We need to be embedded in the Word to experience the storyteller’s mind. Paul Miller
When I gave up trying to control my life and gave God control, I happened upon this quote. It is my life motto.
I know not the way God leads me but well do I know my Guide. Martin Luther
The question is: How do I get to know my guide? How do I know I can trust my Guide?
I immerse myself in finding out who God is by reading God’s Word.
The Bible is God’s love letter to us, but if we do not take it out of the sealed envelope, open the pages, and read it – we will never enter into a complete relationship with God.
God’s Word truly is the only book you need. (Though I would love it if you purchase my book, you truly do not need it like you need God’s Word! I would love it if you finish reading this blog, but most of what is here is covered in Psalm 119!)
When you begin to read God’s Word daily, you will be amazed at how applicable it is to your present day life.
It as dimensional as God Himself,
But Scripture is the primary way that the Holy Spirit opens us up to the God who is beyond us….. In the Bible God opens us to us our sin and our belovedness. Our desires for nourishment, strength, comfort and joy are all addressed in Scripture.
from the Spiritual Discipline Handbook
Ten Reasons to Begin Today
God’s Word is a Map for Our Journey
His Word is the map for our life journey. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We are lost without it.
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:104
Not only does it keep us on the right path, but it keeps us from the wrong path.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble. Proverbs 4:18-19
Reading God’s Word Imparts Wisdom
Wisdom is “the ability to use knowledge, experience, and good judgment and navigate life”.
Do you need help navigating life? I know I do!
During times of trial such as divorce and single parenting, we need wisdom that is beyond us.
Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies. For they are ever mine. Psalm 119:98
Reading God’s Word Grows Our Trust In Him
In the Bible, we find a God who is faithful to His promises. I love studying how the Old Testament promises are fulfilled in the New Testament.
God is still in the business of fulfilling His promises.
The Bible shows us how much God thinks of us and loves us. He is looking upon you, upon your children with a face full of compassion. Take note of all the times in the gospels where Jesus looks at people and has compassion on them.
You’re always on His mind. He never leaves. You can trust Him.
You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.Psalm 56:8 (MSG)
Reading God’s Word Renews Our Mind
I have never known someone leading a spiritually transformed life who had not been deeply saturated in scripture. John Ortberg
The Bible calls us not to be “conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing” of our minds (Romans 12:2).
How do we renew our minds? We wash our minds in the word as in says in Ephesians 5:25-26…
just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…
Christ sanctifies and cleanses us by the washing of water, but what sort of water? By the Word. The water which washes away sin, which cleanses and purifies the soul, is the Word. (Charles Spurgeon)
Reading God’s Word Imparts Peace
The Bible gives us peace—peace that passes understanding. Have you ever experienced this peace?
When you experience peace despite dire circumstances, you come to the realization that it is supernatural peace. What gives us this peace? The love of Scripture.
Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble. Psalm 119:165 NASB
I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace.
I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught. John 14:25-27
Reading God's Word Corrects Our Mistakes
God’s Word convicts us. This may be something we want to avoid!
However, sin blocks us from God; we need to daily look at our hearts and let God’s word shine upon it to bring to light thoughts, words, or actions that are not pleasing to God.
A Personal Story
One time, I was reading through the book of Hosea, which is a very interesting book.
Oftentimes, we think some books like Hosea may not be applicable to us. However, as I was reading how Hosea’s prostitute wife stepped out on him (to put it nicely), she said,
I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink. (Hosea 2:5 NIV)
I thought about how every time I choose something else to fill my life or put my hope in instead of God, I am “stepping out” on Him. I truly am not any better than Hosea’s wife!
Being someone who has experienced relationship betrayal pain, I thought about how when I choose other things than God, His heart hurts too. God’s Word brings our sin to light so we confess and be forgiven.
God's Word Teaches Us About Forgiveness
While convicting, God’s Word also extends forgiveness to our wayward hearts. God does not just forgive us, but He wipes our sin from His memory.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12
God’s Word also guides us on the path to forgiving others who have hurt us. Click here for a free printables, Journey to Forgiveness.
Reading God’s Word is Nourishment for Our Souls
We are aware that good food enables our bodies to function well, it is the same with our souls.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
The more we nourish our souls, the more we will grow healthy spiritually. As we grow, we will come to understand the deeper things of God.
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 2 Peter 2:2-3 NIV
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best, fill yourself with only the finest. Pay attention, come close now, listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words. Isaiah 55:3 MSG
Reading God’s Word Keeps Us Strong
My soul weeps because of grief, Strengthen me according to Your Word. Psalm 119:28
Not only does God’s Word makes us strong in that it nourishes our souls, it also enables us to stand strong when tempted. Matthew 4 tells us during Jesus’s temptation in the desert, Jesus answered the devil using the Word of God.
We effectively resist temptation in the same way Jesus did: by countering Satan’s seductive lies by shining the light of God’s truth upon them. If we are ignorant of God’s truth, we are poorly armed in the fight against temptation. David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary
Reading God’s Word Gives Us An Eternity Perspective
Finally, God’s Word gives us an eternity perspective. In the end, this earthly life is but a small dot on an infinite line. When we have those really hard days or trials seem never ending, it is good to be reminded that one day…
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. Revelation 21:4 NASB
The grass withers, the flowers fade, But the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 NASB
This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe I discovered in a magazine years ago. The original recipe is tortilla crust tilapia which we use for fish tacos often. However, for a change of place, I use some grain free crackers and make a more traditional fish to serve over cauliflower rice.