There are people out there in our lives that are fair weather
friends; the kind of friend who is only there when things are going good and we
are not in need or full of pain. Then there are people who will take a stand
for us, or endure the pain with us. God calls us to endure with Him; He
promises to endure our trials. His Word tells us that if we will endure the
things He has put before us we will indeed give us the promises In His Word.
He has some stipulations.
First we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior and
Lord. This is how we get saved.
( Acts 16: 29-34)
( Acts 16: 29-34)
Then we must follow Christ and His word, His way, His manner of
life as shown to us through Peter, Paul and the rest of the writers of the book
we know as the Bible, or God’s Word.
Believe it or not that is the easy part! It may seem like it is
hard to accept that Christ died on the cross and it suddenly made it possible
for you to get to heaven some day but the more you think about it, you will
find that it was easier to believe than not to. That is because the Holy Spirit
draws us to the truth. And the Truth will set us free!
That was easy!
Then we have to stick with Him, stick with the plan He has for our
lives instead of veering off and doing our own thing. Yes it is possible to do
something that God had not planned for you to do, it doesn't mean He doesn't know
you are veering from the road mind you, it just means He gave you a mind of
your own!
So get back on path; endure in the Word!
But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life,
purpose, faith, long suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me …what persecutions
I endured. And out of them all, the Lord
delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution. But evil men
and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and
been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from
childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every
good work. 2 Timothy 3:10-17
Study the Word; don’t just glance at the reading of the day. Look
up what other scriptures God has for you on the subject you read in your daily
reading plan. Find out what God wants you to learn about what happened back in the
Old Testament that leads you to the New.
Ask questions; “Why did he put that in there?” and “How can I
apply this to my life?” Allow God to
have the controls for teaching you the Word of God, not just whatever day it
is.
Today we have so many ‘reading plans’ to follow to get us inspired
to read, but so many people just read that plan and nothing more. So many of us
are reading daily by rote that we are not gleaning from His Word we are just
consuming it.
You can liken it to when you are ‘starving’ and given a bowl of
rice. It may be plane starch but it tastes like a breath of heaven because you
are hungry. Today I want us to endure the Word, get more out of that bowl of
rice! Add some sauce to it! Toss in some veggies or even some fruit! Get some meat from your daily reading time!
Our enemy the devil wants you to skip your read, or to just do ‘enough’
to say you read through the Bible this year.
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he
will flee from you. Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter
be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:7-10
Humble yourself and allow God to guide you
through His Word; you cannot endure life or the Word alone and get the most of
it. You will never be able to share with someone else if you do not dig in and
allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through it.
I charge you therefore
before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His
kingdom: Preach
the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they
have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears
away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure
afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for guiding us in
Your Word today and every day. Help us to endure the days trials and problems
with Your help and guidance from the Word of God our Bibles. In Jesus’ name,
amen.
Suggested Reading; 2 Timothy 3: 1- 17, 2 Timothy 4:1-22, James
4:1-10, and Ephesians 4:1-27