I recently opened my email and found a message in my inbox carrying the name of an old co-worker and friend who passed away last year. Pat was my field training officer when I was a Parole and Probation Officer and my initial hope was that it might be something from his wife, perhaps some kind of last message that Pat wanted to send out to his friends, but in my heart I knew it was really just some unscrupulous person using his name and contacts to go phishing. I didn’t open the attachment and deleted the email, but I was left feeling a little disappointed that it wasn’t a real message.
That experience got me to thinking about how incredible it is that God has given us His word, His message to us. Through His word God shares His love with us; He imparts His truth and wisdom to us; He challenges our suppositions; He stretches us to grow in our faith; He comforts our hurts; and He gives us His guidance and reveals the path He would have us to follow.
II Timothy 3:16 and 17 put it like this:
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
For God’s word to have this kind of power and impact in our lives we must accept that it is from Him, we must take time to study what God has said to us and to meditate upon what He wants that truth to do in our lives. We must be willing to spend time listening to the Holy Spirit as He teaches us and leads us. And we must avoid using God’s word to prove our point to others, but instead allow God to prove His point to us. To do this we must approach God’s word with humility and reverential fear. Every time we open and read it we must be open to God speaking, challenging, training, correcting, leading and encouraging us.
As you spend time reading God’s message to you, soak in His truth, meditate on what it means and allow the Holy Spirit to work the power of His word in you.
God’s Grace and Peace,
Mark