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The Word Of God
The Word Of God
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
At age 20 we worry about what others think of us. At 40 we don't care what they think of us. At 60 we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all.-Ann Landers
The self-help industry is a multi-million dollar industry. Self-help books are marketed with the promise of change, improvement, and a better life. Americans have an unquenchable thirst to better themselves, because they have a nagging discontentment with who they are and where they are.
Every man and woman knows deep down that they are broken and that they need to change for the better.
New Year's resolutions, self-control techniques, and optimistic thinking methods can only get us so far.
And for a while, they change the outside, but they really do nothing to actually change who we are on the inside.
But then we wake up and realize we are even more devoid of purpose and hope despite all of the psychological and medical research, magazines, books, talk shows, and treatment facilities, and all of the seminars, plans, and strategies for achieving personal fulfillment.
If you expect a new book, a new diet, or a new self-help philosophy to motivate you, you will be disappointed.
There is one book, however, one source of truth that is eternally transforming and is the ultimate motivator. It is a living book—a book that can change your life. Every time you open it, it will discern your heart and transform the way you think. It is a book that will keep every promise it makes. It will never fail or be insufficient. The Bible is the most powerful motivational material in the world!
The Bible Is Not Just A Book The Bible Is “My Book.”
The Bible Is Not Just A Book The Bible Is “My Book.”
Years ago, as a Bible college student pastoring on weekends, I was privileged to lead a man to the Lord. He had been searching for answers in all the wrong places and had finally come to the end of himself. Shortly after he trusted Jesus as his Saviour, he began to walk personally with the Lord and read God’s Word. Over the months, the change he had long sought after was beginning to unfold in his heart. This was true and lasting change—transformation generated by the very words of God. I was delighted to receive a letter from him several months after he began to follow the Lord. He recounted the great joy of being saved and the marvelous change God was creating in his life. But one sentence of the letter jumped off the page at me. He simply stated, “The Bible is my book…I read it often!”-Paul Chappell
So it makes sense that this man's life was changing in a big way. It is no great wonder what was changing him. It wasn't because he went to a seminar on self-improvement or bought the latest book on "how to be a better you." He made a very important choice. The Bible was the main book he read. The Bible became his greatest motivation.
Gipsy Smith told of a man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had "gone through it several times." "Let it go through you once," replied Smith, "then you will tell a different story!"
Is the Bible your book? Do you read it often? Or have you become bored and disconnected from the transformational truths contained within it?
God’s Word Changes Us
God’s Word Changes Us
The Word of God changes every part of our life in a way that simply cannot be denied. If we are honest we can trace every big decision, every blessing, and every major turning point back to the Book.
God's Word can stir, change, and move us in ways that no human tool can. God speaks to us directly through His Word, giving us new truth, courage, strength, and hope. Every time we open God's Word, we are in presence and God's power is available to us.
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
Every time we open the Bible, we lay down on God's operating table and let Him do spiritual surgery and He does an eternal work in our hearts. God's Word always helps us become more like Jesus Christ. When we look back over our Christian lives, we know we can trace every big decision, every blessing, and every important turning point back to the Bible.
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
The Powerfully Positive Effects Of God’s Word
The Powerfully Positive Effects Of God’s Word
God tells us many very specific blessings which are associated with His Word.
God’s Word is profitable because it is given by God to us.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Because God’s Word is alive, powerful, and sharp it discerns and reveals our hearts to us.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God’s Word is guaranteed to produces a change in us.
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
God’s Word gives us patience, comfort and hope.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
God’s Word is perfect, sure , right, and pure.
I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, When I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.
I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
God’s Word purifies our lives.
BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.
God’s Word lights and directs our path.
NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
God’s Word prevents us from being offended.
Great peace have they which love thy law: And nothing shall offend them.
God’s Word brings true success and prosperity.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
God’s Word gives us understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
The entrance of thy words giveth light; It giveth understanding unto the simple.
God’s Word is the purest wealth.
