Last week being outside is God’s great creation on Lake Jocassee in SC, I was overwhelmed with this glimpse of heaven here on earth. Pulling up close to God’s Word daily refreshes my love for my Father God and the overwhelming reality of God’s great love for me.
From the time I was a little girl, I enjoyed spending early morning time with my Bible. Early in my life my mother and I would read the scripture out loud. Working through questions and context with my mother as I learned to read created a deep love for God’s Word in my heart. Over the years I have had conversations with so many people who have never known the joy of spending time in God’s Word daily.
One probing question that haunts all human minds is “Who am I?” In answer to this question I respond, I am a child of God. My relationship with Him is not a secret. His gifts to each one of us are generously scattered throughout our days in nature, in faces, in provision, in our breath and certainly in the wisdom of God’s easily available Words in the Bible.
Recently on a trip to Ireland, my daughter Mikayla and I, conversed with another mother and daughter who dined right beside us. It felt like a God moment that lasted well over an hour. The mom repeatedly asked us about our faith in a curious, fresh sort of way. Her religious background invited her to participate in rituals, but according to her, she never heard an encouragement to read her own Bible. Since we had shared that we read our Bibles daily, she asked a series of genuinely curious questions. This interaction continues to roll around in my head. What I know from that day was that she had been in and around “church” since she was born. She mentioned being baptized into the church. After I mentioned that my husband and I read the Bible out loud daily, she kept coming back to this unfamiliar idea. She asked numerous questions. What did we read out loud? Did we really read every day? What part of the Bible did we read? After reading the Bible for so many years, how was it still interesting? Again, did I really read “every” day? My heart wondered later whether she owned a copy of God’s Word for herself.
Several conversations like this have occurred recently. In fact, on that trip to Ireland, Mikayla and I had a gospel conversation at least once every day. People are hungry for the truth of God’s Word. Leaning into this life-altering habit of reading God’s Word daily is not mysterious or impossibly hard. Truly, our enemy Satan and his minions would deter us from bathing in the love, truth and wisdom of God’s Word by planting all sorts of lies in our heads. Lies about this practice might include the thought that the Bible is boring, too hard to understand, not for you and me, only for a church staff person. Or maybe the belief that tomorrow would be a better day to start reading God’s Word. Don’t we have time to start this pattern later?
My encouragement is simple. God loves you. God loves me. He desires to have a personal relationship with you and me. Do you wish that God would just talk to you? Well, he already did. Open your copy of God’s Word and read it out loud. Since it is God’s Word, you are hearing directly from Him. Don’t be shy to go and ask someone who loves Jesus to disciple you. If you don’t know anyone, reach out to me on the contact tab on this blog. I would be thrilled to help you find someone to talk to about this topic.
Today, I thought I would demonstrate how one of my favorite passages might be read and unpacked. Let’s take a look at Colossians 3 in two versions of the Bible.
Colossians 3: 1-17 ESV “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 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. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Reading this passage in the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible beside The Passion Translation (TPT) broadens our understanding of the truths which guide wisdom living. Taking notes when reading the scripture offers a few nuggets:
- As a Christ follower I yearn for all that is above.
- Invitation to feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realities. Set my thoughts on things above.
(This is not a passive response, but an enthusiastic action.) - Fill my thoughts with heavenly distractions and not distractions of earth. I have to ask myself, what is distracting me from thinking more heavenly thoughts?
- As I see who Christ is, I see who I am in Christ. What profound and happy thoughts!
- Clear direction on my daily life with actionable directives. Put to death what is earthly. Here are a few earthly things to dispose of promptly.
- Live as one who has died to every form of sexual sin and impurity. Name these in my life.
- Live as one who has died to diseases.
- Die to passions that are the desires for forbidden things. Know what is forbidden.
- One forbidden thing is the obsession for wealth as it becomes idol worship or even an act of jealousy toward others. The Bible is calling this envy the “essence” of idol worship.
- Eliminate these activities as well. The Bible says to put these to death, once and for all.
- Anger
- Fits of rage
- All forms of Hatred. (I ask myself what are the forms of hatred?)
- Slander
- Cursing
- Filthy speech (Does this mean bathroom humor and sexual talk? What is filthy?)
- Obsene talk
- Lying
- Lay aside my old Adam self with its masquerade and disguise.
- In this new creation life, my nationality, my ethnicity, education and economic status don’t mean anything. What matters is that Christ lives in you and me.
- As I look at all the things I need to put off, what should I put on?
- Robe myself with these virtues:
- Compassionate hearts
- Be merciful as I endeavor to understand others
- Kindness to all (Isn’t this just a secret code for love?)
- Humility
- Unoffendable in your patience toward others
- Tolerate the weakness of those in the family of faith
- Gentle
- Meekness
- Patience
- Forgiving one another. If one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Remember the Lord’s Prayer.)
- Above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love is supreme. It is the highest virtue. Love must flow through each of these virtues.
- Love becomes the mark of maturity.
- Pursue peace of Christ
- Thankful
- After the taking out and putting in of these things….what is next? It is not over. Look, it seems as if we have circled back around to this essential routine of delving in the richness of God’s Word, teaching, discipling, encouraging, singing, expressing gratitude.
“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. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Col 3:16-17 ESV
My heart and mind is so full that I cannot even finish this chapter. In TPT this section reads, “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”
This is one of my favorite passages to read. May this inspire you to read your copy of God’s Word every day to uncover all the wisdom and goodness waiting for you!!
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