WHO
HAS LISTENED TO HEAR AND HEED HIS WORD?
BREAD
18 But
which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? Jeremiah 23:18 (NIV)
28 Let
the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word
speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”
declares the Lord, “and like a
hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Jeremiah
23:28-29 (NIV)
10 As the
rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without
watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for
the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not
return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose
for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11
(NIV)
21 “This
is what the Lord Almighty, the God
of Israel, says: ‘Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices
and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and
spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and
sacrifices, 23 but I
gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my
people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay
attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil
hearts. They went backward and not forward.’”
Jeremiah7:21-24 (NIV)
12 For
the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must
give account. Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV)
16 All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
22 Do not
merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word
but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently
into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not
forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Too
many Christians mark their Bibles, but their Bibles never mark them!” W. Wiersbe
“The
Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to
spiritual perfection. And we must not
select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others.
Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” A.W. Tozer
Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” A.W. Tozer
“I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me: God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to
guide me, God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to
speak to me, God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield
to protect me, God’s host to save me, From snares of devils, From temptations
of vices, From every one who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a
multitude.”
St.
Patrick
“Service
to God is as uniquely differing among believers as our fingerprints. God has specifically designed good works for
each life that we may walk in them through His power and for His glory and our
good. These works encompass all areas
from peeling potatoes to running a country to changing a diaper to caring for
the elderly to holding a door – it matters not what the task is but that we are
faithful to walk in it. We cannot do all
things for all people. Jesus Himself did
not feed every hungry soul nor heal every hurting one as He walked this dusty
earth. We are all limited by our
physical bodies yet through His power we are all equipped to do what we are
called to do and the body of Christ suffers –as well as we ourselves – when we
remain unfaithful to the task. God’s
work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply and it equates to the
abundant life which Jesus came to give us.
Don’t be misled, service out of love for God is that component which
makes for greatness in a life because the God’s Word attests to that.” BHY
“Herod
wanted to be the king of his own life, but he really was a slave. He ended up
being not the King of the Jews but the king of fools. Herod ended up on the ash
heap of history like dictators before and after him, reminding us that those
who live wicked lives eventually will reap what they sow. Adolf Hitler went
into his bunker and shot himself as his nation crumbled around him. Saddam Hussein
was found hiding in a hole and was eventually executed by his own people.
Muammar Gaddafi was hunted down by his own people, beaten, and shot to death. All those who blaspheme God, fight with God, or try to stop
the work of God eventually will fail. Yet God's Word ultimately will prevail.” Greg Laurie
“Because here’s the thing—I don’t need someone to stand at a podium and tell me how to be a good mother in five alliterated points. I don’t need a complimentary monogrammed water bottle reminding me that I’m valuable. I don’t need a rousing speech that makes me want to do more and be better, as though grace has no place in sanctification. I don’t need a soul-coddling self-esteem boost, as though my sin is never an issue. I NEED THE GOSPEL. I need someone to open the Bible in front of me and 7,200 other women and tell us what the text meant when it was written. I need to listen to men and women explain the depths of our sin and the greatness of a God who provided His own Son as payment for our sin. I need the hard verses explained in a way that acknowledges that women have brains and can handle tough exposition. I need to know that this Jesus upon whom I’ve staked my life and my eternity is going to be my hope and my perseverance when trials come. I need to know that all that has been lost in this life will be restored in heaven. I need to know that when suffering settles all over us and it looks like evil is winning, that God is still on His throne and that all wrongs will be set right. I need truth that is hard to swallow but deeply nourishing. I need direction in graciously embracing our unwelcome strangeness in a rapidly self-destructing culture. I need to be encouraged that plodding along in anonymity can be precious in God’s sight. I need to hear that the Bible is about God. I need to be gently rebuked because I have refused to see the Church as Christ sees her. I need to be reassured that the gospel that reconciles me to God can also reconcile me to others. I need to be reminded that God can use the Church to heal church hurt and that emotional vulnerability is a self-sacrificing thing. I NEEDED THE GOSPEL, AND I GOT THE GOSPEL. The gospel isn’t just for salvation. It’s for sanctification, too. Once we move away from the centrality of Scripture, we move away from knowing God as He has revealed Himself to us, and then we’ve lost everything that matters. Glenna Marshall, The Gospel Coalition Women’s 16 Takeaways
HEART SAVOR
- · The Bible is my guide for all of life.
- · God illumines His Word by His Spirit within me as I seek to be a discerner and applier of His Truth.
- God’s Words are not merely idle words - as Moses stated - they are to be our life. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you--they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:45-47 (NIV)
