All in Living God’s Word
Living our lives with Jesus is more than attaching a series of disjointed moments that have been separated by periods of time in which He is absent into something we then call our faith. God is never here and then gone, but is with us always and in all things. Our Lord Jesus doesn't abandon us to our own devices only to return once we have sufficiently screwed things up... He is with us always, and our relationship with Him is meant to be our unwavering focus.
Oh, I pray that we would all be seen as letters from Christ. I pray that our hearts would contain the Word of God, written there by His mighty finger as it moves within us. I pray that we each make our hearts and spirits to be living tablets, spiritual scrolls, and that we open them to Him. When we turn our gaze inward I pray that we find His Word there. When those around us watch us living out our lives it is my deepest desire that they see the image of Jesus Christ, and hear God’s Word, alive, and powerful, as if read aloud, and echoing from the mountains, and through the valleys of our lives and beings. Do others see our faith thriving within us as their example, and edification as they walk the pilgrim’s path towards their own righteousness, and as they seek holiness, and perfection within themselves? Are these prayers rising from your heart today?
Is the Word of God alive in us? Do we value it like fine gold, but seek to hold it close to us like a warm and breathing newborn infant? So often we look at the words on a page, or computer screen, and lose sight of their power, and the life in them. God’s Word is more that ink, or a Pixel on a screen... it breathes life into us, and as we study, and pray, it becomes the voice of God within us. When we incorporate it into our prayers it instills His will into our desires, and heals us with His touch... can we truly say that God’s Word is living in us?
Do we keep the Word of the Lord fresh in our minds? Do we remember what He has commanded us to do so that we will not fall into sin? It is so easy to walk rather innocently into a sinful situation if we follow after our own whims, or lean on our own understanding. In order that we remain on the path of righteousness we must have A roadmap, or directions for our journey, and remember which way to turn when we encounter various crossroads. Do we diligently study the map of faith?
We say that Jesus abides in us, and we in Him. We also say that He abides In the Father, and the Father in Him. Believing these statements to be scripturally true, and claiming them for ourselves, then we must also believe that the scripture which says that God is light, and in Him is no darkness is truth too. So, the first statements tell us that by abiding in Jesus we too abide in the light of God, and that He is in us as well, but where will our continued sinning leave us? Do these jaunts into the darkness separate us from God? Are we choosing our humanity over our spiritually transformed selves; darkness over light?
How often do we pray the Lord’s Prayer? Do we pray it so frequently that we now mouth the words without thinking about each and every one that we are praying, and no longer seek its full meaning with our hearts? Memorization can breed familiarization, and when we become overly familiar with something we tend to lose the intensity of our feeling for it. Favorite scriptures can start out this way; we commit them to memory because we are moved by them, but as the years go by we find ourselves simply reciting them, and no longer visiting their deeper meaning. Do you feel yourself slipping into such familiarity?
In times of plague, or Pandemic, we are challenged, and this challenge is multiplied, as sickness races around the world. In such situations we have a tendency to fall into despair, fear, and panic. In times like this we are prone to lose our courage, and feel our strength of faith waning as it is attacked on all fronts by doubt, and the lies of Satan. He tells us such things as “God has forgotten you”, “God is angry with you and will strike you down with plague!”, or “This is too big for God to handle!”, but all of these lies are untrue for those who believe. God’s Word is certainly the hope of the faithful.
How much time do we spend in God’s Word each day? Are we guilty of trivializing the process of study and meditation, neglecting it for the simple process of reading? Although reading God’s Word is important, it is only the beginning, it is the deeper process of mulling it over, and absorbing it that benefits us most.
Do you lean on your own understanding when you read scripture? Do you try to discern the meaning of God’s Word by your own insufficient intellect? The apostles had Jesus right there with them, and yet they were so often confused by what He said, and had to have it repeated and explained. It was not until the Holy Spirit came into them that they were truly enlightened.