Today's
scripture: Psalm 25:4-5
We who follow Jesus Christ serve the one true God. He is gracious, merciful,
righteous, and just ... and He is personal, wanting to be known by His
children.
Other faith systems believe in some kind of higher power that is "out
there" somewhere. Our God isn't like that at all. He knows us and wants to
be known by us. He has left us a wonderful gift in His words that show us His
heart.
We know God through His word, and all we have to do is study and meditate on
its words. He "shows [us His] ways" and "teach[es us His] paths;
He lead[s us in His] truth and teach[es us]" through the God-breathed
words in the Bible.
That's why it is critical for believers to spend daily time in the Bible,
studying and pondering its words. This is more than just a cursory reading just
a verse here and there; rather, it is taking significant time prayerfully
meditating on what God is trying to tell us. It's asking questions like,
"Lord, what do you want me to know about this verse, this chapter?"
Our God wants to teach us. He wants to show us His ways and paths. He wants to
reveal His plans. He only asks that we spend time with Him.
Today, grab your Bible. Pray for God's revelation as you read, study, and
meditate on His word.
Know Him more today.
Today’s scripture: Psalm 12:6-8
I’ve written before (and will certainly write again J) that I love God’s word! I am
eternally (and I mean that literally) grateful that He chose to leave us a
document, inspired by the Spirit and written by men, that tells us about Him
and how we should live to please Him.
Studying and meditating on God’s word is so very, very important for
Christ-followers. If we want to know Him, if we want to be like Christ, if we
want to serve well, we need to spend time in the “pure words” of the
scriptures.
I’m part of a small group of ladies that meets weekly to discuss what God has
taught us through His word and through the various studies we go through. And
every time, even if I’ve read passages before, I always learn something new.
And the more I study and meditate, I’m drawn even closer to God.
Let me encourage you now: If you’re not spending daily time with the Lord in
study and meditation of His word, please schedule that time! It’ll become the
most important part of your day!
Today's
scripture: Psalm 4:4b
I love the second part of today's verse. I really, truly do.
First, I love how I'm given permission to "meditate ... on [my] bed
..."! So many days, all I want to do is curl into a little ball and pull
the covers over my head. Often, I'll have my time of Bible study and prayer in
bed, and I love that I'm able to spend time with the Lord and still rest my
body. God meets me where I am, and if that's my bed, then He's okay with that.
Besides, the psalmist says I can!
Second, I love the reminder that we are to "be still." We live such
hectic, busy lives. Running here and there. Working. Committees. Kids'
activities. Friends. Family. Ministry. Church.
So many things vie for our attention. Sometimes, we get so lost in the noise
that we forget to listen for the most important voice: God's. Several years ago,
I wrote a book based on a retreat talk I give, and in it I wrote:
The most
important thing about listening for God’s voice is that, in order for Him to be
heard, you must be silent. God doesn’t want to compete with the world’s noise,
nor should He. We know God, we hear His voice, in the stillness, in the quiet.
(The Best Laid Plans © 2005 Sauni
Rinehart, All Rights Reserved)
Being still, just being quiet in God's presence is a gift.
It's something we must do, if we want to hear God's voice.
So, now you've been given permission: Spend time today (whether on your bed or
not!) in quiet meditation of God's word. Quiet your heart and mind, and be
still. Listen for God's voice.
He'll speak to you in those quiet moments.
Today's
scripture: Psalm 1:2
Monday, we looked at what the man (or woman) who is blessed by God shouldn’t
do. Today, we look at what we should
do.
Our delight should be in the law of the Lord. One’s delight is what “brings a
high degree of gratification or extreme satisfaction.” It is “something that
gives great pleasure” (Webster’s
Dictionary). When we delight in God’s word, we “take great pleasure” in His
commandments and promises. We revel in those scriptures that encourage and
affirm, and we strive to live by those passages that convict and exhort.
So how do we find great pleasure in God’s word? We study it. We learn from it.
Indeed, we meditate on it “day and night.”
You know what “day and night” means to me? And even as I write these words, I’m
feeling very convicted. It’s certainly more than reading a verse now and again.
It’s even more than reading a bit of scripture every day.
“Day and night” means something more. It means regularly and consistently
spending time interacting with the words God inspired. It means studying them,
pondering them. Praying over them.
