Fed up! in His Word 9-3-13

Fed Up in His Word! 9-3-13
Are you fed up? Have you had enough?

But I have promised you, 'You will possess their land because I will give it to you as your possession—a land flowing with milk and honey.' I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from all other people. Leviticus 20:24

Daily reads are daily feeds; we need to get fed up in the Word to get on with each day.
Just like we need a good breakfast, quality not quantity is important both physically and spiritually in our daily walk.

This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore and it is indeed a bountiful country – a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. Numbers 13:27
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are full of age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14

God wants us to grow from babes to adults in the Word. He has given us physical food that will either make us strong or make fat depending on what we do with it.
If we choose to eat and not do anything with the energy it has given us; if we sit around all day doing nothing with the food we have eaten we will get fat. That is the truth plain and simple; we must use what we receive or it will turn on us!
If we receive food and do not eat it, the food will spoil and no longer give us life. Some spoiled food actually does more damage than good. So food left on the shelf, or in the fridge is not a good plan for us.
If we cook food wrong, or eat some foods without proper preparation we will get sick.
If we receive food and ignore it, it will not sustain us nor nourish our bodies; unused food is a waste.

It is the same with the Word of God, your Bible. If it just sits on a shelf it will get dusty and destruction will not be far behind. It will be of no benefit to us to let it sit on the shelf no matter how much we stare at its cover.
As a child I had a Bible that I would play school with; it was my mother's from her childhood but I did not now this then. I had attended a school or two that read through the first chapter of Genesis at least each year in the fall. I knew that God created the heavens and the earth, but not much else from the Word. I did know it was important and that you were supposed to keep it dust free! It was after all a Holy Bible!
So I had a spot on my shelf, the top shelf mind you, that I would place my “Daily Word” devotional and on top of that my little Gideon's New Testament.
The Daily Word sat pretty much unread but occasionally I had changed a page and read a portion.
Can you imagine if I had done that with physical food? Set it on the shelf to look good? To keep it fresh I dusted the pages so that would be like occasionally brushing off dust or maybe even wiping the counter below it?
And yet that is what we do with the Bible in many households around the world. We keep it nice and in a safe place... for what?
God gave us His words, breathed them into existence through many writers and speakers and yet we do not use it for what it is made for.
Why? Because we do not realize just how healthy it is to feed on the Word of God.
Its time to get real about what we eat~! I hear that a lot, people telling us to eat this or that in big quantities to get healthy. They tell us to exclude certain foods and add others and we will be healthful and strong. I tell you you need to feed on the Word as if it were your last morsel of food; as if you hadn't eaten in days you need to devour the Word of God.

When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven's Armies. Jeremiah 15:16

In order to have our lives strongly growing in the Lord, we must have the Word in our hearts and minds.
In order to gain knowledge of Who He is, we must devour the Word daily tearing apart the words and gaining understanding and insight to what He has written for us there.

Today while listening to my child read the Word of God, I paid close attention to said child's descriptions of what he was reading. Though it was for a school project my child was truly devouring and gaining increased understanding because of it. “This is what it is all about,” I told myself, “digging in the scriptures and figuring out what good will come from it; whether it be the taste or simple joy received and good feelings or a deeper understanding.” We need to long after the Word of God like we do a delicious dessert!
Until you take a bite of pie you do not know if it tastes good or bad.
So this week I challenge you to take a bite of pie! Taste and see that the Lord's Word is good!
I want you, and myself, to devour the words as though we would never get to read it again. Think about what we are reading, savor the flavors before swallowing. Sometimes the Word of God is difficult to swallow because it means we will have to do something with what we learned.
When I enjoy the energy I receive from the food I eat I often feel the need to go for a walk, to do some exercise, or just to get to work on a project I know needs to be done. If I did not eat I would have fizzled out before I finished the task.
In the Word if we just nibble occasionally that can help us sustain a small amount of strength, and there is a time for just small reads. If we want to stay strong though, we will need to sit down for a full meal of God's guidance in order to gain wisdom and insight to what to do in our lives.
Whether you nibble or devour each day I encourage you to get fed up on the Word this week! Taste and see that the Lord's words are good!

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to dine with You each day. Nourish our spirit man and strengthen our walk that we may not falter but produce good fruit in our daily walks with You. In Jesus' name, amen.

Suggested reading: Hebrews 5:1-14, Jeremiah 15:1-21, Hebrews 6:1-20 and Hebrews 7:1-28 (continue reading Hebrews to get some really great meat!)