Looking for the Flowers~In His Word 1-4-2021

 

Looking for the Flowers~In His Word 1-4-2021

 

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Matthew 4:4

As the new year starts a lot of people begin thinking about the right foods to eat and the right exercises to get over the ‘Holiday Feast’ of extra eating. Though these are good attributes to add to our lives we should more importantly be focused on the Word of God, reading our Bibles. When we begin the new year it often begins a new regiment of “I will do this now…” Or "I will stop eating this bad for me food..."and yes that does include many who want to read the Bible through in a year.

Having done that for a few years I found it was time to dig in and get something more from my reads. So I choose to look for the flowers every day… the flowers In His Word.

Think for a moment, the flowers we find in the winter months can give us such joy! They can brighten an otherwise dead looking garden. This year I plan to find the good things in scripture, though often those flowers are not the best smelling ones, like my favorite flower the daisy, they have other properties that will delight our soul.

I am not saying that if you are lead to read the Bible in a year that it is wrong, but what I am saying is take notes to remind yourself of the flowers in His Word! Don’t just read it to be reading your daily read, but enjoy it.

 

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4

This morning I saw the flower of the Spirit that dwells within us believers. He sent the son to delight our hearts and give us life with a purpose and a focus to do what He wills. Sure we could have gone on through life without God with us for a while longer but things happened that caused you and I to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are saved because of this belief. Thankfully we now have this Guide to our daily walks that can keep us on the right path as we walk through the newness of the beginning of a year. It is kind of funny but it is just another day, and yet most of us look to January as the month to plan out our changes. The month that we will improve upon our self, fix our errors of the former year and try to ‘do better’ at eating and exercise more, spend less, do more…it can be stressful to many people trying to line up with the worlds idea of what we have to be like.

 

 

With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.                         Ephesians 4:16-18

 

Let us do some preventative maintenance instead of just trying to fit the mold of the world. How about receiving the promise, the free gift that we got from God, the promise of salvation, peace, hope,

and love through the Comforter whom Christ said would be given to us. Then when we are part of that group of people who call themselves believers, we can believe for His direction in our lives to be right. No matter if it is self-improvement or improving the walk with the Lord the best way is in His Word every day. That is the best way to find a flower in the winter!

 

 

So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Romans 4:16-17

Let God bring you back to life this year! Trust Him to walk you through the days ahead with hope renewed and joy in the little things, like the daisies I found in my garden this week, let Him bring you hope in the midst of things.

 

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”                 Romans 4:18

And look what God did with that! If Abraham could keep hoping and believing for what seemed impossible to those around him, we too can believe that 2021 will bring us a better life than 2020 did.

I must admit I have had a lot of good times with those in my ‘bubble’ this year without some of the distractions out there to pull them away, I trust God has enjoyed the extra time with Him as much as we have!
As we read through the Word this year, lets remember to find the things that stand out, write them down or highlight them on your Bible app, do not just read it to get it done or read and forget, but remind yourself to hide it in your heart… In Jesus’ name.

Suggested readings: Romans 4:1-25, Romans 5:1-21, and Romans 8:1-39.