Sometimes, one of the best ways to wrap my mind around a scripture is to learn the meanings of the original words, then paraphrase the verse using those. When I find myself breezing past a verse, I realize I need to stop and take time with it. That’s what I did today.

My paraphrase of Colossians 3:16:
Let the amazing words about Jesus live in you without limit. Instruct, admonish, warn, and encourage one another with all the specialized knowledge He gives, actively and intentionally using words, songs, and music, making melody to God from your own thankful hearts.
Paul was inviting the believers at Colossae to take in the truths about Jesus deeply. So deeply that they would become a part of life like oxygen.
With the Holy Spirit and the truth of His words living in them, the believers would be able to instruct one another in the teachings of the Lord, growing in their knowledge and understanding of Him. They would be able to see the reality of situations and speak to them in admonishment and encouragement given in the wisdom from God.
He tells these believers to not only speak the truths about Jesus, but to let their songs, poems, odes, and music be lifted to Him from hearts thankful for Him.
What about us? Are we supposed to be doing this?
Well….. yeah.
We need to let the truth of Jesus—who He was, what happened to Him, why He gave Himself as a sacrifice for us, what He taught—permeate every fiber of our being. It should become the filter through which every thought must pass.
We who are believers must allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us to instruct, admonish, warn, and encourage one another—not just in words, but in all our songs, poems, odes, and even music without words. We should let those flow naturally from our thankful hearts to God Himself.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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