Colossians 3:16
16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Have you noticed that the world around us is always in a quandary of unrest and dissatisfaction, hate to give you more bad news -the world is on a spiral downward course. And also, I peeked at the end of the book – it ends well for us in Christ – but not before it gets worse.
You may even get affected by our culture – you might chime in with the world and say life sucks all the time and complain about it. Living from one crutch to another- materialism, workaholism, drugs, alcohol, sex searching for anything to make life – “fun” or seek relief from all the badness - or my favorite crutch of choice being grumpy.
As our former pastor Steve used to say whatever you focus on gets bigger in your life.
The apostle Paul here in Colossians encourages us to live a different life by having the message of Christ dwell in us – and not just dwell in us – but richly – or completely filling our lives.
And just what exactly is the message of Christ?
Well as we all know Jesus came down from Heaven to sacrifice himself and pay the price for our sins, that thru repentance of our sins and by trusting in Jesus and faith in Christ we believe in him for the forgiveness of sins. We enter into a family relationship with God the Father thru his Sons work on the cross and will spend eternity with him in Heaven.
However, like all good things there are multi-faceted realities that come with them.
Jesus said he came to give us life and give it in abundance – John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
To give us a joy filled life. John 15:11 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
To give us peace- John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
To give us wisdom -James 5: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. “
This verse could also be translated let the word of Christ dwell in you richly – Gods word has the power to energize the holy spirit in your life to make these promises of a better life a reality.
God’s word can split us right down to the bone- it penetrates the heart -dividing even bone and marrow. Have you ever noticed that when you read Gods word that you may have read before – but somehow this time is speaks differently, somehow saying something that is relevant to your life right in this moment in time. That because Gods word is living and active by the Holy Spirit to speak truth to your life.
Not only to your life but also other people’s lives as you interact with them. As you gain wisdom and experience from God you can share this with others. This is not always easy but true love can’t shy away from speaking the truth in love. Love motivates us to speak Gods word to others. There could be a difference between your opinion and Gods word by the way – know the difference if there is one.
Notice that the text here in Colossians talks about singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. A mind focused on gratitude, of all the blessings God give us – it will be natural to give song to God. Reminds me of Philippians ch4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
If you are not experiencing these things promised by God – perhaps you are distracted and not spending time with the Big 4. You are not feeding your spirit with mature spiritual food – still on baby milk-
The big 4 that I find that allows me to experience a joy filled life by considering the good God gives me is spending time in with Him thru.
1. Gods word- spending time in Gods word allows the Spirit to engage us.
2. Time of prayer to Him- this intimate time is where we talk and be still – the Spirit is a gentleman he will never yell at you- He speaks softly.
3. Time of true fellowship with other spirit filled believers.
a. More than just saying hello Sunday morning- it requires time spent to develop a true relationship where we share one another’s burdens.
4. Worship of God thru song- Music that praises God is a mood lifter.
It takes effort to pursue Jesus over the world culture- it takes discipline to counter our enemy.
Apathy is the devil's foothold to bring you down – be vigilant and moving towards Jesus – God never said – go ahead ignore me and all will be well- pay more attention to your kingdom – don’t spend time with me and you will grow….NO he said.
Jerimiah 29 :12 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Mathew 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Is your busy life providing a Legacy for you and your family?
Be a pursuer of God above all else – say no to good things so you can say yes to the best of things God has in store for you.
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