Colossians 3:16

Hello,
What a beautiful day we've had, isn't it? The Lord is blessing us richly. 'Richly' is my word for this day. It's found in our verse, Colossians 3:16: "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Isn't that just the most wonderful verse? I'm going to pick it apart, a few words at a time. Glance back over the whole chapter to get a better idea of what the theme is. Yes, it's rules for Holy living. I think verse 16 is the crux of the whole chapter.
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. How does this happen? Basically by studying His Word every day. Reading His nuggets of gold, pondering/meditating on what He's telling you and asking the important question: how do I apply this to my life?
I think the richly part is an extra blessing. When we read and apply, the benefits are seen in how we live our life before the Lord. Notice I say: before the Lord. It doesn't matter what people think, just what the Lord thinks. If we are pleasing Him, we don't have to worry about what others think. But, it's our nature to wonder: what do others think of me? Why do we pay more attention to others than to the Lord, who is perfect in His appraisal and blesses accordingly?
Next comes the teaching and admonishing. Many of you have heard often that we are not to judge one another. That scripture is talking about motives. How can we admonish someone for their walk with the Lord if we are judging their walk (the fruit: good and bad).
We are to teach, and the admonishing is connected by 'and'. How can we teach if we don't know the Word of God? Many times you've heard me in Sunday school teaching God's truth and correcting someone on what they know. Hopefully their belief will follow the new understanding and truth of God's Word versus what they used to believe.
Then: wisdom. How do we obtain wisdom? Again, studying God's Word and applying it to our lives so we can then turn around and teach others. I really like when the ladies in our Sunday school class share what they think/believe. It's great to hear a verse shared, or a thought. I'm often challenged, encouraged and enlightened by what's shared. The Bible tells us that iron sharpens iron. The Bible is the Sword of the Spirit and swords are made of iron.
The rest of this verse is directed in worship to God, with gratitude for Him, who He is, and all that He does. He is wisdom, our sword to do battle against sin and our comforter as He dwells in us richly.
So, does God's Word dwell in you richly? Are you learning, studying and applying? Are you blessed by Him daily working in your life?

Richly blessed,
Sandy