Colossians 3:15-17

The following is a Bible study originally posted on our Bible Study Group.

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called
in one body; and be thankful. 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 3:15-17, NKJV)

I've been so looking forward to this week's Bible study. This is one of my
all-time favorite passages of Scripture. (Okay, maybe I have too many
"favorites"...) I first started to really meditate on these verses several
years ago when I was asked to teach a weekly music class to a group of
homeschooled children. Verse 16 was their memory verse for the year. We
said it every Wednesday morning, before we started singing or playing our
games.

I only had one child at that time and I was pregnant with our second. I was
also very busy teaching over 30 piano students each week in my home. I
remember dreading Wednesday mornings, having to get my little one ready to
go, having to get all those visuals ready, having to prepare the lesson,
having to listen to some of the boys grumble because they weren't in the
mood to sing, having to teach while making sure my 2-year-old stayed out of
trouble, on and on. But then these verses started to sink into my mind...

"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts..."

I am very prone to worrying and fretting and complaining. Yet our God says
that we have a choice who we let rule in our hearts... worry or peace!
Ruling means that the ruler controls all that happens. God's peace needs to
control all we say or do. I've failed in this even today, how about you?

"...to which also you were called in one body..."

As Christians, we are all part of one body, the body of Christ. As members
of His body, we need to act like He acts! He is a God of peace, and we need
to get along with each other. That means that we need to overlook each
other's faults, those minor disagreements, the frustrating things that we
all say or do to each other, and allow God's peace to rule. I needed to
hear that in 1998, and I need to remember it in 2003!

"...and be thankful..."

Isn't it amazing how God's peace begins to rule, how harmonious our
relationships become, when we give thanks? Remember, thankfulness does not
come naturally to us as sinful women. But as Christ renews us from within,
abiding in us and living through us, we can learn to be characterized by
thankfulness. You have an assignment: try to keep track of how many times
you complain and how many times you give thanks between now and bedtime
tonight. This will show you how much you have allowed the peace of God to
rule in your heart!

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom..."

How practical Paul was! Only when the word of Christ dwells RICHLY in us,
with all the wisdom of God, can we really act like Christ Himself is living
in us. (Do me a favor and read through John 1:1-18 for more on how Jesus IS
the Word of God in human form.) Do you want to put off the sinful fleshly
deeds we've discussed before? Do you want to put on the characteristics of
Christ? Do you want the peace of God to rule in your heart? Then you must
allow God's Word to richly fill every thought, every area of your heart,
every area of your life.

"...teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord..."

Now Paul tells us one way that we can let the Word of Christ fill our lives.
We need to fill our lives with music! Yeah! I love music. What kind of
music works? Well, obviously we should choose music that is richly filled
with the "word of Christ." Check the lyrics on the songs you listen to
most. Are they straight out of Scripture?

What do we do with this music? We use it to teach and admonish each other.
I love doing this at home. Putting on CDs and tapes of Christian music is
such as easy way to set a godly atmosphere in my home. It's a painless way
to memorize Scripture. It's fun, too! As baby Kiersten claps and Andrew
sings off-tune and Kaitlyn lisps through the words and second-grader Arik
marches around the table, I am absolutely sure that the Word of God is now
hidden in their hearts and will stay there for the rest of their lives.
(...gives me goose bumps!) I remember a snowy day when my own Dad was
working outside (maybe shoveling snow?) and singing "Thank You, Lord, for
saving my soul..." How helpful that song has been over and over again in my
life when I don't feel like giving thanks!

We also sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. He loves to hear our
praises. Proverbs 16:4 says that the Lord has made all things for himself,
and Revelation 4:11 says that He is worthy to receive all our honor and
glory and praise. Singing (even if off tune) helps to cement in our hearts
that our actions must match our doctrine. Do you believe that Christ has
created new life within you? Is He the Lord of your life? Then sing and
tell Him so!

"...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..."

You can imagine that as our attitudes are filled with peace and thanksgiving
and praise, it's not so hard to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Even teach classes when we're pregnant and tired. Even take care of ornery
toddlers, or do jobs for thankless husbands, or be kind to persnickety
church members.

Galatians 2:20 is another of my favorite verses. It says, "I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." You can see how allowing Christ
to live in us is more than just a nice thought. It is lived out very
practically by our attitudes and helped along by the songs on our lips.

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