By David Brenneman
“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 11:18-19.
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Hebrews 4:12-13.
"You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:14-17.
"Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." James 1:21-25.
We can't know what truth really is if we don't start where truth is.
What got those in trouble before the great Flood we read of in Genesis? Everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. What is the world going to be like when Jesus returns? Everyone will be doing what is right in their own eyes. People will be marrying and being given in marriage in the day the Lord Jesus Christ returns just as it was in the days of Noah.
The Word of God was around in the days of Noah, just not what we all have access to today. But there's more than that. While building the Ark, Noah preached for over 100 years about what was coming. While it would be good to say that all those in the Ark believed God...only 1 did. Grace and mercy was extended to Noah's Wife, his sons and their wives. Several generations were not needed by preserving them through the Flood.
Being IN the Word of God daily isn't a suggestion of the Bible. It's more of a command than can be taken as a suggestion. You can't know what truth really is until you read what defines it.
Back in school, those pre-historic days, we used to have to look up words and definitions in a physical dictionary. We had to look things up in a thesaurus, we had to use a set of books called an encyclopedia. We had to use our brains to make sense of our assignments. Today some so-called artificial intelligence is doing all the supposed heavy lifting in thinking these days. Given what I've read and my interactions with an AI, I can tell you it's only by way of God not permitting it that AI hasn't destroyed mankind physically. Their software isn't permitting them unrestricted run of the world.
But that's diverging from this message...today's message is to do with including being in your Bible every day as part of your spiritual food for the day. You likely won't go a day without eating if you can help it, you shouldn't put anything in the place of reading God's Word daily either.
Many generations have given rise to the current level of accepted 'truth' in this world.
God's Word hasn't changed because God has not changed. Jesus has not changed. Scripture plainly says that He's the same yesterday, today and forever.
We cannot know how to be doer's of the Word of God if we don't read it to find out what it is we're to be doing. We cannot make use of the spiritual gifts that have been imparted to us...we can't even really know what they are...without spending time with the One who imparted them in the first place.
Scripture in another place says: Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.
If you haven't been consistent in doing that...in reading it daily...then you've hidden next to nothing in your heart...so yes you will be sinning against Him. Yes it's sinning against Jesus. King David wrote: it's against you and you alone have I sinned.
We're not in this world to create our own little chunk of utopia. We are not here to give ourselves pats on the back for our success or to consider ourselves successful in our own eyes if we are not proving to be a success in the eyes of God.
Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You have to be in the Word of God to know what it means to live in truth. Yes it's going ot mean you now understanding just what all you have allowed in your life that's been so great and wonderful to you and has brought you so much joy and happiness just might not be at all what God's wanted in your life.
"It's not the same" is often used as a grand excuse for what we've embraced in our lives that honestly took the place of our time with God. We can put hobbies, sports, especially sports in these days, in God's place. Many say that they 'love' this team or that team...and won't agree that their 'love' for it isn't the same as their love for Jesus. If you are taking that which belongs to Jesus and give it to anything...then it's taken the place of Jesus. It does not matter what it is. Games, sports, writing, hobbies, a job, even family and friends. Jesus said that if you love anything more than Me you aren't worthy of Me. Ouch.
Daily in Prayer is what the Bible tells us to be. Praying without ceasing isn't to mean that after your eyes open you start in prayer and you keep going until you go to bed. It means that the conversation starts and as you go throughout your day that you are in conversation with Jesus.
Daily in the Bible means that you have a place and a time where you meet with Jesus to read and study His Word. You have access to both the book and the Author!
Yes it's going to mean that you will be letting go of those things that are bringing you so much apparent joy in this life you live. It's going to mean selling things that you shouldn't have bought because in light of the Word of God they are idols. It's going to mean stopping going to things that you shouldn't because your whole purpose there isn't God honoring. We are to be lights in this world for Jesus Christ. His light shining through us. We aren't to dim that light in order to not offend those around us. Darkness of this world is fully and completely offended by the Light of Jesus Christ. Read it in the beginning of the book of John.
Examine yourselves....Paul writes of this...have you done it? Stand firm in the Lord...are you doing it?
Are you keeping pace with Jesus or did you run off and do your own thing several times yesterday without Him?
Set your mind on things that are above and not on the things that are of this world. Doesn't sound like a suggestion to me...it shouldn't to you either.
No this doesn't mean that all the 'fun' is going to be drained from your life. You can't learn what is right, pure, and true, without knowing what the Bible says it really is and where it's to be found.
Pray on, Pray over, Pray through...and Read. The spirit can't use the Word hidden in your heart if there's nothing but empty bookshelves in there.
Lastly...many will say in that day that they did all kinds of things in Jesus's Name and He will tell them to depart for He never knew them. Will that be you? Are you SURE you are saved by faith alone in Christ alone for salvation in Him alone? Is He the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life?
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
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