Wednesday October 20, 2010

Read Colossians 3:14-17. 2 Tim 3:16-17

A rich and successful business man who was recently divorced was asked in an interview why he was unsuccessful in marriage. He replied, ‘I work hard all day at work. I don’t want to come home and have to work’. No wonder the marriage fell apart so quickly. Relationships are hard work. They take a lot to maintain and to keep going in a positive direction. It’s much easier to destroy a relationship than to keep it going smoothly. That’s why the Bible has so much to say about relationships!

To have positive and meaningful relationships we are to keep the peace of Christ in our hearts. This is basically enjoying and living in the peace that we have with God through the work of Jesus at the cross. We are to consciously walk in the positive relationship we have with God. That positiveness and peace with God will naturally flow into our walk with others. It will affect our relationship with others because it will affect how we treat them. Interestingly, the most mature believers I know that have the best relationships are those who are closest to God.

Added to this, we are to keep the Word of God in our hearts. It is to tabernacle within us.  As Jesus taught us, (John 15:7-8):-

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

With God’s Word foremost in our heart, our motives will be pure. Our desires will be sincere. Our heart will yearn to have the best relationship possible with everyone in our world. You simply cannot hold hatred, unforgiveness, bitterness etc in a heart where the Word of God (and where Christ Himself) is given supremacy.  When the two are co-mingled it’s often the Word of God that gets shunned or kicked out.

As the Word of God (that’s the Bible, if you weren't aware) dwells within you, you will be qualified to teach others because you’ll be teaching them the Word of God, not what you interpret the Word to mean or what you think it says. You’ll be qualified to admonish and correct others, because you’re heart will be filled with love and the true standard of God rather than your own standard or your own thoughts.

And as the Word dwells in you, thankfulness will overflow from within you. People will not see a bitter person out to seek revenge or a hurt person getting his own back. They’ll see a soul so deeply in love with God that songs of praise usher out from his heart somewhat uncontrollably. They’ll see a person so in love with God that they can’t stand to see sin in another believer and are reacting out of love, not anger, not bitterness, not hatred and certainly not self interest.

Prayer:-

ÿ Pray for the work of Creation Ministries as they seek to bring the Word of God to bear in the lives of both believers and non believers. Pray that God would convict and grant repentance to those believers who choose the bits of the Bible they want to believe and those that they don’t.  Pray that we will be a people of God who believe and cherish the Word of God from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation.

ÿ As we think forward to this weekend’s church family camp, pray that we will be able to teach and admonish one another in love and wisdom. Pray that we will be able to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs together with gratitude in our hearts to God.

Get together with another Christian and talk about the ways in which you can allow or encourage the Word of God to dwell richly in you.

Write down some ideas.

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