discipled living

The Word of God is the Power demonstrated in Creation and exercised in the Prophetic ministry of the Old Testament Prophets.  In Genesis, God sent His Word forth and it produced a creation “ex nihilo” out of nothing.  God sent His Word into the mouths of the prophets and directed kings, the rise and the demise of nations and the course of human history.

The Scripture further records that God sent His Word to dwell in the midst of humanity in the bodily form of the man, Jesus.  Finally, His Word has been given to us in written form and canonized into one book which forms The Book, “The Bible”.   It is important to note that the physical pages, ink and cover of a Bible are not holy.  While the power of God resides in the recorded word, we must resist the temptation to exalt the physical book which we hold in our hands.  We must take care not to make an idol of the printed text we call the Bible. 

Seeing the Big Picture in Scripture

If we step back from the pages of the Bible and look at it with a broad, panoramic view we can see two things particularly occuring within the Bible.  The Bible 1.) points us to our coming Christ who then 2.) points us to The Father.  The Bible is the history of God’s actions in human history to restore His human children in a redeemed relationship to Himself.    If we fail in our understanding of the intent of the Scriptures, then we will miss most of its power. 

The Bible is the point from which our study and meditation departs.  We begin our study in the Bible and we conclude our study by meditating on the wisdom of God we have experienced.  It is through study and meditation that the power of God which resides in the Scriptures is transferred in to our “hearts/minds” and becomes the wisdom out of which we live.  Once the Wisdom of God enters our “KEEP”, it becomes the source of the issues of our life. (See Proverbs 4:23.)

We must study the Word of God as part of our discipline as followers of Christ because we cannot know the Will of God unless and until we have studied His Word to discover it.  Even our prayer will be impotent.  The responses we believe that we have received will be in question if we have not studied the Word of God to know first, His voice, and second, His Will.  ESSENTIAL POINT:  There are some things that God will not say in response to your prayer. 

We have all heard people say, “I prayed about it…and God told me…”  We cannot trust this response unless we can see in it the Will and Way of God as expressed in Scripture.  God tells us this in Romans 12:2.  God says,

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”  KJV

The New Living Translation interprets this passage of scripture in the following way. 

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Clearly, we are transformed by the renewal of our thoughts.  The only means by which our thoughts can be renewed is through Study and Meditation upon the wisdom we receive in study. The renewed minds of the disciple will seek the Will of God in prayer and will be able to distinguish the voice of God in response to the prayer from their own inner thoughts. 

Just as a “false-positive” pregnancy test suggests that a woman is pregnant when in fact she is not, people often pray and hear their own voice in response.  The voice confirms our heart’s desire, which may not in actuality be the Will of God for us.  The result is that we decry the actual voice of God because it competes with our inner voice. We experience false-positives in our prayer because we have not invested in the Study and Meditation necessary to distinguish between God’s voice and our selfish inner thoughts.

The Bible’s witness about its own purpose is to give life.  The power of this statement alone is substantiated by two separate passages of Scripture.  The first is The Gospel According To John 1:1-5 & 14 and chapter 10:10 of the same Gospel Account.  John 1:4 says,

“In Him was Life; and the Life was the light of men.” 

 What we find here is that Jesus was both the Word of God and the Life of God at the same time.  John 1:14 says that the Creative Power of God, His

“…Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” 

The Word of God is the life and light giving force that God expressed in Creation.  This same creative force was present in Jesus and remains in the substance of the Bible, God’s Word. 

The very power that formed the Universe is present and active in the Word of God for us to read/ingest, study/digest and live/invest.   God’s Word is the source of Power and Life that every person needs to live a truly fulfilled and Empowered life.

What We Don’t Know About God’s Word That’s Killing Us!

It is the truest challenge that demands to be addressed.  It must be addressed because there is so much pain, suffering and strife in this world.  We experience the struggle at the most intimate levels in our homes and neighborhoods.  The reality is that this problem could be overcome if we would engage the LIFE-Giving Force of God’s Word.  The old saying that “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” is proved wrong by the fact that ignorance is one of, if not the most prolific and effective killers on the planet today. 

The truth is, What you don’t know will almost always hurt you; especially if you need to know it to live healthy and well.  The scripture tells us:

“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 KJV

This is the beginning of our problem.  Most of us don’t want to be pierced and opened up to the scrutiny of God’s Word even though it promises to heal us and make us whole.  We prefer to remain in our miserable half-life state, because we have grown accustomed to the discomfort and have found some semblance of comfort in it. 

One of the most unique features of God’s creation, the human being, is that we are extremely malleable.  We can adapt to virtually any circumstance, if we live in it long enough.  Why do most disciples steer clear of Bible Studies across the country? Is it because they don’t want to engage the Bible at a deep life-changing level?  

Would a deep penetrating study of God’s Word require the painful removal of destructive habits and life conditions to which we have happily adapted.  It has been said, "People prefer an known hell to an unknown heaven!"  Are we living in a comfortable and familiar “Hell”?