Devotion: Colossians 3:16

Colossians 3:16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 

What a beautiful picture of what fellowship should look like. Imagine how rich our lives would be if we spent time sharing with one another with wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs. And not only that, but with gratitude. True gratitude comes from realizing all of the blessings we  from God, deserved or not. Our hearts cannot help but overflow when we are blessed so fully. And we can be blessing others and receiving these blessings ourselves through fellowship with others!

Let’s pause and explore each of the means of worship listed here.

Psalms are poems from the Bible inspired by God. They were generally accompanied by a harp, which we see mostly from David in the book of Psalms.

Hymns are songs of praise that typically give praise or give honor to God. They are not inspired, but can still be inspirational in nature. Often they include passages from Scripture or biblical truths and lyrically are poetic in nature.

Songs are basically what remains. They can still be poetic, moving and inspirational, and many contemporary worship songs even include Scripture, but are not considered to be hymns.

All of that said, it is of interest to note that the terms were interchangeable in the Greek translation from Jewish Scriptures. The important thing to remember is to sing praise, to express gratitude and to worship God. Music can be of great inspiration in the worship experience, and as believers we can be teaching one another and encouraging others through music. You don’t have to be a composer or singer, either. If you are touched by the music you hear, share it with others. You can teach them and help strengthen their walk by sharing what has touched you.

Let the message of Christ dwell richly in you and overflow to others through music of gratitude. Don’t hold back. You are being poured into, overflowing – pour into others!

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