Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you

Kokrine Hills Bible Camp is one of my favorite places in Alaska. The Bible camp is located between Ruby and Tanana on the Yukon River. The nearest significant road is 150 miles away. Every year our youth group serves at the camp. Native youth from Shungnak, Kobuk, Tanana, Galena, Huslia and Buckland meet together. Ten years ago our youth group helped cut trees to build the airstrip.

My family and I just completed a week at camp. Today is s beautiful day! The sun is shining. The river is flowing. The leaves are green. The wind is blowing. The swallows are feasting on mosquitoes. It is absolutely incredible. The energy and enthusiasm among the young people are wondeful. There is a real hunger to learn more about the Lord Jesus and to understand the Word of God.

Rural Alaska is a mess. Suicide rates are off the charts. The breakdown of the family is epidemic. Times are tough. Urban Alaska is a mess. The crime rate is skyrocketing. People feel unsafe. Life is not easy. What is the answer? Is the answer more government programs? Is the solution increased law enforcement? Is hope found in a higher PFD?

The ultimate answer is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. At Kokrine Hills Bible Camp many of the young people understand that Jesus died for them. We are sinners separated from God. Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Many of the teenagers have repented of their sins and placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not be drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” “Being filled with the Spirit” means to be controlled by God’s Spirit. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control.” How can the young people return to their villages and manifest these qualities?

There is only one way to be filled or controlled by the Spirit. The key to understanding Ephesians 5:18 is the companion passage of Colossians 3:16. Colossians 3:16 reads, “Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you.” The fruit of the Spirit is a result of the Bible being at home in our lives.

My wife was raised in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She attended an all girls high school of over a thousand students. They wore uniforms. Pietermaritzburg was known as, “The last outpost of British civilization.”

The British love to drink tea. My wife drinks tea every day. She even has a tea pot collection! As the tea bag is placed in the hot water it steeps. The tea bag changes the water. A tea bag is powerful.

In the same way, Scripture must saturate our minds. The command is, “Be filled with the Spirit.” “Be filled” is passive voice. Passive voice means the subject does not accomplish the action. The subject receives the action. When I meditate on the Word of God my actions change. Being influenced or controlled by the Spirit is a result of the Word of God richly dwelling within us.

Paul said, “Do not be drunk with wine, for that is dissipation….” If a person puts enough alcohol into their system, the result will be dissipation. Dissipation means a wild, unruly life. The solution is something much more powerful than alcohol. It is the Bible.

Meditating on Scripture is more than simply reading the Bible. Letting the Word of Christ richly dwell within us is more than simply hearing the truth taught. Letting Scripture steep within us is not just studying the Bible. God’s truth must be at home in our lives. It must richly dwell within us.

God told His people in the Old Testament, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). His truth was to be written on their hands and even on the door posts of their homes. We must saturate our lives with truth.

Alaska is a great place to live. I hope my four children stay in Alaska. In the best Alaskan spirit, let’s correctly diagnose the problem and then let’s work together for the solution. Jesus offers salvation. The Word of God is powerful. We must be filled with the Spirit. Scripture must richly dwell within us. Only the Word of God can truly change our lives.