Are you rich or poor?

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. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Sunday at Lord of Life is BYOB (Bring your own Bible) Sunday. We are beginning the second part of our message series www.jesus.me. WWW stands for Worship, Word, and Work. We are speaking to the importance of balancing these different aspects of our walk of faith.

The second w is for Word. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 verse tells us to let the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly. The Bible is the best selling book of all time. In fact it is the best selling book every year.

Unfortunately, it is not always the best read book. So often it sits as a decoration on our bookshelves and coffee tables. So many Bible are being used as decorations rather than as tools and weapons.

The book of Hebrews tells us that the Word of God is a sharper than a double edge sword. There are many who believe the Bible is God's Word and that it is truth. But where I believe there may be a disconnect is believing that the Bible is useful.

Do we believe the Bible is useful? Do we believe that the knowledge of and faith in God's Word makes a difference? That it will give us wisdom to make decisions? Comfort us in times of sorrow? Give us hope and provision in times of doubt and need? Lead us to salvation from whatever it is that we need to be saved from? If we believe this to be true, we need to let the Word dwell richly in us.

The question we need to ask - are we rich in God's Word or are we poor in God's Word? Is God's Word something that is abundant in us or is it something that is sparse? Is God's Word something you are easy able to share or is it something that comes more difficult?

I read this interesting quote yesterday. It comes from a book entitled God's Grand Vision for the Home by Dr. Rob Rienow:

"What would real life look like if we loved God with everything? We would talk with God in prayer throughout the day, speaking to Him and listening to what He says to us through His Word. We would sense a deep peace in our hearts, even when our lives seem to be falling apart. We would be drawn to reading our Bibles, more powerfully than we are drawn to hobbies or the TV. (I would add the Internet) We would seek to be obedient to God in every area of our lives and hate our sin. Our hearts would be filled with compassion for those in need, and we would feel a sense of urgency to share the gospel with those who don't know Christ. Do these things describe your life? These things are not always true of me . . . but I wish they were."

I believe that is the picture of Colossians 3.