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It’s not unusual for us to encounter difficulties in our relationships with others—our spouse, our child, a classmate, or a coworker, for instance. Perhaps we’ve asked the Lord to help us navigate the situation by praying, “Lord, grant me wisdom to deal with my son,” or “Lord, help me be patient with this person.” But in spite of our prayers, we still struggle.
Why doesn’t the Lord give us wisdom or patience? After all, these are good things. To answer this, we have to see that God isn’t interested in giving us things. God gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, to be everything to us.
At the apostle Paul’s time the believers in Colossae were distracted from Christ by matters like asceticism, the keeping of Jewish ordinances, the worship of angels, and elements of Greek philosophy.
Wanting to bring them back to Christ, Paul wrote these words in Colossians 2:16-17:
“Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.”
Notes 2 and 3 on verse 17 in the New Testament Recovery Version help us understand this passage:
Note 2 on body tells us, “As with man’s physical body, the body here is the substance. And like the shadow of a man’s body, the rituals in the law are a shadow of the real things in the gospel.”
Note 3 on Christ says, “Christ is the reality of the gospel. All the good things in the gospel belong to Him and are Him.”
Every positive thing, including all the virtues we seek, are merely shadows. The body—the substance, the reality—of those things is a living person, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Like the Colossians, we also can be distracted from Christ Himself to things, even good things like wisdom, love, and patience. We need to realize that Christ wants us to experience Him as the reality of all we need.
To experience Christ as the reality of all the positive things we seek, we need to first realize Christ is living in us. In Colossians 1:27 Paul declares this tremendous fact, “Christ in you.” How wonderful that we redeemed ones actually have Christ living in us, in our spirit!
After stating that Christ is in us, Paul goes on in Colossians 3:4 to use the expression “Christ our life.” The Christ who is in us is now our life. Let’s see more about this in note 1 for Christ in the Recovery Version:
“That Christ is our life is a strong indication that we are to take Him as life and live by Him, that we are to live Him in our daily life in order to experience the universally extensive Christ revealed in this book, so that all He is and has attained and obtained will not remain objective but will become our subjective experience.”
By taking Christ as our life and living by Him, not by ourselves, we can subjectively experience Him in every aspect of our daily life. Instead of expecting to receive something from Him, such as wisdom or patience, we can experience Him as the wisdom or patience we need.
In Colossians 3 Paul speaks of three ways we can take Christ as our life and live by Him.
[[Free Study Bible]]
From the Recovery Version note on arbitrate we see that to arbitrate means to “umpire, preside, be enthroned as a ruler and decider of everything.”
When we’re living by Christ, we have a sense of peace. This is a guide to us. As we go through our daily life we can sense whether we have peace or unrest. For example, let’s say we begin to argue with our spouse. The more we argue and try to prove our point, the more we feel unrest. That feeling indicates we’re not living by Christ. If we inwardly pray, “Okay Lord, You’re my life. I want to live by You as I’m with my spouse,” we stop arguing, and the sense of peace returns. The presence or absence of peace tells us whether we’re living by Christ or not. When we feel unease, we can turn back to Him to take Him as our life.
Another way for us to take Christ as our life and live by Him is by letting the word of Christ dwell in us, even richly. This certainly means more than merely reading the Bible in a mental way. Let’s read the note for dwell:
“Lit., to be in a house, to indwell, to inhabit. The word of the Lord must have adequate room within us that it may operate and minister the riches of Christ into our inner being.”
By coming to the Word with our spirit, praying over it, and musing on it, we give the word of Christ the room to dwell in us. Spending time daily to touch the Spirit in the Bible with our spirit allows His Word to inhabit us in a deeper way. Without needing to pray for patience, Christ Himself as patience is ministered into us, and we can live Christ out as our patience.
The note for name in the Recovery Version explains what it means to do things in the name of the Lord Jesus:
“The name denotes the person. The Lord’s person is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17a). To do things in the name of the Lord is to act in the Spirit. This is to live Christ.”
We can act in the Spirit and live Christ by contacting Him as the Spirit in our spirit. The simplest way to do that is to call upon His name. When we call, “Oh, Lord Jesus,” we get His rich person. Even as we’re interacting with people, we can inwardly or softly call upon His name to remain in fellowship with Him in our spirit to live by Him. He will be to us whatever we need at that time, and then we can live Him out.
If you want to learn about Christ being everything to us from another angle, take a look at our post: Our Spiritual Remedy: The Spirit as an All-Inclusive Dose.
All verses are quoted from the Holy Bible Recovery Version. You can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
A BfA staff member shares his experience of singing to the Lord.
In my everyday Christian life I really enjoy praying to the Lord, calling on His name, and speaking about Him to others. All these things give me a way to contact the Lord Jesus throughout my day and enjoy His presence. But one of my favorite ways to touch the Lord is by singing to Him with my spirit. The apostle Paul wrote about singing in 1 Corinthians 14:15:
“I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing also with the mind.”
I of course need to use my mind when singing to the Lord, but this verse shows that I can sing to the Lord with my spirit also. Since my spirit is my deepest part and the means for me to contact and worship Christ, exercising my spirit to sing really brings me into the enjoyment of the Lord.
