Alive 4
Indwelt with the Spirit
by Daniel Carandang
written by Agatha Apolinario
Have you
ever been turned-off?
Probably by
some person in your life; they might’ve done some things that made your
forehead crease and your head shake. We are all guilty of this whether we admit
it or not.
This is
probably the reason why a lot of us get conscious most of the time. We’re afraid
that we might do something that would cause people to judge us. We became
conscious of our actions, hoping that they won’t turn other people off.
Who wants to
be judged?
No one, of
course.
God is
calling us to help one another, and to watch one another’s backs. It
shouldn’t be like
the Hunger Games where people bring each other down for personal gain. Instead
we should lift each other up. God has called us to grow in Him together, to
encourage, to speak the truth, and to help each other from falling to sin. This
is what His will is.
Unfortunately,
we often do them with wrong motives. We speak of God’s truth with
people to prove that we know better than them, or that we’re superior
because we know these things. We forget the real reason why we’re spreading
His word. Other times, we may have the right motives but the wrong ways of
doing it. It may not sound wrong for us, but to other people, we appear as cold
and unloving—nothing like how God wants it to be. Because of this, they feel
discouraged and turned-off. Instead of bringing them closer to God, we’re just
pushing them away even farther.
God wants us
to help each other. But how do we do it?
Let the
message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to
God with gratitude in your hearts.
Colossians 3:16
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly
This verse
is telling us that we have to dwell in His Word. Read and meditate, put it in
our hearts.
A good man
brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man
brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks
what the heart is full of.
Luke 6:45
Like a
shampoo bottle that won’t produce toothpaste, we cannot produce
things that don’t dwell in
us. Our thoughts reflect through our actions. If we let evil things conquer our
hearts, only evil will come out of us.
This is the
reason why we should dwell in God’s words. It will remind us of the following:
-
our own unworthiness because we’llbe
reminded that we’re just like
other people and that we are not better than them nor are we superior because
it is only God who is the standard of holiness and goodness.
-
God’s mercy and
grace. This way, we’ll be merciful and gracious to others as
well.
-
God’s commands
that we should not condemn others, that we should love and serve one another as
He did to us, and His promises that we should not worry about the things that
are beyond our control for He is always there for us.
-
God’s priority
which is to reach out to those people who are lost. He asks us to remember that
we should do this to make disciples and to share His truth, and that we’re not doing
it to prove ourselves better, to make ourselves superior, or to look down on
others.
-
God’s
indignation that we shouldn’t be hypocrites. Remember that we are like
other people who sin, and that mere external behavior modification doesn’t count in
God’s sight.
This way, we’ll know that
God is serious. We’ll know that this is something that we
shouldn’t take
lightly, not even in the slightest.
When we let
God’s teachings
dwell in us,
…the way we
reach out to people will change.
with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and
songs from the Spirit,
Our manner
of speaking to other people matters. We shouldn’t be
intimidating and obnoxious. Like what the Bible says, we must be gentle, kind,
patient, and forbearing. Speak with God’s teachings
and let them dwell in us because it will bring forth a CHRIST-LIKE SPEECH AND
CONDUCT.
…our
attitude towards God changes.
singing to
God with gratitude in your hearts.
Life has
many trials. You can bet that there will be numerous obstacles in your path. But
if we stand by God’s teachings instead of complaining and being
bitter, we will be filled with gratitude, which overflows with praises for God.
And that trial you call at the moment will turn into a testimony
of how magnificent God is.
With these, let us ask ourselves…
“Do I allow
God’s teachings to dwell in me all the time?”
“How do I
reach out to other people?”
“How do I
relate to God?”
“Am I
thankful no matter what the situation is? Or do I complain and fill my heart
with bitterness?”
Finally, let
us all remember God in everything we do. Let us align all our words, thoughts,
and deeds in Him. We should always know that whatever we do, however we do it
should be nothing but God-glorifying.
And whatever you do, whether in
word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
