"Whatever you do in word or deed  .   .  .  notice it does not say, "whatever you say or whatever you do."  It says, "whatever you do in word or deed."  The verse speaks as if "doing" can be enacted by speech as well as action.  Can you fathom accomplishing something by simply speaking?  God did and does.  He spoke and the worlds were created.  Everything exists and is held together even today because of the words God spoke and is speaking.  I may be stretching a truth or abusing semantics but I don't think so.  There is much evidence in Scripture concerning the power of words.  Words are seeds.  When they are spoken they are planted.  Believing those words allows them to germinate and grow.  They will produce fruit once they are believed and applied.  It matters not if the words are true or false. 

Jesus told a parable about a sower sowing seed.  Later He explained it to His disciples and He said, "The sower sows the word."  Then He went on to explain each possible outcome for the sown seed.  The final and best outcome is where the word was believed and obeyed; it produced a great harvest of crops.  Jesus, of course, was talking about God's Word.  But what if lies are spoken, will they have the same effect?  Think of the lie the serpent spoke to Eve.  She took of the forbidden fruit because she believed a lie.  That is deception.  This deception bore "fruit" quickly as her husband disobeyed God's command and all of humanity was affected. 

Consider this, "whatever you do in word or deed."  Consider it because you are sowing seed that will bring a harvest.  We must not underestimate this truth.  Paul gives us great counsel here in this verse, admonishing us that, "whatever you do (enact, achieve, or accomplish) in word or deed, that it should all be done in the name of the Lord Jesus."   What does it mean to do something in His name?  It means when we are so aligned with His nature and purposes that what we speak and what we do is of Him and for Him, as if it was Jesus speaking and doing through you and me.  How does one become so aligned with His character and will so much so that one's speech and actions become reproductions of who He is? 

Teaching middle school science, our curriculum used to include magnetism; so I have many magnets in my classroom.  Those magnets sometimes became weak through dropping them or improper storage.  To renew the magnets I purchased a magnet "recharger."   This magnet recharger was simply a super strong magnet.  When you place the magnets on the recharger for a period of time their magnetism is restored.  Now indulge me as I explain a little about magnetism.  Not all things are magnetic, not even all metals are magnetic.  But 3 metals: iron, nickel, and cobalt are magnetic.  This seems to be due to the fact that the domains within them can be aligned.  The domains within them will line up, so to speak.  When the domains are all aligned in unity, they are magnetic.  If I drop the magnet repeatedly their domains can become misaligned, causing them to lose their magnetism.  But as was said, this can be restored by close proximity to a super strong magnet. 

I hope you can see the analogy.  We need a close proximity to Jesus to be aligned with His will and purpose.  If we fall or are injured we can be restored to His purposes simply by being close to Him.  There are some who simply will not align themselves with Him.  This is sad that they seem to not be able to allow all the domains of their life to be yielded to Him.  How is it with you?  The power in your life comes from being aligned with Christ.  Two major forces must be active in our lives to align us with Him:  His Word and His Spirit. 

Jesus spoke about these two forces and how they align us with Him.  In John 15: 7 He said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."  This means if the Word of God is being obeyed in us, it is being lived out in our lives.  Then this obedience to His Word will so line us up with His will that what we ask for will be done because we are living just as He is in this world.  Our lives must become a divine expression of His Word.  The Word must become flesh in us.  Abiding in Jesus is the close proximity we need.  Obedience to His Word aligns us with Him.  Because our domains have lined up with His, the same power that resides in Him now flows in us. 

The second force, His Spirit, must be fully active in our lives as well.  We must be led by His Spirit.  But we must have both the Word and the Spirit working together with each other  The Word without the Spirit will be misused and even cause harm; the Bible says, even death.  In other words we must have the Spirit of God to appropriately use the Word of God.  Jesus promised that He would send the "Helper", the Holy Spirit". 

Several verses help us to see the importance of His Spirit in our lives.  Here are just a few:

• John 14: 26   But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 
• John 14: 16-17   I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 

What is impossible with man, God has made possible.  We can speak and do all in His name, in His nature, pleasing God.  We have His Word and His Spirit available to us.  Seek Him daily, personally in His Word, in prayer.  Obey His Word.  Get to know Him better everyday.  Grow in grace, in faith, in love.  Determine each day to know Him and He will make Himself known in you and through you.  Amen.  

"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."  Colossians 3: 17. 

I want to sing God's song.  Reading a verse the other day stirred this desire in me.  It says we should let the word of Christ dwell within us richly and with wisdom we should teach and counsel each other with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Now it strikes me as a funny thing to imagine two friends singing to each other as a form of ministry, like a Rogers and Hammerstein musical, but it has happened to me in some ministry situations.  I am praying for someone and a song rises inside of me and I sing them the ministering words that are in me.  It is probably weird to some but in the moment I sense it is God's song for that person.   As I was thinking about this verse, I saw a connection between singing and the word of Christ.  We shouldn't just think about the words Jesus spoke from His mouth alone.  Hebrews says God has spoken to us in His Son.  The life of Jesus speaks.  If His life speaks then His life sings too.  I can't think of one verse in the gospels that speaks of Jesus singing but I am sure He did.  I have been to a synagogue and heard the rabbis singing.  Jesus was a rabbi.  It was His custom to read Scripture in the synagogue, so I am sure He sang God's word too.  Some versions even translate Zephaniah 3: 17 saying that God sings over us. 

There is a unique power in singing.  Years ago I once was on a cruise with a friend.  We wandered into the piano bar and sat on the stools around the piano.  The pianist began to sing and to my surprise not to my much more beautiful friend but to me.  Well, his singing went right inside of my heart and sort of undid me.  The best thing my friend could do was drag me out of there.  Somehow the song was a key to a deep place inside that I did not know was there.  I recognize now that it has something to do with the way God has made us like Him.  We are not just flesh but we have souls and spirits.  That secular singer was using a ministry of God in a worldly way but God meant for our singing to edify, heal and counsel, to be a ministry to soul and spirit. 

Another ministry for our soul is the ability of our minds to retain His Truth quickly and deeply through song.  That's why we teach our kids the abc's with songs.  We teach children shapes, colors, manners and healthy habits with songs.  (a purple dinosaur is coming to mind).  Many of the Scriptures I remember best I learned because of songs.  I used to have a cassette of Scripture songs on spiritual warfare.  Even now 20 years later those songs and verses come easily to my mind.

       Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.              Colossians 3: 16

The verse says we should teach with songs; counsel and even rebuke with songs.  I am confident that many praise and worship leaders, Christian musicians and singers would agree that all types of ministry happen when they are singing God's song.  If we are doing so with the word of Christ dwelling in us, then His Word, His Song is being lived and our life sings God's Song, Jesus.