16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.
Tori's Comments:
Peace must RULE in our hearts. Anxiety plagues, Jesus heals and frees.
A few days ago, I let it overtake me, and was reminded again of the beauty and importance of the church. When I broke down, one of my sisters in Christ was able to hold me up and encourage me. She was able to remind me of God and His love and His promises to us when they were clouded from my vision. And later on, I was able to do the same for her as we've been having a few rough days (hence my recent disappearance).
But when we remembered, there was such peace, joy, and love that we spread that it even confounded others. We remembered we had nothing to worry about, that God takes cares of us no matter what. We could, just like this passage, use our situation to point to God and we could sing of His goodness.
Terrie's Comments:
It is amazing how little words can mean so much. In this passage the little word "let" stands out as a word that changes everything. If you miss it you would also be mis-reading and misunderstanding the passage as well. We are to "let" the peace rule in our hearts and "let" the message about Christ fill our lives.
15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.
This is not a passive message. It isn't rocket science to "let" something happen. If we are told to "let" something happen then we must also conclude that there are things in our lives that may prevent it from happening.
So today I must ask myself:
Am I "Letting" the Peace that comes from Jesus rule (above all else) in my heart?
And is it the message about Christ that fills my life in all it's richness?
Is there anything that is not "letting" these things happen?
I think that the rest of the passage is a result of letting the peace that comes from Christ rule in our hearts. Everything we do will be to the Glory of Jesus Christ and we will live a life that is full, rich and satisfying. We will learn, as Paul did, to be content in each and every situation because we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
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Please keep all comments respectful. We want to remember that each of us is at a different place in our walk with God. This is a place for us to share openly about what has been revealed to us as we open up Gods word and to learn from others. Please take every opportunity possible to build each other up in love :-)