Friday, March 27th | Daily Devotion
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” –Colossians 1:13–14
TRANSCRIPTION:
Good morning. Grace and peace be unto all of you, my Father’s children. It is Friday — the close of another week in our Lenten devotional journey.
This week we have been seated in the theme of forgiveness. And as we prepare to cross from this weekend into Holy Week, I thought it fitting to close with the most foundational question of all: why do we need to be forgiven in the first place?
We turn today to Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae, the first chapter, beginning at the 13th verse.
This passage sits near the close of a prayer Paul offers specifically for this church — a prayer of thanksgiving that also roots and grounds their faith in what God has actually done for them. And what God has done, Paul says, is this: He rescued us. He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us — that word matters — into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
The domain of darkness is not simply a poetic phrase. It describes a real condition of captivity — the dominion of fleshly activity, of sin operating not just as something we do but as something that owns us. And this is an important distinction. Deliverance from that domain does not mean we will never sin again. It means we are no longer slaves to it. One of my favorite moments in our church life is baptism, and I love that declaration we make: I am no longer a slave to sin. Not that I will never sin, but that sin no longer holds me captive. That is the difference.
Because here is the weight of what captivity to sin actually means. Every time we transgress, every time we fall short, the wages of that sin is death. We signed up, by nature of our humanity, for a penalty we could not pay our way out of. Outside of the kingdom of God’s beloved Son — yes, death. That is the honest reality of where we stood.
But then comes the transfer.
And that word gets me every time I think about it. Transferred. Not just pardoned. Not just overlooked. Moved. Relocated. Placed into a different kingdom entirely — one where we now have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Redemption means we can become better. We are better. And we are no longer under the eternal penalty of our sin nature, because Christ accepted that penalty on our behalf. That is what we are moving toward as Holy Week opens before us. As Christ makes His ascent to the cross, we are not watching a tragedy — we are witnessing a transfer being purchased. The penalty we were undoubtedly due, He took. And in taking it, He released us from the dominion of the sin that so often besets us.
So on this Friday morning, as you close out this week and prepare your heart for what is coming — remember, recognize, and recall the areas where you have been redeemed. That is reason enough to shout wherever you are.
Have an incredible Friday. We have a powerful week ahead.
📅 Tonight — Bible Study, continuing in the book of Ezekiel. Join us in person or online.
📅 Next week — Holy Week Revival. Click for details.