Wisdom Matters

God created each of us with free will, and we are each designed to desire freedom. Yet, every generation has had people who are enslaved in some ways. Some have been enslaved, but most submit their freedoms because of their personal choices. 

Paul described slavery as a “yoke.” The yoke was a heavy burden placed on the neck of an animal so it could then be forced to walk a certain path and work for someone else. Another type of yoke during that day was used to keep prisoners chained. 

When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he was speaking to some who had been unable to lay down the many Jewish laws of the Old Covenant and step into the freedom Christ had provided in the New Covenant. Paul was also speaking to some who had come to the Christian faith from a Gentile background. Before their salvation, they had been “free” to behave in some pagan practices they now knew were wrong. Their desire to keep some of their pagan practices had enslaved them to their wrong choices. The same is true for God’s people today.  

Our sin entangles our lives, and our consequences burden us with a yoke of slavery. If we stand firm in our faith, we can be free of those burdens. 

Paul encouraged all of them to seek the freedom Christ offered. Christians have freely chosen Jesus to be our Savior and Lord. We are truly free when we stand firm in our faith, when we choose to walk through life “in step with God’s Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). 

When you allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly, you are most able to stand firm in your faith and live as the Lord intended. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Christians have always known that Christ will return again because he promised he would. The first-century Christians expected it to be in their lifetime, and those expectations have existed in every century that followed. There are always those who point to certain occurrences in their day and time and become convinced that the return of Christ is imminent. One day, a generation of Christians will be correct. They will experience the prophecy of the Revelation and witness the return of Christ. 

Peter has taught every generation of Christians how to live until Christ returns. Peter had just written about the second coming of Christ when he said, “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” (1 Peter 1:13 NIV). 

Peter would tell Christians today, “Beware of the many distractions of this day.” In the first century, it was a day’s work to feed the family and try to get a load of laundry done! They didn’t flip a light switch; they had to press oil for their lamps. They didn’t hop in the car and run to a grocery store; they worked gardens, cared for livestock, and walked to a marketplace—if they were lucky to live close to one. Every generation since that time has needed to work to balance their time with their priorities. People have always had distractions. 

Today, many of our distractions are of our choosing. We “set our minds” on whatever we choose to listen to, read, or use technology to search for. Our distractions aren’t limited to a time of day or a lack of resources. Therefore, if we want to be fully alert and sober, if we want to set our thoughts and hopes on the return of Christ, we must choose to do so. Our world has very little quiet. In fact, our lives don’t have to be quiet unless we choose for them to be.  

We should learn to be sober-minded, measuring the moments we spend each day and giving thought to the inevitable return of Christ. When we consider the grace that will be ours in that moment, we will find that we are distracted by our thoughts of heaven and the chance to see those who have gone before us. We can imagine what it will be like to meet the Lord—face-to-face. 

We have a lot of distractions in our world today. Let’s allow the return of Christ to distract our thoughts as well.  

Allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly and you will allow thoughts of his return to be your great hope.

The Holy Spirit is the living presence of Christ in our lives. After Jesus ascended to heaven, he continued his earthly ministry through Christians, who were led by his Spirit. Our relationship to Jesus is strengthened by spending time with him by abiding in his Spirit. The more we invest in that connection, the more we will come to know Jesus as our Lord. 

Paul described the gift of the Holy Spirit saying, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” When the Spirit of Christ is at work in our lives, we are not governed by our fears. Instead, we have the Lord’s power at work through us. We can think the Lord’s thoughts, speak the Lord’s words, and love a person as the Lord would love them. Scripture often uses the words self-control, but we can usually translate those words biblically as “a Spirit-controlled self.” 

God loves us individually. Our relationship to God is unique and personal. That is why God chose to give each of his children his Holy Spirit. God empowers his children in different ways and for different callings. Christians have much in common, but each of us has a unique fingerprint, physically and spiritually. 

God gave us all we needed when he gave us his Spirit. We underestimate our capacities when we limit ourselves to what we can humanly accomplish. The power, love, and self-control Paul was talking about isn’t human effort; it's spiritual capacity. 

We read about the miracles, sermons, and accomplishments of our biblical heroes. It's important to remember that the same Spirit who enabled them indwells each of God’s children today. When the Lord is at work through his Spirit, we accomplish things because of his power, his love, and his ability to control our thoughts and actions.  

We are to allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly so that the work of Christ can be accomplished through his Holy Spirit. He is the power source for each of our unique ministries.

