Day 4: The Life Which I Now Live

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galations 2:20

Day 4: God’s Word

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

God’s word [wurd] noun

1. the Bible.

We would not get very far without God’s Word.

In Genesis 1:3 God speaks creation into being. The whole universe comes together at His words. Sun, moon, stars, seas, plants, animals, people. Everything. Without God’s Word nothing would be here. Fast forward many years to the birth of Jesus. John 1:14 tells us that Jesus not only speaks God’s Word, He is God’s Word. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” God sent Jesus to earth to fix the break in the relationship between man and God brought about by sin. God’s Word gives us new life when we accept Jesus as our Savior.

After salvation, God’s Word continues to play a most important role in our lives. Through it God instructs and encourages us. He molds us and disciplines us. He shapes us into His image through our obedience to His Word and the Holy Spirit’s work in each believer. It’s important to grasp the power of His Word. Hebrews 4:12 tells us “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.”

Pray God’s Word

I am so thankful for scripture and it’s power in my life. If you’ve not yet begun praying it, this is a perfect time to begin.

1. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a scripture for your prayer requests.
2. Begin praying God’s Word over people and into situations.
3. Memorize scripture. The more verses you know by heart, the more effectively you can pray.

More of God’s Word

If you’d like to explore this theme further, please listen to  How to Pray God’s Word.

Also, you must check out this beautiful Pinterest pin I found highlighting some of God’s Words.

Comment

Please leave a comment below in the Speak Your Mind section on what God teaches you today about His Word.

Previous Links

• Introduction
• Day 1: Light
• Day 2: Cleansing
• Day 3: Sacrifice

By Mary Kane

All rights reserved.

copyright 2016

god’s word. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/god’s word (accessed: November 18, 2014).

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:28

For our first devotion for Holy Week, we are looking at the beginning stanza of this poem: See here for the complete poem.

FAST from judging others: FEAST on Christ dwelling in me.

This is a good reminder for me. It’s all to easy to judge my family, friends, and people I see as I go about my day. Peoples’ appearances, language, lifestyle choices, and behavior can all have me rendering a split-second judgment when I have only a minuscule piece of the total picture of their lives. Would I want to be judged and found wanting in the same way that it is so easy for me to do to others?

The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 16:7 that man looks at the outside of the person, but God looks at the heart. That’s exactly what Jesus did. Jesus often seemed to seek out the people who had been judged and found wanting in Jewish society.

One such person was Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus would not have won any popularity contests in his village. As a chief tax collector, he was despised by his neighbors. Jesus created quite a stir when He invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner. Luke 19:7 tells us that the town was buzzing about Jesus’ choice of a dinner companion.

Or how about the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the local well in John 4 at the sixth hour (about 12 p.m.) of the day? The very fact that the woman was getting her water at that time was unusual. Women were usually at the well when it was coolest outside–in the early morning and evening. She was there at a time when not many other people would be there. She was living an immoral lifestyle and was most likely rejected because of that, so she probably didn’t want to risk seeing the stares and hearing the whispers behind her back. Besides that fact, she was a Samaritan, and Jews would not associate with Samaritans.

Jesus knew that both this woman and Zacchaeus needed an encounter with forgiveness, and He freely offered it to both of them. Jesus didn’t reject a person based on their standing in the community; neither did He overlook the sin in a person’s life. He always dealt with it.

That’s a good distinction for us to make too. We need to address the difference between judging someone and speaking the truth in love. The one God may call us to do, the other He doesn’t. When we judge someone, we are making a decision that only God can make about a person–the personal state of their heart. That’s different than speaking the truth in love when a person that we know is living in a sinful situation. God may give us the go-ahead to address that sin with the person–especially a family member or close friend that we know well. Always approach that talk with prayer, a humble spirit, and in God’s timing. If God has laid it on your heart to have that difficult conversation about a person’s situation/behavior, that’s different than a quick pass of judgment that we can be prone to doing based on outward circumstances.

