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. Colossians 3:16, 17 (NLT)
Let me ask you a couple questions? Be honest . . .
Does the message of Christ, in all it’s richness, fill your life?
Do you teach and counsel others with all of the wisdom God gives?
Do you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with a thankful heart?
And in whatever you do or say, do you do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, always giving thanks through him to God?
Not to be cruel, or harsh – but if this isn’t how you strive to live, then are you truly living a Christian life?
Do you have a thankful heart?
We are admonished in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
In today’s world it is hard to always be joyful, as there is such trouble and sorrow. But the word tells us we are to always be joyful, and to be thankful in ALL circumstances – for this is GOD’s WILL for you.
In my opinion, one of the most important questions we can continually ask ourselves is “Where is my heart?” Is it on things of this world – or is it on the message of Christ, in all its richness that fills your life?
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40
Not only are we to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind, but we are to love each other. We as the body are to teach and counsel each other with the wisdom God gives. We are to enjoy each other by singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And everything you do and say is to represent Christ, not just at church on Sunday, but in every situation and circumstance of your everyday life!
How do you do this?
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:7
Only by having the truth of God’s word in your heart and by yielding to the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit can you truly overflow with thankfulness, because in and of ourselves it is impossible – especially when we don’t feel like be thankful.