I particularly enjoy singing to the Lord in the morning. Sometimes as I’m getting ready, a song pops into my head, and I start singing it to touch the Lord as I go about my routine. Recently, I’ve sung one song in particular quite often (hear the music at hymnal.net):
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water Out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord.
Call upon His name, Declare His doings among the people, Make mention that His name is exalted. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
At first it seemed a little awkward to sing aloud like this, especially if other people could possibly hear me. But I’ve found it’s such a great way to contact the Lord that now I can’t stop!
Singing to the Lord in the morning is so enjoyable because it’s one of the six ways we can drink Christ as the living water revealed in Isaiah 12. By singing to the Lord in the mornings I “draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation” (v. 3)! And verse 5 says,
“Sing psalms to Jehovah, for He has done something majestic!”
For me, the mornings are a critical time to draw water from the wells of salvation. Whether I take a drink or not impacts how the rest of my day goes. I rarely jump out of bed the minute I wake up, and I’m usually groggy and spiritually dry first thing in the morning. Because I haven’t called on the Lord or prayed all night long, I need to contact Him in the morning to be spiritually revived for the day. The easiest way I’ve found to do this when I’m still struggling with just being awake is to open my mouth to sing to Him.
What Isaiah 12 talks about is really true. When I sing to the Lord at the very beginning of my day, I draw from the wells of salvation and take a good, refreshing drink of the living water. I’m revived and strengthened to live in my spirit throughout the rest of the day.
[[Free Study Bible]]
While I love to sing to the Lord in the mornings, I’m so glad I can turn my heart to the Lord by singing to Him at any time. I’ve found that singing to the Lord during the day helps me maintain the flow of the divine life within. In various circumstances throughout the day, I might begin to feel dry, down, or empty. When that happens, though, I often just sing to the Lord to touch Him in a fresh way. I can testify that the Lord has been so real to me at those times.
One particular place I like to sing is in my car. Sometimes instead of turning on the radio, I take the time to sing some songs or hymns to the Lord. These are such sweet, personal times with the Lord, and every time I get refreshed and revived. Sometimes the Lord also leads me to call on Him or to pray. I might end up praying for someone I know, or I might confess something I sense the Lord is speaking to me about. Instead of wasting the time in my car, I’m enlivened when I take advantage of the privacy to turn my heart back to the Lord.
The psalmists knew firsthand how enjoyable it is to sing to the Lord, as we can see in Psalms 104:33:
“I will sing to Jehovah while I live; I will sing psalms to my God while I yet have being.”
If you haven’t experienced singing to the Lord this way, I hope you’ll give it a try! While it’s wonderful to sing psalms and hymns in groups with other believers, it’s also so personal, sweet, and refreshing to sing to the Lord with your spirit at other times during your day. Once you experience how sweet it is to touch the Lord by singing to Him, you’ll find yourself doing it more and more. May we all sing to Jehovah while we live, and sing psalms to Him while we still have breath!
For more on the benefits of singing to the Lord, you can read this post on 5 Marvelous Benefits of Singing to the Lord in Our Daily Life.
All verses are quoted from the Holy Bible Recovery Version. You can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
Before we were saved our heart was hard and cold toward God. We wanted many things, even sinful things, but not God. We felt little affection for Him and had no interest in the things of God.
But God wants to have an affectionate relationship with us. So when we were born again, God not only forgave us and cleansed us of our sins, He also did something in our heart. Ezekiel 36:26 says,
“I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.”
God renewed our heart of stone and made it soft, “a heart of flesh.” Now our new heart loves God and is inclined toward Him and responsive to Him. With this new heart, God wants us to enjoy all He is in a relationship of love.
Since we all received a new heart when we were saved, why is this loving heart evident in the lives of some but barely detectable in others? How can some of our hearts seem to have become cold and hard, like they were before? How can we keep our heart in its new soft and loving condition?
Medical science tells us that for our physical heart to be healthy, we need to exercise, even vigorously. But exercise doesn’t come naturally or easily to most of us. Consider what it takes just to put on our athletic shoes and go for a run. Even while we’re running, we have to exert ourselves to keep going and not quit. And exercise isn’t a once for all matter; we have to do it over and over again. But working out regularly isn’t optional if we want a healthy heart.
Similarly, if we want our new heart to be kept in newness, that is, to be kept loving, soft, and responsive toward the Lord, then regular, continued spiritual exercise is needed. This is what makes the difference between whether our new heart remains in newness or goes back to its old condition.
So what is this regular exercise for our new heart? Since our heart is composed of our conscience, mind, emotion, and will, the “workout” our heart needs involves four parts.
[[Free Study Bible]]
Second Corinthians 3:16 says, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Everything begins with turning our heart to the Lord. When we were saved, we first repented and received Christ to begin our Christian life. To repent means to turn, to have a change of mind and direction. We realized we were sinful, and we turned to God.
