Saturday Story Time – Wally and the Word

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV

We have often quoted the phrase, “there are only two things which last, the word of God and the souls of men (and women)”. Let’s take a moment to look at one of Paul’s ways the word of God is central to the believer and church as a whole.

• “The word of Christ” is synonymous with “the word of the Lord” and by extension “the word of God”. Jesus who is the Word, spoke the words of God.  Side note, the gospels captured Jesus quoting from 24 of the 39 OT books about 180 separate times. Jesus as a man had taken the time to memorize passages of the Old Testament.
• “Dwell” – the Greek word implies the inside of the home.  Today we use the words your “dwelling place”.  The idea is that it incorporates all that happens inside the home, not just one area of the home. Dwelling captures the idea of the transforming power of the word of God as the main identifier of the home. We don’t memorize out of legalism, rather we till the soil of our life with God’s seeds from His word to bring forth spiritual fruit which will remain forever.
• “Richly” – as with many Greek words this is also a compound word. One root has to do with quantity – you are rich because of the amount that you possess.  The other root features the idea of fullness or abundance. You would possess the word of God in quantity (reading and memorizing many scriptures) and in fullness (overflowing in themes, content and the breadth of the word of God). Let God’s word dwell in you richly.
• “In all wisdom” – teaching and admonishing are book-end by God’s word of wisdom. He reveals to us how the application of His words will stir us on to life and godliness.
• “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” – songs, right or wrong, guide theology. Make sure that you are choosing to replay the songs that line up with God’s word. What makes you feel good in a song you are singing, will be voiced, repeated and thought about. SO, make sure it directs your heart to God and aligns with His character and purpose for your life.
• “With thankfulness in your hearts to God.” – When God’s word is dwelling in a home of the heart it will squelch complaining, judging, pride and selfish thinking. A thankful heart to God thwarts worry from taking root. A thankful heart works its way to the top of your emotional state. A thankful heart establishes a firm link to the loving relationship between God and his child. Thankfulness always looks and sounds good on ya.

All of the above is both written for personal edification and for a corporate gathering. How does your church environment resound with Colossians 3:16? How much of the word of God is presented each Sunday?(how many scriptures are read aloud)  How is the word of God dwelling in your midst to transform lives for salvation and toward godliness? How do you see the wisdom of God on display to address cultural issues arising in the church? Do you find yourself singing the songs of Sunday throughout your week? Are conversations in the hallways of your church defined in bickering and comparison or thankfulness and appreciation?

These are some of my encouragements to let the word of God dwell within you richly.

• Read the word of God aloud. 
• Read chapters and books in one sitting. 
• Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart from your readings. 
• Write down the list of scriptures which you have memorized and try to add one more a week.
• Sing songs of God’s character, grace and purposes.

This is a good day…the day the Lord has made…rejoice and be glad in it.

Blessings  Love y’all