Romans 12:2 is rarely studied without Romans 12:1, but sometimes it's important to look at verse 2 alone. Usually, more time is spent on verse 1 and the need to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Granted, verse 2 doesn’t happen until verse 1 has been obeyed. 

That said, we accomplish verse 1 by obeying verse 2. How is it that we set apart our daily lives for service to the Lord? 

For starters, we don’t work for the sake of this world. Our lives right now are temporary, so we should allow the Lord to help us think with an eternal focus. When our minds are “renewed,” we will be able to discern the will of God. We will be able to discern the Lord’s priorities for this life.  

We want our thoughts to be changed, renewed by his Spirit. Why? Because his thoughts are his will for our lives, and God’s will is “good and acceptable and perfect.”  

Inspired thoughts accomplish his will in our lives. When we accomplish the will of God, we are blessed now and eternally with his favor. God doesn’t want us to serve him for his sake. God wants us to accomplish things on earth that he can then reward us for eternally. God will bless our obedience to his will and direction in our life. 

When we sacrifice our lives to serve God, our thoughts are renewed. Our minds are less consumed by the things of this world and more often drawn to the eternal priorities that God can reward forever.  

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly so that your mind can be renewed and directed toward the will of God. His will is “good and acceptable and perfect.”

Some situations cause me to hear my mom or dad’s voice telling me what to do, as if they were with me. My husband and I have been married a long time, and we often finish each other’s sentences. Our thoughts come from a lot of different voices in our lives.  

Paul’s words to the Corinthians taught me to “think about” my thoughts and consider their source. I coined a phrase for my life after studying 2 Corinthians 10:5. I call some of my thoughts “God thoughts.” 

I try to pay careful attention to those thoughts that float across my mind for no particular reason. Those thoughts often lead me to pray, send a text or an email, or make a phone call or visit. Sometimes the God thoughts encourage my spirit, direct my choices, or convict me of a sin I need to confess. The Holy Spirit speaks into our thoughts when we expect him to, and our lives are richer when we listen. 

There are other times when my thoughts are filled with worry, anger, frustration, or self-doubt. Sometimes, those thoughts are arrogant, prideful, or judgmental. It's during those times that Paul’s words have come to mean the most. I have learned to think about those thoughts and ask, “Who would have authored those thoughts?” 

It's easy to know whether a thought or an opinion is a God thought. It's just as easy to know when we need to take a thought “captive” and make it “obey Christ.” When you can determine the author of the thought, you will know what to do with it. 

Would Jesus have said that? What is the result of the thought? Does that thought build up or tear down? Does that thought line up with the truth of Scripture or the partial truth of Satan himself? When we know the thought stands against the knowledge of God, we know that God would never have authored that thought. 

God speaks through his Holy Spirit, but Satan speaks into our thoughts as well. Take captive those thoughts and submit them to God. He will tell you what to think instead!  

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and take captive any thought that disagrees with the perfection of Scripture. Think about your thoughts and determine their source. Obedience to the message of 2 Corinthians 10:5 will change your life!

The Lord knew that our thoughts would drive our actions. Jesus commanded us to “fear not” because choices made from a place of fear are rarely choices based on faith. The Lord knew the world would always be filled with sinful temptations and tendencies. Our thoughts matter as much as, if not more than, our words. We know to be careful with our words; Jesus would want us to be careful with our thoughts as well. 

Paul was closing his letter to the Philippian church when he taught them how to measure their thoughts. He taught the believers to think about what is true, honorable and just. Our thoughts shouldn’t wander into areas we know are wrong and dishonest. When our thoughts go in that direction, we should repent, a word that simply means to turn and go the opposite way.  

Paul said the right thoughts lead us in the direction of what is pure, lovely, and commendable. God knows our thoughts, and we should honor him with the direction of our thinking.  

Paul said that the right thoughts are excellent and worthy of praise. Which thoughts will the Lord commend and praise? Paul would say, “Think on these things.” 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and your thoughts will be excellent and worthy of the Lord’s praise. How good it is to think like Jesus and allow those thoughts to drive our actions!

God knows our thoughts. He is therefore able to receive our worship. God is a spirit, and our worship of him must be in spirit and truth. So often we define our worship as what we sing, pray, or hear. God defines our worship as our thoughts of him while we sing, pray, and listen. If our worship isn’t truthfully and spiritually offered to God, it isn’t received by God. 

Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well. He had just told her, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23). Right now, the Lord is thinking of you and seeking your thoughts of worship. How will you worship God through these words of Christ? 

Jesus was teaching the woman at the well—a woman who had felt shunned by almost everyone in her life—that God was seeking her. He wanted her thoughts to be directed toward him because those thoughts could begin to change her choices on earth. The Lord is “seeking” such people to worship him today, not for his sake, but for their own. 

Jesus told the woman at the well the truth about her life. They weren’t the words she felt good about hearing; they were the words that could help her become good. Our worship of God must be truthful. If something isn’t true, it can’t be of God. He is always and only associated with the Spirit of truth. Jesus is our living example of the priorities of God. 

God doesn’t need our worship, but we need to give it. Like the woman at the well, our honest, spiritual worship changes us. That’s why God is “seeking such people to worship him.”  

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and you will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

Paul knew his people still needed to go to work, visit friends, raise kids, and function under the rule of the Roman government. The first-century church was a small minority group in their very large and powerful culture. Paul’s words to them, however, remain biblical truth today. How do we focus our minds on heaven while still living in this world? 

When Paul told the Colossians to “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,” he wasn’t instructing them to ignore their culture. Instead, the apostle was teaching the early Christians how to keep their culture in the proper perspective. He was speaking about the goals, or aims, of the Christian life. 

Christians have earthly lives and those lives matter. We should live well according to God’s word. Paul’s point was this: Which life should be the highest priority: our life on earth or our eternal life? We know the right answer to that question, but do we live as if we believe it? 

How many decisions do we make simply because that choice is best for God’s kingdom? How often do we choose to do without on earth so that we can invest in heaven?  

Sometimes our moments require so much attention that we don’t have time to consider the bigger picture. Do we ask ourselves, “Is this urgent, or is it important?” God rarely rushes our choices, which is one of the best indicators the choice might matter eternally.  

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and you will set your mind on things above. You can know when something matters right now and how and if it will matter forever.

It has long been said that if we don’t believe in something, we will fall for anything. That thought has been credited to a lot of people over the years. The Apostle Paul would agree. 

Paul often spoke against the philosophies of his day and those who wanted to preach such ideas in the churches. Greek philosophers were considered the eloquent and educated people of the first century. Many of Paul’s letters, as well as John’s, were written to help the early church guard their hearts and minds to remain focused on the truth of the gospel rather than filling their thoughts with popular philosophies. 

Human beings have always wanted to believe what is “captivating” even when it isn't true. Sadly, wrong ideas can make people captives of their consequences. Paul told the Colossians to make certain they didn’t allow their lives to be influenced by the empty deceit the world was offering. Paul would write that same message to the church today. 

There are some complicated passages in Scripture that have always been difficult to interpret. We have different denominations because intelligent, godly people have disagreed. There is a good measure for biblical truth and cultural trends. If the church has upheld a teaching for thousands of years, then we should continue to uphold that teaching as truth. If a subject isn’t “debated” in Scripture, we shouldn't debate that subject today. 

It’s up to us to know God’s word and walk in the truth. Philosophies and empty deceit will always be a battle because they have always been a battle. What is clear is trusting that the word of Christ has always been truth.  

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and the empty words and “human traditions” of the world won't seem as captivating. Believe what the Colossians were taught to believe about Christ and you will live “according to Christ.”

Imagine living in a town where everyone was careful to respect each other and obey every law. A town like that would be a joyful place to live, work, and raise a family. Laws were intended and written for the good of the people. But, even Mayberry needed a sheriff.  

The psalmist provided God’s people with the key to living under the law of the Lord. God gave laws for many of the same reasons we have laws today. God’s laws exist because they are for the good of the people. God made certain we would know how to live joyfully blessed lives. 

When we understand God’s laws are for our greatest good, we will “delight” in them. When we know what God is able to bless, we can make choices that will be blessed. So, why then do we struggle with God’s laws at times? Why does the world want to disagree with God’s word and choose human ideas instead? 

Meditating on God’s word requires a commitment of our time and our tendencies. Does God’s word delight you? Do you hunger for a knowledge of all that God has said? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Jesus was teaching the same lesson the psalmist taught. A “satisfied” life is full of God’s word.  

When we delight in the word of God we will consume it, meditate on its truth, and then be much more likely to obey God’s laws throughout the day.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and you will delight in his laws and be satisfied by his blessings.