Post by solitarysoul on Apr 25, 2007 21:16:37 GMT -5
"Abiding in God's Word" - Devotion for April 22nd, 2007
Today's Scripture
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed." - John 8:31
Today's Word
How often do you read your Bible? If your Bible just sits on your shelf, there is little point in you having one. The Bible was not intended to simply be a symbol or icon indicating our beliefs. In fact, if your Bible is only used for this purpose, you may be misrepresenting the Christian faith, so it wouldn't even be a truthful symbol of those beliefs.
Someone who keeps a Bible on a shelf that is rarely, if ever opened, would give me the impression that they just view the Bible as a light guidebook, or a useful tool for finding inspirational quotes. That may be fine, the Bible is a very inspirational book, but I'm not sure my first impression would be that this person is a Christian, to be honest. If you're really a Christian, people know it, not because you have a Bible sitting on your shelf, but because you strive for your life to reflect that faith in every way.
Unfortunately there are many different interpretations and opinions of the Bible and what it means for your life to reflect this faith. But I guarantee you most of the varying interpretations come from people who have never bothered to actually study the Bible as a whole. Rather, they prefer to focus on a particular type of verse, or use scriptures here and there to reflect or support their current lifestyle, rather than changing their lifestyle to reflect the scriptures.
David said he meditates on the Word day and night. Job said he loves the Word more than he loves his daily bread. This is not a metaphor. To these devoted followers, daily Bible reading and study was far more important to them than eating. God's Word is our spiritual nourishment, just as food is our physical nourishment. If you don't read the Bible daily, you will starve yourself spiritually, and you will more easily become a victim of deceit. Our spiritual nourishment is far more important than our physical nourishment, because it is our spiritual self that we will keep with us for eternity.
It isn't enough to just believe in what the Bible says. Quite a few people who claim to believe in the Bible haven't even read it. Most Christians are more devoted to reading the daily newspaper than their Bibles. How do you know you agree with something, if you don't even know what it says? Jesus said that His disciples abide in His word. Abide does not mean to simply believe and acknowledge it. Abide means to fill your mind and life with the scriptures and these teachings. Every thought and action should come from the Word of God. The actions and thoughts of most people are based on what they feel, or what is most popular among others. But this isn't worshiping God.
When you abide in God's Word, you desire to read and study it on a daily basis. And when we can't find that desire, we should push ourselves to do it anyway. Write little notes and questions in the margins of your Bible or a pad of paper or computer, so that you will stay focused on what you're reading and will learn from it. As you make this a habit and make it such an important part of your life, your source for your decisions and lifestyle, you will remember what you read, and you will begin to reflect on it throughout your day. This is what David was talking about when he said he meditates on the Word day and night. Every moment that he was awake, his focus was on reflecting on the scriptures to become more like God. God called him " a man after My own heart " for this reason.
So often people think that by reading and studying the Bible they have learned from it and have become more like Christ. This is only the first stage. There's little use in such reading and studying if you do not reflect on it throughout your day. Knowledge is one thing, but intellectual knowledge has little to do with your actual relationship with Christ. Don't let procrastination or fear of pain and struggle get in the way. You will encounter many difficult situations in your walk with God that may require you to give up at least a part of the life you love in order to grow spiritually. Believers have to learn to let go of their pride, admit to their weakness and wrongs, humble themselves, be open to whatever changes are necessary, and put their full trust in God. It is possibly the most difficult thing you will ever have to do! But the reward, both in this life, and especially in eternity, is far greater than any other.
Copyright © 2007 T. Scott Morgan | www.the-daily-blessing.com
Please feel free to forward this message on as much as you like, as long as this copyright stays intact and the
devotion is not altered.
This devotion may NOT be redistrubuted for profit.
Today's Scripture
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed." - John 8:31
Today's Word
How often do you read your Bible? If your Bible just sits on your shelf, there is little point in you having one. The Bible was not intended to simply be a symbol or icon indicating our beliefs. In fact, if your Bible is only used for this purpose, you may be misrepresenting the Christian faith, so it wouldn't even be a truthful symbol of those beliefs.
Someone who keeps a Bible on a shelf that is rarely, if ever opened, would give me the impression that they just view the Bible as a light guidebook, or a useful tool for finding inspirational quotes. That may be fine, the Bible is a very inspirational book, but I'm not sure my first impression would be that this person is a Christian, to be honest. If you're really a Christian, people know it, not because you have a Bible sitting on your shelf, but because you strive for your life to reflect that faith in every way.
Unfortunately there are many different interpretations and opinions of the Bible and what it means for your life to reflect this faith. But I guarantee you most of the varying interpretations come from people who have never bothered to actually study the Bible as a whole. Rather, they prefer to focus on a particular type of verse, or use scriptures here and there to reflect or support their current lifestyle, rather than changing their lifestyle to reflect the scriptures.
David said he meditates on the Word day and night. Job said he loves the Word more than he loves his daily bread. This is not a metaphor. To these devoted followers, daily Bible reading and study was far more important to them than eating. God's Word is our spiritual nourishment, just as food is our physical nourishment. If you don't read the Bible daily, you will starve yourself spiritually, and you will more easily become a victim of deceit. Our spiritual nourishment is far more important than our physical nourishment, because it is our spiritual self that we will keep with us for eternity.
It isn't enough to just believe in what the Bible says. Quite a few people who claim to believe in the Bible haven't even read it. Most Christians are more devoted to reading the daily newspaper than their Bibles. How do you know you agree with something, if you don't even know what it says? Jesus said that His disciples abide in His word. Abide does not mean to simply believe and acknowledge it. Abide means to fill your mind and life with the scriptures and these teachings. Every thought and action should come from the Word of God. The actions and thoughts of most people are based on what they feel, or what is most popular among others. But this isn't worshiping God.
When you abide in God's Word, you desire to read and study it on a daily basis. And when we can't find that desire, we should push ourselves to do it anyway. Write little notes and questions in the margins of your Bible or a pad of paper or computer, so that you will stay focused on what you're reading and will learn from it. As you make this a habit and make it such an important part of your life, your source for your decisions and lifestyle, you will remember what you read, and you will begin to reflect on it throughout your day. This is what David was talking about when he said he meditates on the Word day and night. Every moment that he was awake, his focus was on reflecting on the scriptures to become more like God. God called him " a man after My own heart " for this reason.
So often people think that by reading and studying the Bible they have learned from it and have become more like Christ. This is only the first stage. There's little use in such reading and studying if you do not reflect on it throughout your day. Knowledge is one thing, but intellectual knowledge has little to do with your actual relationship with Christ. Don't let procrastination or fear of pain and struggle get in the way. You will encounter many difficult situations in your walk with God that may require you to give up at least a part of the life you love in order to grow spiritually. Believers have to learn to let go of their pride, admit to their weakness and wrongs, humble themselves, be open to whatever changes are necessary, and put their full trust in God. It is possibly the most difficult thing you will ever have to do! But the reward, both in this life, and especially in eternity, is far greater than any other.
Copyright © 2007 T. Scott Morgan | www.the-daily-blessing.com
Please feel free to forward this message on as much as you like, as long as this copyright stays intact and the
devotion is not altered.
This devotion may NOT be redistrubuted for profit.