I believe with all my heart that God wants to speak to His children, and one of
the ways He does so is through His written word. He longs to bless us, but to
receive the blessing of hearing His voice through the Bible, we must spend time
in it.
Delighting in it. Day and night.
Today’s
scripture: Jeremiah 15:16
Oh, how I want this to be true in my life. I so want God’s word to be the “joy
and rejoicing of my heart.”
I read God’s word every day. I read a few devotionals, and for over a decade, I’ve
read the Bible in its entirety each year. I really do love it.
But I have to admit that, sometimes, it is just another thing on my “to do”
list. I don’t “eat” God’s word as a necessity, something I need, something I
crave. And, during those times, I pray that God will give me a hunger and
thirst for His word. I pray for a renewed desire to study and meditate on His
word.
I don’t want my time with the Lord and time in His word to be anything less
than a time of rejoicing, and so I pray again today that He will speak to me,
reveal truth to me … remind me of the joy in knowing Him more.
Do you hunger after God’s word? If not, may I invite you to join me in the same
prayer?
Today’s
scripture: Romans 10:17
Faith can be tough. Believing in something—or Someone—whom you cannot touch
with your hands or see with your eyes is difficult and defies logic.
So, how can you find faith?
We are incredibly blessed that God gave us His very words so we can know Him. We
learn of Him through the stories of the history of the nation of Israel, through
the words of wisdom in Proverbs, through the songs of praise in Psalms … all
the way through the gospels and the epistles.
The Bible illuminates the One who created the heavens and the earth. It points
to His incredible love for His children. It describes His super-abundant grace.
It is, indeed, an incredible gift.
Our faith is not blind. It is not wishful thinking. It is not ignorant. No, our
faith is built on truth that is made evident through God’s word to us.
In order to really know God, you must study and “hear” His word. As I’ve encouraged
over and over, spend time with the Lord today.
Today’s
scripture: Romans 15:4
Communication is key in any relationship. Think of any successful relationship
you’ve ever been in or observed. Don’t the people in this kind of relationship
talk to one another, share their hearts with one another?
Our relationship with the Lord is similar. We need to communicate with Him.
We speak to Him when we pray; He speaks to us through His word.
God has given us the incredible privilege of being able to read the words that
He inspired His servants to write. And we can learn about Him and His love for
us as we read the Scriptures.
Even more, we can be comforted by His words and that comfort can give us hope.
God desires to speak with us. He wants
to tell us how He loves us, and He wants to commune with us. We can read verses
and chapters and books in the Bible and know, with all confidence, that God,
our Heavenly Father, is speaking with us. And we can, just like with our
relationships on earth, hear the words He wants to say.
Spend some time in God’s word today, and listen to what He has to say to you.
Today’s
scripture: Psalm 119:147
Mornings can be tough for many of us. I know they can be tough for me
sometimes.
A sleepless night.
Anticipation of a stressful day at work.
Do you often wake up, pause for a moment, and then just turn over and pull the
covers over your head? Well, maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively?
What do you do when you wake up with fear, with worry, with concerns?
The Bible tells us. We can hope in God’s word.
But here’s the catch: You need to know His word.
When you know what God says about protecting you and providing for you, you can
have hope. When you know verses that say that Jesus has overcome the world, you
can have hope. When you know that the Bible says that “God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1), you can have
hope.
The more you know God and His word, the more you can have confidence that, when
you wake in need of help, you can have hope in God’s word.
Spend some time in God’s word today. Ask Him to show you those verses that
speak of His care for you.
Today’s scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-17
Doesn’t it seem that everything is protected these days? Sexual orientation.
Race. Gender. Religion … oh, unless you’re a Christian. Then all bets are off.
Stand up comics regularly denounce Christians. Politicians lambast us.
Celebrities complain about our narrow-mindedness. And don’t get me started
about the media.
But we shouldn’t be surprised. The apostle Peter warned us two millennia ago.
We will likely “suffer for the sake of righteousness.” We can expect
“intimidation.” We may even be “slandered” and people may “revile [our] good
behavior in Christ.
So what are we to do when we face persecution because of our faith?
First, we’re to “sanctify Christ as Lord in [our] heart[s].” Sanctify means “to
set apart.” We need to keep Christ fully in our hearts.
Second, we need to boldly—and gently—proclaim what we believe and why. And this
means we need to know what we believe and why. We need to study God’s word,
meditate on it, live by it (see Joshua 1:8).