The words of the Lord are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
When we are weary, God’s Word will encourage us.
When we seek answers, God’s Word will guide us.
When we need strength, God’s Word will revive us.
When we face a trial, God’s Word will sustain we.
When we enter into despair, God’s Word will give us hope.
When we need wisdom, God’s Word will enlighten we.
When we need to know God’s heart, God’s Word will lead we.
When we wander away from Jesus, God’s Word will find us and show us the path back home.
Where Do We Turn For Answers?
Where Do We Turn For Answers?
You can't quote the Bible indiscriminately. I remember the story of two lawyers during a trial. One thought he would make a great impression on the jury by quoting from the Bible. So he said concerning his opponent's client, "We have it on the highest authority that it has been said, 'All that a man has will he give for his skin.'" But the other lawyer knew the Bible better. He said, "I am very much impressed by the fact that my distinguished colleague here regards as the highest authority the one who said, 'All that a man has will he give for his skin.' You will find that this saying comes from the Book of Job, and the one who utters it is the devil. And that is whom he regards as the highest authority!"Where do we turn for renewal?-Ray Stedman
Where do we look for answers?
Where do we go when we need change and personal growth?
Too many of us have lost interest in the most important source of spiritual nourishment and motivation. We have grown tired of it.
We most often look to ourselves first, and God's Word is the furthest thing from our minds when things aren't going the way we thought they would.
Are we letting other things, like Internet philosophy, apathy, distractions, or neglect, replace and/or undermine God's Word in our lives?
Do we go to Google before the Bible when we have a serious question about life?
When we have questions about life, we should try to find the answer in and understand God's Word.
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And hide my commandments with thee;
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thine heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, And liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver, And searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord giveth wisdom: Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
God's Word should be our life's anchor. We should dive into His truth with all our heart. We should set aside time every day to read it, learn it by heart, and think about it. By doing this, we will find a deep spiritual motivation and change that we can not find anywhere else.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
How We Find Answers
How We Find Answers
God's Word is an incredible, incomparable, and incomprehensible treasure that is right at our fingertips. How could we not use it to guide our lives and help us serve God?
Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today--if only we would read and believe.-Ronald Reagan
We Consistently Spend Time With God In His Word
We Consistently Spend Time With God In His Word
When we help other people, we are often tempted to skip our own time with the Lord. We can’t give in to this pressure. Instead, we must set aside time every day to saturate our mind in God's Word. We must use it to learn more about God and spend more time with God.
We Meditate On The Promises Of God That Are Only Available Through His Word
We Meditate On The Promises Of God That Are Only Available Through His Word
The more we remember the treasures contained in Scripture The more they will motivate us to seek God’s blessings for ourself.
Maybe we need to read Psalm 19 and discover specifically how God uses His Word in our lives.
Maybe we need to study Psalm 119 and take note of the many ways in which God's Word impacts us.
From Time To Time We Take Inventory Of The Ways God’s Word Has Changed Your Life
From Time To Time We Take Inventory Of The Ways God’s Word Has Changed Your Life
God's Word inspires change in our lives, our thoughts, our habits, our wants, our choices, and our way of living. We need to stop from time to time to think about the good things God has done in our lives, it can and will make you want to change your life even more.
We Center Our Life Of Service For God Around His Word.
We Center Our Life Of Service For God Around His Word.
We have nothing to give unbelievers outside of the truth of God’s Word. Our efforts to help others that are absent of God's Word will be shallow and short-lived. Service for God must be empowered by God's Spirit and filled with His Word which bring life, hope, and lasting change.
When their son left for his freshman year at Duke University, his parents gave him a Bible, assuring him it would be a great help. Later, as he began sending them letters asking for money, they would write back telling him to read his Bible, citing chapter and verse. He would reply that he was reading the Bible--but he still needed money. When he came home for a semester break, his parents told him they knew he had not been reading his Bible. How? They had tucked $10 and $20 bills by the verses they had cited in their letters.-John T. Spacht