It was such a blessed day flying home from FL and reading more of Desiring God by John Piper. The chapters I read today were filled with scripture about the Word and how important it needs to be in our lives if we are going to survive with JOY on this earth.
Hebrews 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word.
1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God.
I want to take more time to share some thoughts but my first goal is to share what is on my heart about the Word.
· I want only to encourage the reading and meditation of God’s Holy Word in the lives of others because I know how powerful it is in my own life every day.
· I do not wish for others to use this “blog” as a substitute for the Word – or the individual time that must be spent in the Word.
· God speaks fresh to the heart through the power of the Holy Spirit each time the Word is opened – but it can only be received when a heart is meditating, pondering, listening and obeying what is being spoken – therefore it must be a personal thing for each believer – not something that someone else read for you.
John Piper says it best in his book, Desiring God:
People whose minds are saturated with God’s Word and submissive to His thoughts have a wisdom that in eternity will prove superior to all the secular wisdom in the world: “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding” (Proverbs 3:13 RSV).
He goes on to say:
Satan’s number –one objective is to destroy our JOY of faith. We have one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Eph. 6:17)…. But we can’t draw the sword from someone else’s scabbard. If we don’t wear it, we can’t wield it. If the Word of God does not abide in us (John 15:7), we will reach for it in vain when the enemy strikes. (Note: John 2:14 about ABIDE) [all emphasis mine]
Piper quotes from George Muller (1805-1898) who said:
After having dressed in the morning…I had to give myself to the reading of the Word of God… and to meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, whilst meditating, my heart might be brought into experimental, communion with the Lord.
The first thing I did and after asking the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. [emphasis mine]
I read much of this as I flew home from FL today and pondered one of the verses that I had taught my grandson, Drew, to memorize this week. He says this verse with such conviction, innocence, trust, and belief, that it brings joy to my soul even more – hearing from his tiny little 2-year-old voice. Try to imagine what it sounds like from a child who pronounces each and every word with complete faith.
The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. ~ Psalm 19:1
We do a “high-five” after he completes even the reference. Drew knows (by heart) several other verses including their references. Do I sound like a proud grandmother? I am more in awe of how precious the Word is when spoken and memorized by a little child. If Drew can memorize it and allow it to abide in his heart, so can I, and so can you. I looked at the skies [God's glory, design and work of His hands] in a whole new light because of that verse.
Thanks for allowing me to share just a glimpse of my world (in Christ) with you! Feel free to post comments on the bog website or share truths with me as well. Let us encourage one another with the reading of God's Holy Word!
Choosing Joy,
Stephanie
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