If we stand up for our faith, we will be blessed. When we face the revilers,
the jokesters, and the slanderers with intelligence and kindness, we will be
blessed.
So “be ready to make a defense” of your faith. Because, sooner or later, you’ll
need to stand firm.
Today’s scripture: 2 Timothy 2:16-18
A few years ago, I read a great book on the history of the Christian church (The Story of Christianity, Volume 1, The
Early Church to the Reformation, by Justo L. Gonzalez), and I was astounded
to see how quickly false teachers and doctrines appeared in the early church. As
early as the fifth century AD, there were hundreds of accounts of sects
and factions.
Clearly this was already happening in Paul’s time, not long after Jesus’
resurrection. So why should we be surprised that the church (and I mean the
church as a whole) is full of “worldly and empty chatter”? Pastors are
preaching skewed messages of prosperity for all or works getting us to heaven.
They say from pulpits that Jesus isn’t the only way.
And these messages too are “spread[ing] like gangrene.” What a vivid
illustration that is! When infection sets into a wound, and it goes untreated,
gangrene insidiously takes over. And if it continues to go untreated, often the
tissue of the infected arm or the leg dies, and the limb has to be removed.
I’ve written many, many times, the only way to know God’s truth is to read His
word. Bankers know counterfeit bills not by studying them; rather, they know
counterfeit by studying the real thing. That too is how we know counterfeit
doctrine: by studying the real thing.
Let’s speak truth, and never allow false doctrine to enter our message.
Today’s scripture: 2 Timothy 2:14-15
One of our responsibilities as children of God is to encourage our brothers and
sisters in Christ. And we are to remind each other about God’s faithfulness,
speaking truth from His word. We’re not to “wrangle about words,” or as one paraphrase says, “argue about words” (CEV).
We can be very opinionated, and many of us are fiercely loyal to our particular
translation of the Bible. And that’s okay. I grew up with the New American
Standard Version of the Bible, and it still tends to be my favorite. In my
studies, I also review the New King James Version, The Message, The Amplified
version, The New Living Translation, and the Contemporary English Version.
However, we have to be careful not to be so attached to our translation that we
“wrangle” with others about how our version is the only one. When we get into
arguments about wording, we’re not being examples of Christian unity.
Instead, we should remember that God is bigger than any of our Bible
translations. If He inspired the original authors, why wouldn’t He work through
the pens of translators and paraphrasers? (As an aside, I do believe that some
versions have been watered down or aren’t as accurate translations of the
original language, but not being a scholar, I can’t intelligently enter that
debate.)
And our real responsibility is to know and study God’s word ourselves—even
researching and reading several other translations—and then to be prepared to
share that truth with others. We need to both unashamedly and accurately handle
the Bible.
Only then will we be the workers God has designed us to be.
Today’s
scripture: 1 Timothy 1:18-19
Paul gave good counsel to Timothy—counsel we should heed ourselves.
We need to fight the good fight. And whom are we fighting? In another letter,
Paul wrote that “our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces
of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
places” (Eph. 6:12). We’re fighting against the devil and his forces, and
in order to combat them, we need to daily put on our “armor.” (See Eph. 6:10-17.)
We need to keep the faith. As we deepen our relationships with God, our faith
grows stronger and less vulnerable to the lies of the enemy. We need to spend
time with God every day. Reading, studying, and meditating on the Bible.
Praying. Spending time in quiet solitude, just listening to His voice. Learning
about Him through corporate worship.
We need to keep a good conscience. If we seek God’s will and do what He’s
called us to do, we will grow more and more like Christ. Sin will be abhorrent
to us, and we will strive to live righteously.
If we live for God, if we keep Him the priority of our lives, we won’t reject
our faith and “suffer shipwreck.”
Today's scripture: Colossians 2:8-15
We are bombarded these days with "philosophy and empty deception"
that strive to take our focus off of Christ. Some of it sounds viable. Or
interesting. Or compelling. However, their only purpose is to make us question
biblical truth.
Anything that isn't of Christ, anything that proclaims Him as being anything
less than what He is needs to be discarded.
Someone says He was just a good man or teacher? That can't be because He
Himself claimed to be one with God (John 10:30).
Someone says He was just another human being and sinned just as we do? No. The
writer of Hebrews, whose words were God-breathe, wrote, "For
we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One
who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (4:15). That "high priest" is Christ Himself.
