-July 12, 2020-
Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,
-We Need The Word of God Daily-
“But He answered him and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
(Matthew 4:4).
Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. He was weakened physically, but was strong spiritually. Jesus is God so He was and is sinless. The temptation was real and Jesus wanted to show us we can defeat the devil with the Word of God. The Bible is the sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon among the armor of God mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus taught us how to skillfully use the Scriptures against the devil as well as to build us up and strengthen us for each day.
Jesus answered each of the devil’s temptations and attacks using the Word of God. This is one of the many blessings of memorizing the Scripture. The Lord wants us to be victorious over our three great enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Not only is the Word of God our weapon, it is our daily food. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3 which refers to God providing manna from heaven for the Israelites to eat daily.
For us today, the Word of God is our food, and like the food we eat, we need it daily to survive and thrive. The Bible is both our milk and our meat. Peter wrote, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Hebrews tells that as we grow and mature, we need the meat of the word: “But solid food (or meat) belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). We must move from the milk to the meat lest we stay baby or carnal Christians. Paul chides the Corinthians for this in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4.
We wouldn’t think about missing our daily meals. Most people eat three meals a day. We need the Word of God in this way also. The Scriptures give us our spiritual nourishment and sustenance to live, grow, and be strong. Thus, just as we do need bread to live physically, we need the Word of God to live spiritually. The Word convicts, instructs, encourages, and comforts us. The Lord speaks to our hearts when we get quiet before Him with an open heart and an open Bible.
May the Lord help us to feed on His Word daily in our personal devotions, Bible reading, and Bible study with our spouses and kids. The only way to make these times effective is through prayer and applying the Word to our lives. O that the Lord would give us a healthy spiritual appetite for the truth!
Have a blessed day in God’s Word. Stay safe and healthy.
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 