"Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart."
While only the last sentence is our "official" verse this week, I would really encourage you to memorize the preceding two sentences with it. It is such a powerful lead in and emphasizes so strongly just Who it is that is giving us "these words." You can still call it your D6 verse, you'll just have a little extra!
When our mind is set on God, when we have established Him as the Lord of our life, and when we love Him above everything else and with all that is within us, then how can we not want to fully embrace His message to us? And embracing that message means carrying it with us in our hearts.
Everything God tells us is for our benefit (let's see, that would be 2 Timothy 3:16...wow!...see how well that works!), but the words that He gives us in D6 are especially powerful in how we are to live our lives in light of the fact that He has given us directives for life...in how we are to live, how we are not to live, and how knowing Him should make a distinct difference in the way we live.
If we are going to have an influence in the world in which we live, if we are going to leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren that will make a difference in their worlds, then we had better be getting serious about knowing God's Word and dwelling on it, allowing it to guide us rather than trying to make it fit into our lives.
Robert J. Morgan cites this alarming statistic, "Only 35% of American congregations now describe themselves as spiritually vital and alive."
Did you get that? American congregations. The vast majority of our churches admit that they are spiritually lethargic and dead. Why is that? Where has the passion gone? Do you think the passion may have left about the same time that God's Word did? For in many churches, God's Word is barely acknowledged, not affirmed as inspired or inerrant, and utilized in much the same way as a classic piece of literature.
Sounds dangerously lukewarm to me. And that is not the temperature God desires for His church.
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:14-16
Churches need to return to the complete message of God's Word, accept it as God's absolute truth, and get on fire for its proclamation. And we, as individual members of God's church on earth, need to do the very same thing. Then we will see a vitality and life in our churches, and in our lives, that will make the world take note!
Dear Father, please put a passion in me for Your Word and to keep it in my heart. Let it guide my life and let me, because of Your Spirit, be a light in this world of darkness. Forgive me for not always keeping Your Word active and alive in me. Thank You for the gift of Your Word, and thank You for Jesus, our Savior.
While only the last sentence is our "official" verse this week, I would really encourage you to memorize the preceding two sentences with it. It is such a powerful lead in and emphasizes so strongly just Who it is that is giving us "these words." You can still call it your D6 verse, you'll just have a little extra!
When our mind is set on God, when we have established Him as the Lord of our life, and when we love Him above everything else and with all that is within us, then how can we not want to fully embrace His message to us? And embracing that message means carrying it with us in our hearts.
Everything God tells us is for our benefit (let's see, that would be 2 Timothy 3:16...wow!...see how well that works!), but the words that He gives us in D6 are especially powerful in how we are to live our lives in light of the fact that He has given us directives for life...in how we are to live, how we are not to live, and how knowing Him should make a distinct difference in the way we live.
If we are going to have an influence in the world in which we live, if we are going to leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren that will make a difference in their worlds, then we had better be getting serious about knowing God's Word and dwelling on it, allowing it to guide us rather than trying to make it fit into our lives.
Robert J. Morgan cites this alarming statistic, "Only 35% of American congregations now describe themselves as spiritually vital and alive."
Did you get that? American congregations. The vast majority of our churches admit that they are spiritually lethargic and dead. Why is that? Where has the passion gone? Do you think the passion may have left about the same time that God's Word did? For in many churches, God's Word is barely acknowledged, not affirmed as inspired or inerrant, and utilized in much the same way as a classic piece of literature.
Sounds dangerously lukewarm to me. And that is not the temperature God desires for His church.
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:14-16
Churches need to return to the complete message of God's Word, accept it as God's absolute truth, and get on fire for its proclamation. And we, as individual members of God's church on earth, need to do the very same thing. Then we will see a vitality and life in our churches, and in our lives, that will make the world take note!
Dear Father, please put a passion in me for Your Word and to keep it in my heart. Let it guide my life and let me, because of Your Spirit, be a light in this world of darkness. Forgive me for not always keeping Your Word active and alive in me. Thank You for the gift of Your Word, and thank You for Jesus, our Savior.
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