Actions speak louder than words

When we read God’s word it can become a catalyst for us to take action in service of the Kingdom of heaven. If we allow the words we read to reach into our inner thoughts and feelings and to stir within us a response to what we read. The Holy Spirit also takes the words we read and causes them to become evidenced in our lives. Another way of putting it is that through the Holy Spirit the word is lived out through our actions and words. We then become the demonstration of the very word we have read. However we are warned not to just be hearers of the word simply taking it in but never acting upon it! No the challenge is to hear and to put into action the teaching we receive so that we demonstrate the word. To anyone who observes this happening through our lives it is the message of hope, the good news, presented in the lives that we live before those around us. It is a huge challenge to do this, especially when we consider that we are all born in sin and shaped in iniquity (we are broken people). We need God’s help so much to make His word a living reality in our lives. This process of becoming the living demonstration of God’s word is done in partnership with Him. It is a work of grace that can only occur when we are surrendered to God through His Son Jesus Christ. The areas of our lives that remain un-surrendered remain unaffected by God’s word and undermine the message of good news and hope that we want to share with others. It is so important that we surrender our whole life and not just the easy parts so that God by His Holy Spirit can have His complete work in us and that others can read our lifestyle, life choices, actions and responses and in so doing receive the message of the Kingdom of heaven. Otherwise we present a conflicting message of compromise, a half in half out message of salvation. It isn't simply a matter of behaving well in front of others, because even in the unspoken reactions of every day life we give away so much of who we are and what we carry within us. It is the little moments when either our trust in God is evident or not, when our peace is in view or not and so on. We can say so much and do so much to be seen but there is more to how people read us than that. Fear, anger, disappointment, and so many other traits leave an impression to others even when they are not on display. Our challenge then is to be what God intended us to be by allowing His word to permeate our being so that becomes the very substance of our lives. Just remember this is a journey and we progress in it by growing in His word, as the Apostle Paul said, Philippians 3v12 "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."

The Divergent Word

A word that seems to work in the opposite direction to our natural thinking. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 55 verse 8).

The ways of God can at times seem so distant from the way we might think. However, everything God thinks and does for us is always for our good and not for evil (Jeremiah 29). God desires the very best for us and in His word (the Bible) God teaches us a way of living, thinking and being that will result in our well-being, His abundant blessing and peace for our lives.

We can become so fixed in the patterns of our thinking, our routines and habits that the idea of thinking or doing things differently can be a challenge in itself. When we encounter a life changing relationship with Jesus then much of our former life changes. The challenge is to let that change take root at every level of our lives including our deep rooted thoughts and feelings and the habits that they have formed. God's word shows us not only the differences that our new life in Jesus brings and the behaviour associated with it but also how we might change our thoughts and feelings at a deeper level if we allow God's word to penetrate our hearts and influence our inner self.

You might say that the kingdom of heaven offers the best answers to life. We may choose thoughts and actions that in our thinking make sense but in Christ there is a better way, a higher way. After all Jesus said. I am the Way (John 14), a way that is God focused, heaven minded and Christ purposed. It is no wonder that the way that God has revealed to believers through His word seems like foolishness to the world. How can we see the sense of God’s way of doing things if our hearts and minds have been blinded (closed off) to the reality that there is a God, a God who loves us and gave His Son Jesus Christ for us. So becoming a follower of Jesus Christ requires a change of direction, a change of purpose and a change in our thinking. It is only when we begin to live this life God’s way that we begin to experience the fullness of His promises and blessings. Let’s not live in the captivity of old thinking and flesh influenced habits, instead let’s learn this God way, this new way, this Christ way. That we might experience a deeper level of supernatural (Holy Spirit filled) living in the abundance of God’s profound blessings and love.

God's word brings strength

“That you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed” Luke chapter 1 verse 4.

Why was the Bible written, a record of God’s dealings with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel)? A record of the prophetic words of God through those He chose to use as His spokesmen? A poetic reflection of God’s attributes? The Bible was written to teach us who God is and what He is like.

We find greater assurance in the words we first heard, the message we first believed, when we read the Scriptures. There is a strengthening of our faith, a building of our confidence in Him of whom the Bible speaks, an edifying is how the bible phrases it. The thrill and encouragement as we discover in the New Testament God’s salvation plan, as we come to understand the love with which God loves us! The bible becomes our reinforcement with every reading, as we grow more and more in our relationship with our heavenly Father. Through the study of God’s word and as we meditate upon it we grow strong in the knowledge of Christ. As we put into practice what we read we become rich in our experience of Him. The bible then is our reinforcement, our strengthening, our building up, our bolster in the One who is our confidence before the throne of grace. As someone once said, seven days without reading the Bible makes one weak! For us the reading of the bible is like receiving food, it is our sustenance which is why Jesus said 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds. out of the mouth of God. ' Matthew 4 verse 4.

The way Jesus describes God's word is more than just body building or exercise but rather the very means of our continued growth and development. Without it our Spiritual relationship with God will simply wither and become frail and weak. However when we feed upon God's word it provides that deep spiritual nourishment and strength that we each require in order to grow and thrive in our walk with God.