds them — and us — that God’s message about us is bigger than what we’re going through.

He isn’t telling believers to ignore life or pretend challenges don’t exist. He’s reminding them that life should not define our identity. Because life can be loud. Stress can be loud. Bills talk loud — especially when we can’t pay them. Deadlines at work can be loud. Relationship struggles can be loud. Fear — fear of the unknown, fear of a diagnosis — can be loud. Disappointments can be extremely loud. And if we’re not careful, we start believing those voices tell the whole story about our lives.

But Paul is saying: God is sending you a different message. He’s sending you different mail. God says: You are redeemed. You are covered by grace. Your identity is not tied to your worst day or your hardest season.

Sometimes we lose our peace because we keep rereading life’s messages more than we reread God’s message about us. But when we woke up this morning, God had different mail waiting: “I am with you. I have not left you. Life may be loud, but My voice and My promises are louder.”

Spiritual Growth Happens When We Check God’s Mail Daily
Paul goes on to say, “Set your minds on things above.” That language suggests something ongoing — not a one‑time action. Spiritual growth happens when we check God’s messages daily.

What’s the mail God gives us? His Word.

Messages don’t help if we only read them once. You’ve probably had a text or a piece of mail you skimmed quickly, tossed aside, and later realized it was more important than you thought. God’s Word works the same way.

We shouldn’t rush through it. We shouldn’t only pick it up when we’re in trouble. We should reread it daily. When life gets loud, rereading God’s Word helps us: see what we overlooked, think differently, respond differently, trust differently.

Not because life suddenly gets easier, but because God’s voice becomes clearer.

Our spiritual growth happens when we keep returning to the message God has already sent and allow that message to shape how we see life.

Set Your Mind on What God Has Given You
Life will be loud. Things will come. But God has sent us messages we have access to every day. Our ancestors who endured slavery often couldn’t read. When they finally learned the Word of God, it didn’t change their circumstances — but it gave them hope to endure them.

That’s what God’s Word still does.

So this week, set your mind on things above — not on what you see on TV, not on what you hear around you, not on the noise of life. Set your mind on the message God has given you.
Because His Word may not change the situation, but it will change you in the situation.

We’ve all got mail. I pray we open it this morning.

Amen and amen.