But even after we’re saved, we still need to keep turning. Our minds are easily distracted and can cause our hearts to turn away from the Lord. Whatever turns us away from the Lord becomes a “veil” to us, keeping us from seeing Him. Similarly, Matthew 5:8 says,
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
To be pure means to be unmixed with anything else. When we’re turned away from the Lord, our heart is impure toward Him. Our focus is split between the Lord and something else. We have two goals in mind, two aims our heart longs after, and we can no longer see clearly. Our future, our career, even our work for the Lord can begin to compete with God in our heart and occupy our mind.
So we need to exercise our heart by praying, “Lord, I turn to you right now.” In fact, in the course of a single day we need to turn repeatedly to the Lord. For instance, we might be thinking about a certain thing and suddenly find we’re away from the Lord, so we need to turn. Later, we might see a billboard that sticks in our head, and we have to turn again. Then we begin to have negative thoughts about someone close to us, and we have to turn yet again.
Again and again, when we realize we’re turned away from the Lord, we need to turn our heart back to Him. It takes regular exercise. When we turn our heart from all other things back to the Lord, we’re made single and pure again, and the veils are taken away. This is a daily workout we all need.
For us to have an affectionate relationship with the Lord, we need to exercise the emotions of our heart to love Him. We may not think we’re that capable of loving the Lord, but we can remember, He gave us a new heart specifically to love Him! And according to Romans 5:5, His love has been poured out in our hearts. He even told us in John 15:9, “Abide in My love.” Our heart is ready to love the Lord; we just need to start exercising it.
One way we can daily give our heart a “love workout” is by telling the Lord out loud that we love Him. What an enjoyable workout! Just as a spouses want to hear these words from each other, the Lord wants us to tell Him, “I love You”—the more often, the better. How wonderful it would be if we were to begin and end each day with, “Lord Jesus, I love you!” We can even say it all throughout the day.
Telling the Lord we love Him not only makes Him happy, it also helps to nurture our own love for Him. Exercising our heart this way keeps us in the sweetness of His love and refreshes our love for Him. We enjoy Him and sense His nearness.
We can also exercise our heart to love the Lord by singing to Him. As we sing to Him, our heart warms and we love Him afresh. For example, we can try singing a song like this. (You can hear the tune here.)
Give yourself to love the Lord.
No other way is so prevailing
And no other way, no other way is so safe.
Give yourself to love the Lord.
No other way is so rich,
And so full, oh so full, of enjoyment.
Each morning we must rise up and say to Him,
“Lord Jesus, I love You.”
Give yourself to love the Lord.
Do not care for anything else;
Just love Him! Do not care!
Give yourself to love the Lord!
We are not our own, Lord;
All we have we give to You.
Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!
Lord Jesus, we love You!
We also keep our heart new by exercising our will to be obedient and submissive to the Lord. We do this by saying “Yes” and “Amen” to the Lord when He speaks to us in our daily life.
Perhaps the Lord speaks to us, “Don’t go to that place.” If we ignore His speaking and go anyway, we disobey Him. Repeatedly disobeying God hardens our heart toward Him. But if we go along with Him and say, “Yes, Lord, I won’t go there,” we obey Him. This may be difficult, but when we obey Him, our heart is kept soft and submissive. We enjoy Him and He becomes so real to us, not in theory, but in our actual experience.
We exercise our conscience by confessing our sins to the Lord. Confessing isn’t saying, “Lord, I won’t do that again.” It’s saying, “Lord, I agree with you, that was a sin. I sinned. I was wrong. Forgive me.” Confessing is simply agreeing with God when His light shines on something.
We shouldn’t be afraid to confess, nor should we try to hide our sinful selves from the Lord. A strong believer is a confessing believer. We may have years of unconfessed sins on our conscience, clogging our spiritual blood vessels and resulting in poor circulation; we’re “sickly,” that is, spiritually weak and lacking in God’s life. Accumulated sins on our conscience can make us insensitive to our conscience, causing us to lose the proper feeling toward sin. Our heart becomes hardened, callous toward sin and unfeeling toward the Lord.
But confessing clears everything away; God forgives us and the blood of Jesus cleanses us. We’re restored to fellowship and enjoy the flow of God’s life in us again. Because our conscience is clear, our heart is untroubled and peaceful, and we can have unhindered fellowship with the Lord. We desperately need this regular exercise of confessing our offenses to the Lord.
The thought that we can live any way we like, do whatever we want, and still experience Christ as our life is harmful to our Christian life. The experience of Christ is something precious; it has a price. In Revelation 3:18, the Lord counseled the church in Laodicea, “Buy from Me.”
To buy something means to pay a price for it. It’s a spiritual reality that to gain the precious experiences of Christ, a price must be paid. Our own wishes, desires, and decisions are the price we pay when we exercise our heart to keep it in newness. But by daily exercise, our new heart is kept pure, loving, right, and submissive. When our heart is in this condition, all the riches of Christ are ours to experience. And the more we go on, the more we realize the price we pay is actually a bargain for the unsearchable Christ we enjoy in return!
If you want to learn more about our heart, take a look at these additional posts: What Is the Heart in the Bible? and What Does It Mean to Love God with All Your Heart?
If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
