One of the primary reasons we need to be in a disciplined study of the Scriptures is so we can saturate ourselves in the truth. When we know the truth and we are presented with that which is false, we will instinctively recognize it. Measuring philosophies or theologies or opinions or sermons or books or doctrines or counsel by the Word of God is like exposing the crookedness of a stick by placing a straight stick beside it. The ultimate compliment an audience can pay me is to bring their Bibles and follow along as I speak so they can double-check what I say against what God says. I am authentic as a Bible teacher only in proportion to my faithfulness to God’s Word.
And in order to give God’s Word out so that others can hear His voice in their ears, I must – it’s not an option – I must read it, study it, understand it, and live by it. And when I do, His Word makes a lasting impact and bears eternal fruit, because it’s powerful.
The first seventeen verses of Genesis 9 are a direct quotation in God’s own words giving principles for you and me and the entire human race to live by. If we want to live a life that works, overcoming the weakness that resides in all of us, we must heed these principles. If we do not want to heed these principles, we have that freedom, but we will never live a life that works as it was created to work in the beginning. It would be similar to having a new computer with the most cutting edge technology, but using it only as a typewriter. It would do the job, but it wouldn’t even come close to fulfilling its potential. If we do not heed God’s principles for our lives, you and I can exist on this planet yet not even come close to fulfilling our potential or experiencing the abundant life God intended for us.
One primary reason for the collapse of society all around us is due to indifference and outright rejection of God’s principles. Our human weaknesses have become dominant, and life just does not work. So . . . for your own good, read God’s Word and live by God’s principles and enjoy a life that works!
Do you want to experience real, lasting, God-pleasing change so that you are filled with satisfaction, peace, joy, love, purpose-abundant life? Then don’t look to
a bottle,
a pill,
a therapist,
a once-a-week trip to church,
Look to God’s Word for yourself. Read your Bible every day in order to understand, apply, and obey it.
As we long to grow not only in our faith but in our Christian character so that others can readily see Christ in us, we need to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to His Word. This transformation is a continual process that is brought about by daily saturating ourselves in the Scriptures then living it out on the anvil of our experience, until even our friends exclaim, “I see Jesus in you!”
The Shepherd speaks to us personally – by name. He knows us inside and out. And when He speaks, it’s in the language of our own personal lives, through a verse or passage of Scripture that just seems to leap up off the page with our name on it.
Again and again God has seemed to speak to me through the pages of my Bible, giving me the secret to restoring love in my marriage when it had run out, reassuring me of my son’s recovery to health before his cancer surgery, directing me again and again in the expansion and priorities in ministry, leading me out of one church and into another. In fact, I do not make a major decision, especially one involving others, without a specific word from my Shepherd.
God speaks personally – are you listening?
Years ago my mother was invited to a very prestigious dinner party in London, England. As she conversed, Mother discovered that the distinguished-looking older gentleman seated beside her was the former head of Scotland Yard, Great Britain’s equivalent of the FBI. Fascinated, she respectfully began to probe him for anecdotes. As he opened up under her genuine interest, he revealed that the departments under his authority had included those for forgery and counterfeiting. When she surmised that he must have spent a lot of time studying counterfeit signatures, he corrected her. “On the contrary, Mrs. Graham. I spent all of my time studying the genuine thing. That way, when I saw a counterfeit, I could immediately detect it.”
My mother’s dinner partner had unwittingly touched on a very important principle. If you and I want to be able to detect counterfeit truth, we need to immerse ourselves in the real thing. We need to saturate ourselves in the truth of the Word of God.