Someone says Christianity is just one of many ways to get to heaven? Not if you
believe the Bible. Jesus made it very clear that He is the only way to get to
the Father (John 14:6).
If you're a true Christian, a Bible-believing Christ follower, than you cannot
believe anything that contradicts what Christ Himself said or what God breathed
through the pens of men. Jesus Christ, God the Son, our Savior, is the
foundation of our faith. Read His words. Meditate on His truths.
Follow Him and Him alone.
Today's scripture:
Colossians 2:6-7
So many people call themselves Christians because they were born in the United
States, or their family background is Christianity. Others say, since they're
not anything else (Muslim, Buddhist, Hindi, Jewish), they must be Christian.
And tragically, much has been done by so-called Christians that has been
detrimental to the truth.
Being a Christian—a true follower of Christ—is so much more than a name. Being
a Christ-follower means one has "received Christ Jesus the Lord ..."
She has accepted the gift of salvation the death, burial, and resurrection of
Him. Most of all, it means she walks with Jesus every day. She focuses on
becoming more and more "firmly rooted ... built up in Him and established
in [her] faith ..."
To be firmly rooted and built up and established requires a few things:
We must know truth—God's truth—through daily study and meditation on His word.
We must read the Bible and prayerfully seek God's will as we do so.
We must pray. Praising Him. Thanking Him. Interceding for others. Listening to
His voice. As the apostle Paul wrote, we should, "... pray without ceasing
..." (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
We must worship with others. The writer of Hebrews reminds us to “not forsake …
assembling together” (10:25). Something really, really special happens when
we're surrounded by others who share our faith in the one true God.
We must practice Christ-likeness. To do this, we need to study His character.
How did He interact with others? How did He interact with His Father? What was
more important to Him than anything else? How did He react to temptation? When
we study the character of Christ, we learn how to love others, how to show
mercy and grace, how to counteract the enemy's lies.
We must demonstrate the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, gentleness,
self-control and all the rest (Galatians 5:22-23).
If we practice these things, we become were to practice these things, the world
would see something very attractive, very compelling in us. And perhaps we
might be the light the brings someone to Jesus.
Today's scripture: Colossians 1:28-29
While we're on earth, we who follow Christ have one mission: glorify God,
proclaiming His goodness, sharing His truth.
In order to do that, we must know His word, and in order to that, we must study and meditate on it.
Daily. In fact, to use a word from Paul, we must labor in learning God's word. While in the context of these verses,
Paul is referring to "admonishing ... and teaching every man ...," I
believe that word also applies to our study of God's word in order to proclaim
Him well.
To labor means to "exert one's powers of body or mind
especially with painful or strenuous effort" (Merriam-Webster online). Now I certainly don't find studying God's
word painful, but I do find myself needing to "exert" my mind with
"strenuous [defined: "vigorously active") effort." To
really understand and apply God's word, yes to admonish and teach, but to
proclaim Him, takes focus. And time. And effort.
And it can't be a short skim through a verse or two although any time in the
Bible is certainly worthwhile. Throughout God's word, we learn of how we can labor to know God's word.
Psalm 1:2 tells us we're to "delight" in and
"meditate on [God's word] day and night." Then Joshua 1:8 says we're
not to allow His word to "depart from [our] mouth ..." And, again,
we're to "meditate on it day and night." Finally, Psalm 119:97 says
we're to "love [God's] law" and "meditate on it all the
day."
That's how we labor to know God's word. That's how we're able to admonish and
teach others.
That's how we can proclaim Him.
Today's scripture: Psalm 1:2
Yesterday, we looked at what the man (or woman) who is blessed by God shouldn’t
do. Today, we look at what we should
do.
Our delight should be in the law of the Lord. One’s delight is what “brings a
high degree of gratification or extreme satisfaction.” It is “something that
gives great pleasure” (Webster’s
Dictionary). When we delight in God’s word, we “take great pleasure” in His
commandments and promises. We revel in those scriptures that encourage and
affirm, and we strive to live by those passages that convict and exhort.
So how do we find great pleasure in God’s word? We study it. We learn from it.
Indeed, we meditate on it “day and night.”
You know what “day and night” means to me? And even as I write these words, I’m
feeling very convicted. It’s certainly more than reading a verse now and again.
It’s even more than reading a bit of scripture every day.
“Day and night” means something more. It means regularly and consistently
spending time interacting with the words God inspired. It means studying them,
pondering them. Praying over them.