So, today, we want to put the focus on Christ dwelling in us. That means we take our eyes off of others and ourselves and put them on Jesus. The very fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in us (see John 16:12-15) is what makes Christianity different from all other religions. As Christ-followers, we have the amazing reality of Christ living in us as the Holy Sprit.We can change because we have God’s power at work in us. In John 16:12-15, Jesus introduces this cataclysmic coming change to his followers. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, teaches us, and changes us. Because of Him, we can lead an abundant life of serving the Lord.

Application: What is it in your life that would benefit from remembering you have “Christ in you, the hope of glory” in your life? What situation do you need a fresh dose of Christ’s transforming power in? Pray for a transformation of a situation, a heart, an attitude today.

Prayer: Lord, we pray that we would not take upon ourselves the job of judging others. Instead, may our focus and our eyes be on You. Fill us up and transform our lives to Your glory. Amen.

If you’d like to study more about judging and how that affects people, here’s a link to an Outcast Bible study Mary wrote dealing with this topic.

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

P.S.-Pray Specifically!

“Combining the power of scripture with the power of prayer.”

Please read Mark 9:17-29.

Like the father and his son in today’s passage, have you been dealing with the same problem for a very long time? Sometimes when a trial or challenge continues to oppress us, we begin to lose hope that we will ever be healed or delivered; we waver in unbelief. What should we do with our doubt or unbelief? Just as the man in Mark 9, take your unbelief to Jesus. Tell Him all about your doubts and ask Him for His divine help. And your Heavenly Father, who is your “refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble,” will come to your aid.
Please make this prayer your own by inserting your name or an appropriate pronoun into the blanks as you pray.
Dear Holy Father,
_______________ have/has been struggling with this issue for a very long time. Your word promises that if ___________ can believe, than all things are possible for me. Lord, ____________want to believe You, but I struggle at times with unbelief. Right now as best as I can, I cry out to You and ask that You help ___________ with my unbelief. Thank you Jesus that You now live to intercede on my behalf. Thank you that You are working all things for ________________ good. Please help me to trust in You with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding.
In Jesus Holy Name,
Amen

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do you know that God has given us divine power to help us live according to His will? To do the study “Power Up!, just click on the link!

St. Augustine Easter Morning Sunrise

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.

Very early on Easter morning Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices to Jesus’ tomb so that they might anoint His body. Can you imagine the surprise, the shock, the fear they must have felt in finding Jesus missing from His tomb and in His place a heavenly messenger with the stunning news that Jesus had risen from the dead?! They were the first to receive this news, and yet they were so afraid that the Bible tells us they fled from the tomb and said nothing to anyone. I am sure they were trying to piece together in their minds what they had just seen–and not seen.

Later, a distraught Mary Magdalene is back searching for Jesus when He appears to her. How touching that the first person He chooses to appear to is the one whom He had cast seven demons out of. I think Mary Magdalene was clinging to her faith in Jesus despite the circumstances. She  had been set free from such bondage; she above all others had to realize that no earthly power could have performed the miraculous healing that she received.

Now the word starts to spread that Jesus is alive, but Jesus’ disciples don’t believe it until they see Him for themselves. Soon they begin to realize that the plan is much bigger than they ever imagined–a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly reign. And they will be the ones to start spreading the good news.

I love the joy and power of Easter morning. Because of Easter morning we have hope. Hope that we can change. That we can be set free. That we can forgive. That we can love. That we can be forgiven and healed and restored to the relationship with God we were meant to have.

This Easter morning found me on the beach in St. Augustine basking in a beautiful sunrise while the chorus of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” wafted down the beach to me from an outdoor service a mile away. It’s easy in this setting to sense the magic of Easter. But what’s important is that this message is for every person in every place, from a beach in Florida to a slum in Calcutta to a prison in China to wherever you are, as you are. Don’t wait until you “get your act together” to come to Jesus, because none of us ever can without His help. That’s what He came for and that’s why He died and that’s why He rose again.

Happy Easter and pray on!

Jane VanOsdol