How Do You Daily Spend Time if God's Word?

[laurichef]

Thanks, Becky, for a forgiving perspective. You are so right.
I will check out the Message Bible next time I am in the bookstore.

 

[Shawnna]

I don't think you have to spend a certain amount of time in prayer or Bible study...but we are suppose to "hide the word in our heart" and if we don't spend some time reading and studying how are we going to do that. I have no problem praying. I pray all day. I think "pray without ceasing" doesn't mean continual prayer...nobody can do that...but it does mean to be in prayer mode at all times...like praising for answered prayer, telling someone what God has done for us, blessing others and our food, etc.

 

[jrstephens]

I thought this was so in line with what we have been talking about!

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"Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel."
- (Ezra 7:10 NLT)
Life Verse

If you want to know what Ezra was all about, all you need to do is look at the verse above. We might even call this Ezra's "life verse",," because it really sums up his entire life. And what we need to take note of is that Ezra's life really revolved around the Law of the Lord (or God's Word).

We can break this up into three distinct parts. First of all, we see that he was determined to study God's Word. Second, we read that he devoted himself to obeying it. And finally, Ezra had dedicated himself to teaching God's Word to others.

Did you know that this can serve as your life verse, as well? It's His will for each and every believer to study or seek out His Word. Our hearts should be hungry for more and more of His Word (please refer to July 3).

But the Lord doesn't want our Bible knowledge to stay stagnant in our brains. He wants us to practically obey and apply what we know (James 1:22). And once we've established a lifestyle of obedience to God's Word, He wants us to share what we know with others (Matthew 28:20).????

A lot of people are looking for purpose in their lives. They sense that they've been created for something important, but they don't know wthat that is so they're frustrated and discouraged. Perhaps that even describes you.

God's Word provides us with all the purpose and direction that we could ever need. It gives us something to pursue, it gives us something to apply, and it gives us something to share. If you haven't already done so, allow Ezra 7:10 to become a verse that defines your life.

What's your life verse?

How well does it define you?

 

[Shawnna]

a little off topic, but...

I led our womens ministry meeting this week. We are studying the women of the Bible. My lesson was Lot's wife. I thought "good Lord, what can you say about Lot's wife...there is only one line about Lot's wife in the story...she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt...what am I going to talk about?" But as I thought about it there is a lot to talk about. First of all, we know very little about Lot's wife. We know she was present in the house when the angels of the Lord showed up. We know that she was led...literally by the hand...out of the city. We know that she as well as Lot and her daughters were given orders to leave the city and not look back for any reason. But, she was Lot's wife, so she must have worshipped with him and followed God's law just as he did. She was given God's grace...along with him...before the Lord destroyed the city in which they lived. What I get from this passage is that they...she and Lot were taking their sweet time getting ready to leave...in no big hurry. The angels took their hands and led them out of the city, telling them to go into the mountains...flee the city, so they could destroy it. Lot asked for permission to go to a small town nearby and was given that permission. They had made it all the way to the outskirts of the city and she turned around and looked back. She was free, she had been delivered out of destruction and she gave it all up to catch a glimpse of her past life. Isn't that so much like us today. We have God's grace...and boy do we use that term loosely...God is love and we are saved by his grace, don't judge me for what I am doing, it's not your place, it will be okay as long as I ask forgiveness...blah, blah, blah. But, as we go through our lives, holding on to the things of the world, not wanting to give everything to God, we are just like Lot's wife. Lot's wife is mentioned one other time in the Bible. In the New Testement, Jesus warns his disciples to "remember Lot's wife". He was warning them about worldly things and staying on track with God. And, I think these two passages proves that there will come a time when God says "that's it, I've had enough" and we will be severly punished...maybe even die and go to Hell because we wouldn't let go of the world.