July 7
“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him,” Colossians 3:16-17.
How often do you read, study, and search the Scriptures? It has been said that the Lutheran Church is the church of the open Bible. We mean that we take all of our teachings from the Bible. The Bible is the only source and norm for everything that we teach.
However, in spite of that glorious confessional statement, for many Lutherans – as well as for millions of other people in the world – the Bible is a closed Book! Many Lutherans as well as millions of other people in the world seldom, rarely, or never read, study, and search the Bible privately or in a family gathering or in a Bible Class.
Some people are even superstitious when they talk about Bible reading. They think that it can be dangerous and detrimental for one’s mental health if one spends too much time reading and searching the Scriptures!
What did God say through Moses with reference to being knowledgeable of the Word of God? Moses wrote, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,” Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
To the Colossians, Paul wrote, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” If the Word of Christ is going to dwell in you richly, you will have to have contact with the Word more often than just in a Sunday morning worship service! In the field of education, if you had contact with mathematics, science, history, geography, or any other subject only for one hour once a week, none of it would ever dwell in you richly! You probably would still be in one of the lower grades! Likewise, if you would spend only one hour a week learning a new language, you would not read or speak it very well.
For the sake of our spiritual growth, the Word of Christ must dwell in us richly! We should help one another grow spiritually by, “Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in (our) hearts to the Lord.” Christian music and singing should have a major role in our spiritual growth.
As Christians, everything that we say and do should center around our faith and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus, who redeemed us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. He fulfilled the Law of God in our place. He suffered and died to cleanse us from our sins. He rose from the grave to conquer death and the devil. For everything that He has done for us and our salvation, let us thank our heavenly Father who sent Him to be our Savior.
“I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay,
When Satan’s power assails me.
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
In spite of ills that threaten may,
I walk with Jesus all the way.” Amen.