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“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

One tiny little seed of thought planted in the furthest corner of our brain can shot out deep roots within a matter of minutes. We’ve probably all experienced those moments when a thought rose up presumably out of nowhere and took us on a journey.  Some of those thought travels landed us happy, fulfilled  and bursting with hope. Others were definitely not so appealing.  Fear, bitterness, arrogance, regret, negativity – I think you get the picture.  Not all thoughts serve us well.

Whether we admit it or not, tangled up in our stream of thoughts is the overarching resulting words and deeds which characterize us.  Yes, those thoughts we allow to roam wild and run free can produce   devastating words.  In the heat of a battle, our lips spew what has been fertilized yet restrained in our mind.  Thoughts we just kept traveling down, focusing on and allowing to monopolize our every moment.  Words we would have never spoken.  Words we thought we had control over despite their familiarity.

And yes, sweet friends not only do those carefree thoughts produce verbiage we later regret, but they also multiply into actions (deeds) we take.  Reflecting back, we can’t comprehend what led us to such behavior – simply dismissing the words we spoke and the thoughts we fed.  Actions we truly thought were behind us resurface at the least likely moment.  Birthing pain, hurt and remorse.

Perhaps these are the reasons Paul was so adamant about the believers in Colossae doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.  You see when we focus on God’s word, His character and the example of Jesus’ life on earth, we are planting seeds which will flourish into godly words and deeds.  It simply starts with a thought which speaks a word resulting in deeds.

In Colossians 3, Paul challenges these believers to set their minds on things above not on this world.  He compels them to put to death earthly desires.  And then he reminds them to reflect the very character of their God.  Their greatest legacy would be the one they live out in front of others.

The same is true today sweet friends.  Our thoughts can take us down some not good paths.  Our words can be hope-filled or destructive.  Our deeds can foster unity and love or hate and division.  And all of these start from one seed planted.

Not sure what’s sprouting in your thoughts, but I love this reminder from Paul  whatever we do or say – all should be done to the glory of God.  Our thoughts carry weight – let’s make sure its heavy on the grace, love and truth of the gospel. Let’s saturate our minds daily with His words and praise Him for transforming and redeeming our minds.

“Father, we desperately need Your power and strength to capture our thoughts.  Help us to recognize the ungodly roots and extinguish them quickly.  Fill our minds with Your truth and empower us to bring glory to Your name in all we do.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life