WHAT PLACE SHOULD THE WORD OF GOD HAVE IN MY BUSY SCHEDULE?
Throughout the Bible, we find three very important subjects discussed regarding what is necessary for us to survive and mature … AIR, WATER and FOOD. Information is found in the Bible about each of these subjects, so if you want to grow up and find God’s plan and purpose for your life, the Word of God should be your number one priority.
AIR … Man cannot live without air. After God formed the first man from the dust of the ground, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and Adam became physically alive and also spiritually alive. (Genesis 2:7) We find in 2 Timothy 3:16 that the Bible is the very breath of God, and it has been given to us for the purpose of providing DOCTRINE, REPROOF, CORRECTION, and INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS so that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ may grow up spiritually. Here are a few examples of what these words mean: The word doctrine simply means teaching, but BIBLE DOCTRINE involves the teaching of the Word of God. In warning the Children of Israel that their thoughts were far from God, the prophet Isaiah said, “These people draw near to God with their mouths, but their heart is far from Him, because they are deceived by trusting in what men say rather than what God’s Word says.” (Isaiah 29:13) Jesus called the religious rulers of His day hypocrites, because they led the people astray by teaching them to follow the commandments of men (human viewpoint) rather than teaching sound Bible Doctrine to them. (Matthew 15:7-9 and Mark 7:7) In Proverbs 4:2 we are told to listen and concentrate on the instructions of God and learn to understand them, because the Lord has given sound doctrine to us in His Word. The Lord has given some men the gift of Pastor-Teacher for the purpose of edifying believers.
Reproof shows a man that he is a sinner, and that the wages of sin is first spiritual death and then physical death. Adam sinned and died spiritually. and because we are said to be “in Adam”, we are born with a sin nature and are spiritually dead and have no fellowship with God. (Romans 5:12) Therefore, just as Jesus told Nicodemus, a learned Pharisee, that he had to have a spiritual birth and that the source of that new birth would be the Holy Spirit revealing Jesus Christ to him, God the Holy Spirit will activate our human spirit when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith alone with NOTHING added to that faith. (John 3:3-6) Peter tells us that a man must be born of incorruptible seed which is the Word of God that lives and abides forever. (1 Peter 1:23) Then, in 1 Peter 2:2 he explains that we will begin to grow up spiritually if we feed on the milk of the Word of God. In his epistles, Paul has much to say about continuing to mature as a Christian if we will desire to learn, metabolize and apply more advanced teaching of the Word.
Correction involves changing our thinking. God says that His thoughts and His ways are entirely different from ours. (Isaiah 55:8-11) In Isaiah 30:21, God says He wants us to walk in His ways rather than in our ways. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:16 that the Bible is the mind of Christ, and we need to learn to think as He does about every situation in life. Then Paul advises us to walk in faith just as we believd in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. When we do, we will be rooted, built up in Christ and established in the faith through sound Biblical teaching by pastors who know the original languages of scripture so that we may learn, metabolize and apply God’s Word on a consistent and daily basis. (Colossians 2:6-8)
WATER: In the scriptures, water is sometimes used to describe literal water and sometimes refers to the new birth as in John 3:5. God’s Word is the source of the new birth, and the Holy Spirit is the agent of salvation. When the woman of Samaria came to the well for water, Jesus offered ‘Living Water’ to her and told her if she drank it she would never thirst again. She became curious, so Jesus explained that the water He offered would provide eternal life. When she said she knew that a Messiah would come one day, Jesus told her He was that promised one, and she believed in Him.
(John chapter 4)
FOOD: The words of Moses to the second generation of the Children of Israel when he reminded them of how the Lord had cared for their fathers and for them for 40 years in the wilderness were: “MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ONLY, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3) Before Jesus began His earthly ministry, He was tempted by the devil. In Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4 we see that Jesus had been in the wilderness 40 days and 40 nights without any food, and then the tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” (Satan knew very well that was true, but he was trying to make Jesus provide for Himself rather than rely on His Father for food.) Jesus responded to the devil with the same words used by Moses hundreds of years before.
“THE WORD OF GOD IS ALIVE AND POWERFUL … SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, PIERCING EVEN TO THE DIVIDING ASUNDER OF SOUL AND SPIRIT, AND OF THE JOINTS AND MARROW, AND IS A CRITIC OF THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTS OF THE HEART.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Written By Lois Delnay
2007
Fallbrook Ranch Productions
Books for sale by L. Delnay
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Schoolhouse-Studies-Children-Teens/dp/1438212003/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212685141&sr=8-1
Links to Lois Delnay Children Bible Study Sites
http://gettoknowyourbible.org/
http://loisdelnay.bravehost.com/index.html
Lois Delnay's writings on Helium
Wood Carving by Wes
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/w/wescarvings/
http://kokopellisales.blogspot.com/
http://woodcarvingbywes.blogspot.com/
