I really love the age we live in! An age where technology has us acquiring information at the click of a mouse button or should I say now, the swipe of the finger. Long gone are the days when we have to visit the temple and have a Levite Priest recite and illuminate our eyes to the meaning of scripture. Anyone and everyone can easily obtain a copy of God’s Holy Word. Yes, we have great access to the pure and unadulterated word of God, but yet still there is a problem. Many Christians say they believe but still don’t spend quality time reading the book of belief (Holy Bible).
I put forward to you today, that the most important thing a Christian can do is to bury themselves in the word of God!
HOW GOD SEES HIS WORD
One of the first things a Christian should do upon gaining access to the kingdom of God is to understand the importance that God the Father places on His word.
After Jesus’s death God said that he has given him a name which is high above every other name. Jesus’s name is high but it still cannot be higher than God the Father’s. So, without a doubt God’s name is the highest name there is. Not only this but God places importance on names. So much so he renamed Saul to Paul, Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Joseph to Israel, etc. Without a doubt God places emphasis on names.
Therefore, a question can be asked, what is higher than God’s name? Well the answer can be found in his Word!
Psalms 138:2 (KJV) “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name”.
Yes my friends, God has not just placed his word above His name but MAGNIFIED it above ALL his names. Now just pause for a minute and just let that soak in.
Not only this but He also stated: Jeremiah 1:12 (NIV) “The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” This also illustrates that God’s word is established on the earth and He sits high and gazes upon it to execute. This is why Joshua could have boldly stated in Joshua 21:45 (NIV) “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled”.
I am getting so excited because it gets better! Here this, John 1:1 (NIV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This beginning is not the beginning as we know it as outlined in Genesis. For the scriptures said, “the word was God” and we know that God existed long before the advent of earthly time.
So how does God see his word? He sees it as the starting of things (from the beginning), He sees it as Himself, He sees it above Him, He sees it below Him. This clearly shows that God has positioned His word around every part of his very existence. Therefore, if God has placed all this emphasis on His word shouldn’t we also?
THE WORD GUIDES OUR LIFE
I made a bold statement in the opening paragraph when I said, “the most important thing a Christian can do is to bury themselves in the word of God!”. Reason being, the word of God guides (Psalms 119:105 (NIV) “Your word is a lamp for my feet, an a light on my path”) every aspect of our life and ensures that we don’t just do things but that we do them according to Godly Standards.
Some might question and say why not prayer, or fasting or praise/worship. Well, all these things are extremely important! But their quality and effectiveness are directly dependent on executing them according to Godly Standards i.e. how God wants us to do it. Case in point:
- Prayer: Without the word we wouldn’t know that we must pray fervently (James 5:16), or we can pray and be amiss (James 4:2-3) or it is not about repetition or numerous words (Matthew 6:7-8) as some do when speaking to God.
- Fasting: If we don’t learn how to fast correctly we can do it like hypocrites (Mathew 6:16) or not understand the correct way to do it at all (Isaiah 58:1-12, Etc.)
- Praise/Worship: Not knowing God’s standards we might be tempted to sing praises to him quietly because that looks righteous and full of piety. Not realizing that God loves vociferous praise and worship with lifted hands and dancing. (Psalms 47:1, Psalms 98:4, Psalms 63:4, Psalms 149:3)
Without proper knowledge of God’s word, we run the risk of misunderstanding who He is and what we are called to do as His chosen children. This God child relationship or any relationship cannot thrive without a clear understanding of roles, responsibilities and an understanding of the individuals involved (likes, dislikes, etc.). This is why our God clearly told us:
Hosea 4:6 (NIV) 6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
I don’t want my God to destroy me because of lack of knowledge nor do I want to destroy myself due to lack of knowledge. I am sure I can say the same for you…. Right?
CONCLUSION
Fellow believers of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that more of us (myself included) begin to place greater importance on the word of God. Let’s not allow God’s word to fall by the wayside or on deaf ears. But let’s do like Ezra when he took the following approach:
Ezra 7:10 (NIV) “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel”. For in doing this we will not only save our souls (Psalms 119:11) but the souls of others around us and please God in the process!
God bless you and do have a wonderful week.
Your Brother and Servant in the Lord
Dane A. Miller's Blog 