Fed Up in His Word! (Re-visited from 9-3-13)
Are you fed up or have you just 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
Just like we
need a good breakfast, quality not quantity is important both physically and
spiritually in our daily walk.
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. You have to eat it to use it!
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 know this then. I had attended a school or two or two in British Columbia, 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.
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 that 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. Then you will begin to have spiritual health, which will bring about a right living, and healthy body if you pay attention to it! Devour the Word of God, not an entire pizza!
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!)