DAILY SUSTENANCE
All day we take in some
form of information. We absorb information through our eye gate, our
nose gate, our ear gate, and through our other senses of touch and
taste. These gates send us information that our brains consume. As
our brains consume it, this information helps to form us into whom
we are. If we are to be like Jesus, the source of information that
our brain processes must be the Word of God. We learned in the last
lesson that the Word of God acts like a mirror. The more we look into
this mirror the more the Holy Spirit changes us to be like Jesus.
In Proverbs 23:7 we read, “For as he thinketh in his heart,
so is he.” If we think on earthly things then we will be earthy.
If we think on sinful things then we will be sinful. If we think on
God’s Word then we will be more like Jesus. Whatever we think
on determines who we are. By thinking on the Word of God, it directs
our thoughts. The apostle Paul tells us “Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” Col. 3:16. It is not only
preferred that we dwell on the Word of God but it is commanded of
us. Remember, Christ is declared in John to be the Word. When we dwell
on the Word of God, we dwell on Christ.
Paul indicated in Ephesians 3:17-19 that he prayed for the Ephesians
“that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being
rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints
what is the breadth and length, and depth and height; and to know
the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled
with all the fullness of God.” Here Paul makes it clear that
if we dwell in the Word of God that we make it possible for us to
“be filled with all the fullness of God.” In other words,
we will become more and more like Jesus, have victory over sin, and
have power for ministry. This is, after all, our goal and dwelling
on the Word of God causes us to have faith in the completed work of
Christ on the cross. In order to reckon ourselves dead to sin and
alive unto God we must dwell on the Word of God.
In addition to helping us to become like Jesus, the Word of God has
many other benefits. Just a few of those benefits are: a delight and
source of counsel, Psa. 119:24; understanding, Psa. 119:104; a light
to illuminate the path we should walk, Psa. 119:105; light or understanding
of its own content, Psa. 119:130; a source of peace, Psa. 119:165;
the source of life, Psa. 119:93; and Jeremiah in his testimony in
Jer. 15:16 declares that the Word of God was “the joy and rejoicing
of mine heart.” The Word of God is always the place to go regardless
of the circumstances.
It is obvious that we need to spend time in the Word of God, but just
how much time is needed? God had Moses to tell the children of Israel,
“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, when thou
walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest
up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they
shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them
upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates.” Deut. 6:6-9.
The Israelites were to think on, meditate on, talk about, and write
the commandments of the Lord all day long and every where they went.
The Word of God was to be a constant companion. How much time do we
need the Word of God? We need it ALL the time, as the psalmist declares
in Psa. 119:20, “My soul breaketh (is crushed) for the longing
that it hath unto Thy judgments at all times.” In other words,
the psalmist declares that his soul is crushed by his intense longing
for the Word of God. The desire for God’s Word bore down on
him constantly. The apostle Paul gives us a clear example of this
need by teaching the Word of God all day. Acts 28:23 reads, “And
when they had appointed him a day, there came many unto him at his
lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading
them concerning Jesus, both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the
prophets, from morning till evening.” We simply need the Word
of God ALL THE TIME!
