Live Free with Josh Howerton - Representing Jesus in All You Do | Ep. 82 | Tuesday May 30, 2023

Episode Date: May 30, 2023

Are you looking for ways to practically live out your faith? Do you struggle with letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart? In today’s passage, we are reminded to let the message of Christ fill our lives and counsel each other with wisdom from God. So, let's take a cue from Colossians 3:16 and make worship a part of our daily routine, represent Jesus in all that we do and embrace worship as a lifestyle. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. slash Daily Drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, welcome to the Daily Drive podcast where we spend a few minutes just allowing God to stick some truth for the journey into our hearts. I'm Mike Bro, and on this drive together, I guess I'm kind of like the Uber driver that just talks the entire time. You've been in that car. Well, thanks for

allowing me just a few minutes today as we dive into God's word together, because God really is the real driver in all of this. And we're going through the book of Colosses together. We're midway through chapter three. So if you're like those restless kids on a road trip asking, are we there yet? Almost, almost. I love this little letter because it's all about new life in Christ. How do we get it, what it looks like, and how to practically live it out. And we're in that How to Practically Live It Out section. We left off yesterday with the writer Paul telling us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. So let me ask you, how'd you do with that yesterday?

I found that that's a good prayer to pray in the morning. God, help me to let your peace rule in my heart today. When you proactively do that, when conflicts arise later on, you have that reminder already tucked in your heart from God's spirit, and in that moment you'll hear him say, come on, let peace rule. Don't you react in a bad way? Come on, let peace rule. Don't you be the reason this escalates.

let the peace of Jesus Christ rule in your heart. And now let's look at verse 16 and 17. He goes on and says, let the message about Christ in all its richness fill your life. Some versions say, let it dwell in you richly. Let the good news saturate your life so that when you get squeezed, good stuff comes out.

He says, teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives, help each other stay on the right path. You know, I've got a bunch of friends that do that for me. Get some really close friends that know everything. But they're always sending me stuff.

They'll say, man, I heard this talk and it really helped me. I thought it might help you. Or, man, you're really able to check out this book. It was so good. Have you ever noticed how Jesus says and we'll text back and forth? And I'm grateful for all of you

that perhaps even share this little daily podcast. I know it's not the slickest, most profound, most insightful, most scholarly thing out there. But it just might help a friend stay on track because Paul says teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom that he gives. His word is life-changing. And then Paul writes this, and while you're at it, sing psalms and

hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. You know, I really enjoy the online experience with weekend worship. And if I'm somewhere else and I have to miss, I can just log in, I can catch up or I can worship from anywhere that I might be. And I'm so grateful for everybody that jumps on to do that. And I know that it's here to stay. And I'm super grateful for the way that I can reach far more people. I really am. But I have to tell you, if you've never experienced it,

there's just something about being shoulder to shoulder in a room together, singing praise and expressing gratitude to God. I mean, there's just something about being physically together, seeing each other, hearing each other, encouraging each other, learning together, standing in all together, knowing the stories of imperfect people all around you whose lives are being changed by the amazing grace of God. That's why the church has always gathered in homes, barrios,

school buildings, underground caverns, bars, huts, gymnasiums, old shopping centers, theaters, wherever, just to be together to encourage each other and worship the one who is changing our lives. telling you there's nothing quite like it. But even in saying that, I hope you know that worship is not an event that you come to, but rather it's a lifestyle. So Paul adds this, verse 17, and whatever you do or say, whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus giving thanks through him to God the Father. I love how the message translation puts a similar

verse in Romans chapter 12 and says, so here's what I want you to do. God helping you, Take your everyday ordinary life, you're sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around life, and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. It's just saying worship is a lifestyle. Whatever you do, you're representing the one who gave you new life. So let me ask you, what's on your to-do list today? You got a full day of work today, you got full day of school, you got stuff with kids today,

you got baseball or soccer practice today, you're getting a haircut today. Maybe going to the grocery store, loading up your truck at a Home Depot. You have to take care of an elderly parent today. Are you closing the real estate deal, helping somebody do some landscaping around their place? You're taking a walk with a friend and got a date later on. What's on your to-do list today? So here's your verse. Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks through him to God the Father. That's our key verse for this day. And that is true worship. We'll check back in on each other tomorrow. See you then. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services

on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lake point.compt.com. Church slash daily drive.