“Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
The word of God is important in our lives and for our lives. The word of God, as we know it, is the Bible. There might be a word that comes from God apart from the Bible, but if it is a word from God it will surely agree with the Bible. I’m never impressed with visions that people have that do not have their essence in the Bible. Psalm 119 is a tribute to the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was the scripture that they had at the time this psalm was written. Psalm 119:11 is a reminder to us that we need to read and study the word of God, but more than that it tells us to make it part of ourselves. Notice that the psalmist wrote, “Thy word have I hid in my heart…” This means that when we read the Bible, we are to internalize it. I think that means that we are to digest it in our minds, hearts and souls, as the the food that we eat is digested in our bodies. The food that we eat is absorbed into our bodies, providing nutrition to help our bodies grow stronger and healthier. That is why we need to be careful what we put into our bodies, because if we eat too much “junk food” it will be absorbed into our bodies and will not give us the nutrition that we need. We need to be careful also that we do not put too much “junk food” into our hearts, minds and souls. What we digest makes a difference in the quality of our lives both physically and spiritually. There is a lot of “junk food” out there waiting for us to take it in to damage our minds, hearts and souls. This makes it all the more important for us to spend time in the word of God and to digest it into our minds, hearts and souls. This means that we should not just give the Bible a cursory read, but we are to read it carefully and prayerfully, meditating and reflecting on it. In this way we will hide God’s word in our hearts, minds and souls: “that we might not sin against (God).” This principle is powerfully illustrated in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick (alive), and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” When we read and study the word of God it becomes part of us much as the food that we eat becomes a part of us. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the word of God goes to work in us, giving us new spiritual insight and that it adds to our spiritual growth. The word of God challenges us to live better lives and to be better people. Digesting the word of God does not make us judgmental and self-righteous, but it does make us more aware of our need for God’s righteousness. My belief is that we need to digest the word of God in order to love people as Jesus has commanded us. We need to digest the word of God in order to meet the temptations that we are bound to face. It is important for us to note that when Jesus was tempted by Satan in Matthew 4, that He defended Himself with the word of God. For example, when Satan tempted Jesus to turn stone into bread in order to satisfy His hunger, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3: “It is written, ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." If Jesus defended Himself with God’s word, it is certainly important that we do the same. One more point that needs to be made in our study of the word of God is that we need to learn to love it and delight in it. In Psalm 119:47, the psalmist wrote: “And I will delight in thy commandments, which I have loved.” Some parts of the Bible are more “delightful” than others, but it is all God’s word. We need to learn to delight in it, not because it is always entertaining, but because it is good for us to read it, and simply because it is God’s message to us. We are never told that we should be entertained by the Bible, but that we are to be influenced by it. We love the word of God because it is, after all, the word of God. There is no greater resource on this earth that can help us in our relationship with God. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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