Tag: God’s Word

Immersed in God’s Word

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HIGHLIGHT

Matthew 4:10 (ESV): 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

EXPLAIN

After Jesus was baptized, before he began his earthly ministry, the Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. It was essential that Jesus be tempted and overcome.

God was not evil in allowing the devil to tempt Jesus nor in determining that Jesus should be tempted. God did not desire for His Son to choose evil, but to be tested by evil and overcome. So it is in God’s dealings with humanity.

Jesus answered every temptation with “It is written.” He was thoroughly steeped in God’s Word. He thought, spoke, and acted in and by God’s teachings. And the devil could not resist him.

APPLY

It is good to know the difference between right and wrong. It is good to refuse temptation on this basis. It is good to know that the standard for morality is God’s Word. But do we know God’s Word well enough to resist temptation by God’s Word?

Can we say, “I will do or not do thus and so because God’s Word says [blank]”? Do we have such a familiarity with and faithfulness with scripture that it permeates all we do?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, I desire to be immersed even more so into your Word so that all my thoughts, words, and actions reflect fidelity to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sweet and bitter

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HIGHLIGHT

Revelation 10:10 (ESV): 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter.

EXPLAIN

In John’s revelation of the end times, the angel with the sixth trumpet revealed three plagues which killed 1/3rd of mankind. Yet the rest of mankind did not repent of their great wickedness.

Then another mighty angel came down from heaven, setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land. He called out and seven thunders sounded, but a voice from heaven told John to seal up those words and not write it down. While John’s revelation tells us a good deal about the end of time, there are details that we do not know and must wait to see.

The voice from heaven spoke again, commanding John to take the scroll from the angel and eat it. It was sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach.

APPLY

Reading and meditating on God’s Word for the devoted follower of Jesus is like eating a tasty supper meal. But even though we may rejoice at the wonderful words of life, we know that for those who refuse to submit to Christ, heartache and judgment await. So those same sweet words can be bitter to our stomach.

Faithfulness in proclaiming God’s Word to others is sweet, yet can be disappointing. Yet we must remain faithful in sharing the good news.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful privilege you have given me in being a preacher of the Gospel. May I be faithful to proclaim you Word to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Wise unto salvation

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HIGHLIGHT

2 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV): 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

EXPLAIN

Throughout 2 Timothy 2-3 Paul wrote his son in the faith, encouraging him and challenging him to live and serve faithfully for Jesus, despite those in the church who focused on irreverent babble, twisting scripture and becoming doctrinally confused, as well as those in the world who would continue to live wickedly and oppose God’s people.

The salvation that God’s Word would make Timothy wise about is not “initial salvation” in which we are redeemed from sin and become children of God.

Rather, this salvation refers to our final salvation or to salvation in its entire scope – being saved by grace through faith, growing in grace, being filled fully with the Holy Spirit, and being welcomed into eternity as a good and faithful servant.

APPLY

A seemingly alarming number of believers today are questioning and even abandoning their faith. Also, a frightening number are adding onto their faith extra-biblical teachings that are not supported by God’s Word, but actually contradict it.

There is a place and need to “critically” study scripture. But scripture can and will stand up to faithful exposition; we must not abandon our faith!

Furthermore, scripture is all we need for life and godliness; we must not add or subtract to God’s Word because the plain text doesn’t support the popular ideas of people, whether inside or outside the church.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your written Word which gives us life. May I live faithfully according to your teachings by faith in Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Faith comes by hearing God’s Word

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HIGHLIGHT

Romans 10:17 (ESV): 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

EXPLAIN

In Romans 9-10, Paul speaks about his passion to see his fellow people, Jews, accept Christ as Lord and Savior. While Paul was appointed an apostle to the Gentiles, he had a deep love for his own people that ached because so many had rejected Jesus as Messiah.

Paul delved into the sovereignty and purposes of God, yet his conclusion was that everyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. But in order to believe, they must hear the good news. And hearing the good requires someone to proclaim it. And so faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

APPLY

Preaching a sermon, teaching a Bible study, or merely sharing the good news with a friend can be a challenging prospect.

Sometimes gospel proclaimers can veer to extremes: one may depart from a text never to return while another may get in the weeds of exposition and fail to make practical application.

We are all imperfect messengers. Rather than receiving a gospel presentation through the lenses of critique, our response should instead be to listen for the Holy Spirit’s voice speaking through his servant.

Yet in whatever capacity and method we seek to share the good news, our focus should be on sharing the Word of God. Faith comes through hearing God’s Word; therefore, our intention must be to share God’s message to the world!

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to share your good news with someone today, knowing and trusting that faith comes through the hearing of your Word. Amen.

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