Have you ever noticed how alive God's word really is? Like, if you've been reading the words of Jesus and become spiritually filled, or about the wrath of God and feel convicted to repent? Something God's been reminding me of lately is just how alive His word really is.
Hebrews 4 talks about how the word of God is active and sharp in how it moves within us and convicts us our hearts. We are reborn through God's word (1 Peter 1), it is precious and valuable (Psalm 19), it lives in the believers (1 John 2), following it leads to blessings (Luke 11), it produces growth and accomplishes it's purposes (Isaiah 55), and so much more! It keeps moving and doesn't stop in place even when people do (Acts 12, 2 Timothy 2). The word of God is powerful.
Personally, I think the spirit of God and the word of God are strongly linked. God's word is more than just God's law, which on it's own refreshes and teaches us. It's more than just a testimony (or 4) about Christ, though that's absolutely part of it. It's more than words on a page for sure. The word of God is constantly moving and stirring up hearts for the better. It comes from God, just as the Holy Spirit does, and they have play very similar roles (Maybe they're even the same? Maybe that's heresy? Just a pondering). I don't know for sure, but both the word and the spirit teach us right from wrong, guide us down the right paths, and convict us when we're going down the wrong ones. The word tells us how to pray and the spirit helps us when we don't know what to say. Neither is understood by those who don't know God. Wisdom is given to those who seek to understand the word of God, but there are many whom the Bible calls fools that do not understand or try to understand what the word of God is or means.
In John 1, Jesus is called the Word. The Word created the world with God and later became flesh to save us from sin. Maybe the words we read in the Bible really are filled with the power and spirit of God. It seems like so much more than just a book. Yet, have you read it?
I know there's some parts of the Bible that are dense and difficult to read through, but does that mean we should ignore and overlook them completely? Having read through its entirety, I know it's not easy to read through Numbers, but even in the middle of Numbers there's the story of God's grace and of His blessings being given to Israel (not to mention the talking donkey). I know some of the books of the prophets are confusing and apply far more to Israel than to us, but there's still so much we can learn about God's forgiveness and judgment and what kind of God it is we serve. Plus, some of the Old Testament prophecies still haven't happened because Christ hasn't come back yet and the final judgment isn't here. I know it's easy to pick and choose parts of scripture to focus on and ignore the parts we don't want to read, but that can be dangerous. Really? Dangerous? Yes, Revelation even ends with a warning that those who add anything to the prophecies of the scroll will receive the plagues described in it, and those who take away from what it says will be taken away from heaven! Deuteronomy 4 says similar as Moses begins teaching the people not to add or subtract from what the law says, but to just follow it. Proverbs 30 also warns not to add on to God's word, because it's perfect and He will punish you for it. How can you know what to follow if you have not read it? How can you be aware of if you're adding or subtracting from God's teachings if you don't know what those teachings are?
We know we are blessed when we read, especially out loud (Rev. 1), and follow God's word. We know we will be punished for disobeying or for adding to/removing from His word. So why don't we invest in it? Why don't we regularly spend time in our Bibles and make a point to know what it says?
I know there are lots of people who have regular times of devotion that they spend studying the word of God. I've had times in my life that I was very much in the same boat. However, I've also had times where I allow other things to get in the way of reading and studying God's word and reaping the blessings that come from it. Why do we do this? Why do we let ourselves become removed from the Bible and instead turn to *insert distraction here* (social media, TV, overworking, events, etc.)? It's so important to remain in God and His word. Jesus even tells us to remain in Him in John 15. In order to remain in Him, we have to stay involved and invested. We can't just ignore our Bibles every day (or every day you're not listening to a sermon) and think that we'll be growing in Christ! We may still find growth, but it likely be far more worldly growth than if we invest in scripture. We may still learn what God has in store for us, but it will come secondhand from pastors or other Christians we talk with instead of coming directly from God. Spending time in the Word and talking about it and making it a priority is vital to living a godly life.
Honestly, the times in my life that I've wrestled the most with being anxious, depressed, angry, etc. were times I had been neglecting spending time in God's word. Yet the times I felt closest to God and the most confident that I could make it through the messy situations life threw at me, those were the times I was most consistently in God's Word and seeking to live for Him and not myself.
Reading and following God's word makes a difference. After all, what good is reading it if you're not going to do anything with what you've read? It's not just reading and spending time in the Word that's important, it's obedience. Even the Pharisees and Sadducees spent time in God's Word, to the point where they could quote it in their sleep, but they didn't obey it and missed the blessings that came from obedience and understanding. There have been times I haven't understood why the Bible says to do certain things, like Jesus' teachings about sin in the church (Matthew 18). Yet after following His commands, I understand why Jesus says to go to the person alone, then with another, and then take it to the church, then to treat them as a tax collector or sinner if they don't repent. The point is to keep giving people chances, but if they refuse and refuse and refuse to listen to truth, then they shouldn't have a place of leadership among you. Don't keep trying to get them to repent over and over and over again after having already gone through these steps, because the person has already made it clear they won't listen, and you'll only wind up grieving yourself more from putting in the added effort and stress. Sometimes the only way to understand why God gave us a command is to just do it, and understanding comes later.
I believe some things won't make sense until our work here is done and we're with God. I can read it over and over and try to understand what God means in Revelation about the beasts and hardships yet to come, but I may not truly understand what they mean until they've already come to pass. An easy example of this is, once again, the religious leaders of Jesus' time. The Messiah they'd been waiting for was right in front of them, and they killed him and completely missed that He came to save them. Yet after He died and came back, so many people understood and believed. Not understanding God's word is not enough reason to disobey it. Obedience and faithfulness often bring understanding in ways we never expected, though only if we're open to hearing what God has to say. Otherwise, we may wind up just like the Pharisees that Jesus called out.
What do you think? Do you think it's worth investing time and energy into reading and obeying the word of God? More importantly, are you going to do so?
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