Over the past few weeks I have been intentionally carving out time in the morning to read a bit in my Bible and journal the thoughts that come from said reading. I am working my way through Paul’s epistles and no reading has left me lacking in thoughts to write down. This morning’s passage was especially convicting and inspiring to me. Here are the highlights from my reading of Colossians 3:1-17:

• “Set your heart on things above…” My heart is where the desires that motivate my life are generated. My desires must be set on God and what matters to Him rather than on myself and what matters to me.
• “Set your mind on things above…” Prior to today I had failed to notice the differentiation made between the heart and mind. Why do both have to be set on the things above? Because the heart follows the mind’s lead. The heart will desire that upon which thoughts dwell the most. I need to carefully select the food that nourishes my thoughts.
• “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach…as you sing psalms, hymns…with gratitude in your hearts…” These particular phrases resonated with me as a mom and a teacher. Desiring to fill my children’s hearts and minds with God’s truth is encouraging me to do the same with mine. I am soaking up Scripture so that I can teach it to them. I have also found that there is no better tool to do so than filling our ears with beautiful psalms and hymns and praise songs which in turn saturate our soul with truth and beauty.  How can one not be grateful to God for Who He is and all He is done when living in such an uplifting environment of joy and praise?
• “And whatever you do…do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” This verse strikes to the very core of my heart because it holds me accountable for the motivation behind my words and deeds. This is a command, not a suggestion: DO ALL IN THE NAME OF JESUS. Can I gossip, complain, argue, backbite, lose my temper, indulge in laziness, etc. in the name of Jesus? Of course not! I must live every moment with scrutiny and deliberation while asking myself, “Is it Name-worthy?”

Such a short passage and yet it is brimming with life-changing truth and accountability. Reading Scripture and writing about it  equip me to retain the Bible in my mind so that I can meditate upon it throughout the day. I encourage you to do the same. It will change your life!