Sing and give thanks

Colossians 3:16, 17 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. 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.”

        Through our study of the word, the power of those words fill our hearts. They encourage our spirits, so that we can remain obedient to love others with Christ like love. The words also open our hearts so that we can clearly hear Christ, as He speaks with us, guiding and directing our words and actions. So that these words and actions may open the hearts of others so that Jesus may enter in and give His peace, joy and forgiveness to them. “Simon peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”’ John 6:68

          As His words fill us more and more, we can then effectively use it, sharing with others. We are living examples of Christ’s unlimited love for His creation. We joyfully relate to others how Christ’s shed blood has covered our past and future sins. Our joy will hopefully begin to break the chains that bind them to this world. The chains of past hurts, anger and resentment. The chains of storms, currently in their lives. His words spoken through us, give life to those who honestly listen and then humble their hearts and accept Him as Savior. “For the commandment is a lamp, and the whole teaching [of the law] is right, and reproofs of discipline are the way of life.” Proverbs 6:23 “whoever loves discipline loves knowledge but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Proverb 12:1 “If you don’t want to learn, years of schooling will teach you very little. But if you want to be taught, there is no end to what you can learn. This includes being willing to accept discipline and correction and to learn from the wisdom of others.” (life notes from the Life Application Study Bible (copy right 2011 Zondervan) from Proverbs 12:1)

          Those we help become followers, we must rejoice with when they come to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Then we must come to our Father with praise and joyous singing on our lips. We must continue to walk alongside these new children of God so as to encourage and strengthen them in their new found faith. Continually looking to Jesus to increase our faith, hope, love and joy as we encourage our new brothers and sisters. The more that Jesus leads our lives, the more others will notice and ask us “What is it about you?” The more we share Jesus with others, by being His key, He is able to unlock hearts and enter in.

          Our obedience in using the gifts God has bestowed on us will bring us into a more intimate relationship with Christ. Our hearts will be filled with even more of the Holy Spirit. We will have a very real desire to share with others all God has done for us. All of this, the obedience in sharing, walking with new believers, blessings for our obedience is like a circle, never ending. So as His joy fills our spirits, we must give thanks and praise to Him---Jesus Christ, Lord of all.