Is It In You?
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. – Col 3:16 NKJV
I heard a radio preacher – it may have been Dr. David Jeremiah – include this verse in a sermon of his that was broadcasted last week. What he said really hit home to me as he described how so many times if a person would eavesdrop upon a room full of Christians in conversation, most of the time one could not tell a Christian was in the room because there was no mention of God or the bible in the conversations. Think about it. How many Christians do you know with whom you can carry on a deep conversation about what you are both learning from your daily bible reading? When was the last time you had such a conversation? This was a disconcerning thought to me, although not a new one. I know the statistics regarding how many Christians actually read God’s Word every day, and without looking it up, I do know that the number is not the majority.
I consider myself very fortunate to have a few friends, including my own brother with whom I can discuss scripture. We frequently discuss our learnings and sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron (Pro 27:17) because the Word of God is dwelling richly in us. I know without a shadow of a doubt that these dear individuals in my life are not only searching the bible for knowledge about God, but are letting God’s word change the way they think and the way they act so that they can be conformed to God’s image. What a blessing they are to me. Just this week I have been blessed (and challenged!) by my brother and a dear friend by thoughts about what a particular passage in the bible really means. What would you share this week with a friend from your quiet time with God this week?
How are you letting God’s Word affect your life? Are you letting it dwell in you because you have saturated your mind with the thoughts and words of the Creator of the Universe? Conversely, are you barely in the Word, and thus letting the truth of scripture only strike a glancing blow at your heart and mind? If the Word of God does not get the opportunity to dwell in us richly and deeply, we will not obtain or retain its benefits for ourselves, much less be of any use in teaching others about who God is. What type of a Christian do you want to be – powerful or powerless? Without a doubt I know what I prefer. I want to have the mind and heartbeat of God working in and on my life so I can make an impact for Him. How bad do you want to make an impact? Why not start today?
For His Glory,
Janna
Bless you for sharing this.
Good exhortation. I heard something from our pastor this past week that you are only getting milk (even if you hear the best pastor giving the best sermon in the world) unless you take what you hear and meditate on it, dig further into it, read more about it and let the Holy Spirit teach you deeper, then it becomes meat for you. That really made me think about my habit of study. I’m thinking if I studied like that more often I’d be talking about what I learned more too.
blessings and I hope all my rambling made sense…
This is a beautiful exhortation to return to His Word again and again for that renewal we need each and every day. God bless you, Janna, for sharing this. May the desire of our heart be to spend time with Him.
blessings & love,
Vicki
My husband has a good friend and scripture is almost always their conversation. It has made me think that more of my relationships should be like this. Thank you for the reminder.
Janna,
Great post. I am amazed by the sheer numbers of believers who do not read God’s word daily…. It is puzzling…. and they wonder why they are having such difficulty in their lives….
Daily bread is the number one priority all believers need to have. I would not have the faith or praying power without residing in God’s word daily. Thank you.
Hope in HIS words, if no his words deeply in our heart, what can we do? Thanks for sharing this wonderful message.
I find the busier I get the more I need to soak and mediate in the word. I really crave it.
Great post!