JANUARY 29

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Psalm 119: 103

“How sweet are Your words to my taste,   sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Job 23:12

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;  I have treasured the words of His mouth

More than my necessary food.”

Matthew 4:4

“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

1Peter 2:1-3

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,  as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”

Hebrews 5:11-14

“ of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.   For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.  But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

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This month we’re reading  the new devotional   “Becoming New”,  written by  Warren W. Wiersbe and compiled by his grandson.  Pastor Wiersbe was the President of Moody Bible Institute before the current President, Erwin Lutzer.  

THE LIVING WORD

Read 1 Peter 1:10-25 and Hebrews 4:12

Sharper than a soldier’s sword and more effective than the physician’s scalpel is the Word of God.  The Word of God is LIVING; inspired by the SPIRIT OF LIFE, it reveals Jesus, who is THE LIFE.

How we relate to the Bible, the inspired Word of God, determines how we relate to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and how we relate to Jesus determines what kind of Christians we really are.  The Bible is alive, it speaks to me,” said Martin Luther.  “It has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.”

Since the Word of God is alive, we have three special privileges as the people of God:

WE DON’T JUST READ THE BIBLE; WE LOVINGLY RELATE TO IT.  We are not pupils coming to a lecture but children to a loving Father and disciples to a caring Master.  Reading and meditating on Scripture is more than a duty we fulfill; it’s a delight we enjoy.  “I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure”  (Ps 119:162).  “but they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.” (Psalm 1:2). 

One of the secrets of Jeremiah’s steadfast ministry was his dependence on the Word of God.  “When I discovered  your words, I devoured them.  They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name.”  Said Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15:16). 

WE DON’T JUST READ THE BIBLE; WE RECEIVE IT INTO OUR HEARTS.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 says: “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

 It’s possible to accept the Bible intellectually and yet not receive it into our minds and hearts, where it can go to work and transform us as the living Word.  Jesus compared the Word of God to seed (Luke 8:11).  And seeds must be planted and cultivated if they are to produce a harvest.  We should not only grow in knowledge about God but also grow in the grace of God (2 Peter 3:18).  Meditation is to the inner person what digestion is to the body, and it gives to our spiritual life the nutrition it needs.  “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.” (Colossians 3:16).

WE DON’T JUST READ THE BIBLE; WE REVEAL IT THROUGH OUR LIVES. 

This is where transformation comes in as the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us more like the Son of God.  2 Corinthians 3:18 says:

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  We don’t change ourselves; the Lord changes us as we spend TIME IN THE WORD OF GOD, prayer, worship, and Christian fellowship.  As we are transformed, the Lord uses us to transform others and the situations we and they are in.  “Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.” (Titus 2:10). 

D.L. Moody said, “Every Bible should be bound in shoe leather.” meaning devotion to the Bible doesn’t do us much good unless our devotion results in godly character and our faith is revealed as we walk the paths of life.

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