I believe with all my heart that God wants to speak to His children, and one of
the ways He does so is through His written word. He longs to bless us, but to
receive the blessing of hearing His voice through the Bible, we must spend time
in it.
Delighting in it. Day and night.
Today's
scripture: Psalm 19:7-11
Have I mentioned how much I love, love, love God's word? I don't know why I'm
continually amazed how it speaks to me in new ways even though I've read it all
the way through each year for the last decade and even though I've studied books,
chapters, and verses over and over again.
I have to confess, though, that I hadn't been focusing on in-depth study for a while. I
did read daily devotionals, write this blog, do topical studies, and continue
my "through the year" reading, but I wasn't truly meditating on God's word.
I just let "life" take over ... and I know me. If I want to be
grounded in the Bible and continue to grow in my faith, I must have this focused time.
God knows my heart and my desire to know Him more, so He blessed me with a new
small group at church a few weeks ago, and we began a study in the book of
James ... and I remembered how amazing His word truly is.
Then, this morning, I meditated on today's scripture, and tears filled my eyes.
May I encourage you to read through them again? And again? Maybe in a few
different versions (I especially love the CEV's paraphrase)?
God's word is such an amazing gift. It encourages, affirms, educates, edifies,
convicts, teaches ... sometimes all at the same time. I encourage you to spend
time, real time, in it every day. Meditate on its truths. Revel in its
encouragement. Learn from its conviction.
And delight in the knowledge that your God loves you so very much that He left
a written document ... just for you!
Today's scripture: Psalm 32:8-9
Sometimes I feel like a "horse or ... [a] mule ..." Did that catch
your attention (if so, you should click on the link to today's scripture!)?
The psalmist writes that the Lord wants to instruct and teach us. He wants to
guide us. But sometimes we're like horses or mules that must be harnessed in
order to lead them.
I love horses. I fell in love with them when I was a preteen. We lived in
Cerritos, California, before there was a shopping center or auto mall. Behind
us lived a family that owned a few horses, and I just loved visiting them. I
rode a bit when I was younger, and I've continued my infatuation to this day
(even though I don't get a chance to ride these days ...). Can't say I know
much about mules ...
One thing I have to say, though: Horses don't usually seek to be guided or led. They would much rather be out in the
pasture roaming free. They have to be trained, and that training usually
includes bits and harnesses, which curtail their freedom. Sometimes, in the
training process, a horse will rebel, pulling against the restraints.
Sometimes, I too try to pull away from God's teaching. Can you relate?
Then I stop to think about what it really means that God wants to teach me.
Instruct me. It is His desire that learn more about Him, that I know Him more
and more deeply.
I can learn from Him, be instructed by Him, be guided by Him—that's one of the
reasons He left His written word for me ... for you.
Don't be like a horse ... or a mule ... and fight God's instruction. Read His
word. Study it. Meditate on it. Seek His guidance every day, every moment.
Follow His path.
Today's scripture: Psalm 4:4b: "Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be
still."
I love today's verse. I really, truly to.
First, I love how I'm given permission to "meditate ... on [my] bed
..."! So many days, all I want to do is curl into a little ball and pull
the covers over my head. Often, I'll have my time of Bible study and prayer in
bed, and I love that I'm able to spend time with the Lord and still rest my
body. God meets me where I am, and if that's my bed, then He's okay with that.
Besides, the psalmist says I can!
Second, I love the reminder that we are to "be still." We live such
hectic, busy lives. Running here and there. Work. Committees. Kids'
activities. Friends. Family. Ministry. Church.
So many things vie for our attention. Sometimes, we get so lost in the noise
that we forget to listen for the most important voice: God's. A few years ago,
I wrote a book based on a retreat talk I give, and in it I wrote:
The most important thing
about listening for God’s voice is that, in order for Him to be heard, you must
be silent. God doesn’t want to compete with the world’s noise, nor should He.
We know God, we hear His voice, in the stillness, in the quiet. (The Best Laid Plans © 2005 Sauni
Rinehart, All Rights Reserved)
Being still, just being quiet in God's presence is a gift. It's
something we must do if we want to hear God's voice.
So, now you've been given permission: Spend time today (whether on your bed or
not!) in quiet meditation of God's word. Quiet your heart and mind, and be
still. Listen for God's voice.
He'll speak to you in those quiet moments.
