Day 2 - Week 76 - Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

When we do something "in the name of the Lord Jesus", how are we to do it?  How does that directive differentiate our actions?

As Christians, we wear Christ's name.  And we should bring honor to it.  The closest analogy that I can make is that when I took my husband's family name (25 years ago this past Tuesday!), I also took the responsibility of bringing honor to that name.  Now, whatever I do is linked to the Hodges' family.  And it is a family that deserves honoring!  They have a great heritage and I am so blessed to be able to be a part of this wonderful family.

In the same way, I have taken Christ's name when I label myself as a Christian.  Whatever I do, should be done in the same way Jesus would do it; whatever I say, should carry the same message as Jesus proclaimed.  As Robert J. Morgan puts it, "That means we should do everything as though Jesus Himself were doing it.  Our every word should be as though Jesus were speaking it."

That's a lofty goal, and one which we will probably never be 100% successful---but that is our goal, that is our aim, and that is what should be in our minds all the time.  It really does come down to WWJD..."What would Jesus do?"  We don't have to wear a bracelet to remind us (although that's not a bad idea!).  When we have Colossians 3:17 embedded in our heart, subconsciously we will be reminded of our responsibility to be an accurate representation of Christ on earth.

I constantly fall short of representing Christ as well as I would like to.  My words can be sharp or sarcastic; my actions can display selfishness rather than the love that I desire to show.  But each morning brings with it another chance to be the person that Christ desires me to be today---to speak as He would, to love as He would. 

To do it all in His name...the name of Jesus...the name above all names!

 

Day 1 - Week 76 - Moving into the last quarter of our trip!

We have accomplished 3/4 of our journey of 100 Bible verses...can you believe it?  Last week I was privileged to get to hear Pam Tebow, mother of football star Tim Tebow, speak at a fundraising event here in Amarillo.  She spoke of the importance she had placed on teaching her children Scripture and that to help them remember the words, she would sing the verses to them.

This morning, I tried her method. It seemed especially appropriate for this past week's verse.

I sang...

Colossians 3:16 - Colossians 3:16 -
Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you
Teaching and admonishing
In all wisdom
Singing psalms
Hymns and spiritual songs
With gratitude in your hearts to God.

Throughout the day I found myself singing my self-composed tune to these wonderful words.  I found myself smiling as I finished, and thinking, "what gratitude is in my heart today!"  God's word is dwelling richly in me because of the past 75 weeks.  And now it's time to move forward and complete these next 25 weeks, so that we will complete our journey.

Let's look back at the most recent 24 weeks and then we'll add another verse to our "Faith" section:

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
James 1:3-4 "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you will be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice always."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray constantly."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

Our sixth verse of faith, and the third in our triplet of Colossians 3:15-17, is:

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

You know what word really stands out for me in this verse?  "Whatever!"    Whatever we do, we are to do it in the name of Jesus, in an attitude of thanksgiving because of Jesus.  Wow - that has to indirectly place some restrictions on what we do, doesn't it?  How can we do things that are not glorifying to God in the name of Jesus?  We can't - it can't happen.  As Christians, we are to limit our words and our deeds to those things that honor our Father.  That really makes you stop and think about just what it is that you're doing, doesn't it?  All the time.  Every word, every deed, should be filtered through the consideration of how God views it.  The only way this can happen is by asking for the Holy Spirit to rule in our lives, otherwise we will never "take every thought captive." 

Our faith drives us to seek to please our Father, we seek to please Him because we are so grateful and thankful for what Jesus has done for us, that He has brought us back into our Father's household and family.  Faith says, "Pay attention to what you're doing.  God gave His best for you, now return to Him your best - in word, in deed."

Indeed!

Day 3 - Week 75 - Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."

I like the way Robert J. Morgan explains the differences between the types of singing that Paul lists:

"We're to sing out God's Word in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Psalms are Bible-based praises that are solid, deep, echoing the words of Scripture (especially the book of Psalms).  Hymns are rich and sturdy songs that stand the test of time.  Spiritual songs are lighter, livelier expressions of our faith and worship."

I'm not sure why churches seem to select one of the three forms and not be able to incorporate all into worship.  I love the hymns of old and I love much of the contemporary praise music.  There is merit to both and I think God loves hearing all styles of praise reaching His ears.  One style does not have to preclude the use of another.  But it seems that we have divided our worship into either solidly traditional or completely contemporary.  The church I attend has one "blended" service, which I think does a very good job of pulling old and new together; the other three services are contemporary.  But whichever style you prefer, Paul does tell us that worship includes singing...so sing!

Our worship should also include thanksgiving...expressing our gratitude to our God for all He has done for us as His children.  I don't think you can be truly worshipping God without feeling this deep sense of thankfulness for who He is, for what He has done, and for His promises yet to be fulfilled.  He is worthy of all of our gratitude...expression of that recognition has to be an integral part of true worship.

I also really appreciate the way Morgan closes out his thoughts on this verse:

"Worship should engage both mind and emotions.  Colossians 3:16 tells us to admonish with all wisdom (our minds) and to sing with our hearts (our emotions).  This recalls our Lord's words in John 4, that God desires us to worship Him in spirit and in truth."

Just as it seems that some churches seem to narrow their worship to one style, it also seems that churches often focus on one of the above elements over the other.  There are some churches that are highly intellectual but lack any emotion, while others are highly emotional without a good base of Biblical teaching and wisdom.  Seems to me that God is always trying to get us to see that balance is good for us in almost every area of our lives - and our worship of Him is to be balanced as well.  We need to feel His Spirit alive and active in our worship services and we should be moved, but our emotions can't be the only thing at work while we worship --- our brains and minds have to be focused on God, and we have to be seeking His truth, not just want makes us feel good.  In fact, worship, at times, should be painfully convicting. 

Sing - any way that glorifies God!
Thank - our Lord for all He is!
Think - about Him, about His Word, and apply it to your life!
Feel - His Spirit within you, prompting you to change, or to action!

Worship God!  He is worthy!