Power in His Word

Power in His Word

Today's Scripture:

Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You

Psalm 119:11, AMP.

Today's Word:

Did you know that the Word of God has the power to protect you and keep you from doing the things you know you shouldn’t do? Hebrews tells us that the Word of God is living and active; it’s powerful in our lives. God communicates to us through His written Word, the Bible, and He communicates with us through His spoken Word which can come in many ways. In scripture, God spoke to people through a burning bush, a still small voice, and even a donkey. Today, He may speak to your heart through a friend, a worship song, or something in creation. One thing is for sure, when He does speak, your spirit knows it. There is confirmation in your inner man. God always speaks truth, and truth always sets you free!

God’s Word also protects you. When you hold His Word close to your heart, it acts like a shield around your heart. You hold His Word close to you by meditating on it, focusing on it, thinking about it and declaring it. As you allow His truth to sink into your spirit, it will empower you and change you. It will equip you to live the good life He has prepared for you!

Prayer for Today:

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word which strengthens and protects me. Thank You for speaking truth to my heart. Help me to hear Your voice more clearly that I may live a life pleasing to You in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Build an Application Bridge

13 hours ago

by Rick Warren

                                   

"Does the LORD really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn't want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him.” (1 Samuel 15:22b CEV)

If you aren’t experienced in applying God’s Word to your life, you might be frustrated. How do you do it? Today I want to give you three questions you can ask of any passage that will help you apply the Bible to your life. Here are the three questions:

1. What did this Scripture mean when it was written?
2. What is the timeless truth behind what God is saying?
3. How does it apply now to me?

We call this the application bridge. We’re building a bridge between the world of the Bible and our world. Let’s try to build this bridge when applying what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 8 about eating the food sacrificed to idols. Read 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, and then ask yourself the questions above.
1. What did this Scripture mean when it was written? There were people in the church of Corinth who knew that idols meant nothing and the food offered to them had no magic power. It was just hamburger or a good steak. There was no harm in eating it because the idols to which they were sacrificed weren't real. So this group would eat freely but with no regard to what other people might think. Yet there were also new believers who were offended by that practice. They didn’t think that believers should eat food sacrificed to gods of other religions. Paul tells the mature believers not to allow their freedom in Christ to offend their brothers.
2. What is the timeless truth behind what God is saying? Don't use your freedom in Christ to offend others. Freedom must be used in love.
3. How does it apply to me now? It's not very common to come into contact with food being offered to idols where I live in Southern California. I’m guessing it doesn’t happen in your area, either. So does that mean it’s irrelevant for us? Of course not! If the timeless truth is: “Don’t use your freedom to offend others. Freedom must be used in love,” I need to be sensitive to people around me, because that’s how you demonstrate love. Ask yourself, “Lord, is there anything I'm doing out of selfishness, arrogance, or deliberate insensitivity to other people that could be causing a fellow brother or sister to stumble? Am I being puffed up by my own knowledge of freedom, or am I building up others in love?”
There are many parts of the Bible that will seem irrelevant to your life today until you build an application bridge.
Talk It Over

• Think of a Bible story with which you have been familiar for a while. When you re-read the passage and use the three questions above, what new truths or applications do you discover about the story?
   
• Do you believe that God intended for you to use the Bible as a guide for life? Do you believe that its truths are timeless, that the messages and applications are still relevant today?