Our rebuilding process is underway as we learn to commend our problems and the people we tend to worry about to God, and as we work on constructing our lives upon the foundation of the Word of God. We continue to look at Acts 20:32, I commend you to God and to the Word of grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. The last time we connected we talked about desiring the Word of God: As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby - I Pet 2:2. Our focus last week was on the word "desire", concluding that if we are going to be built up we must crave the Word. There is however, something else essential highlighted in this verse; in addition to desire for the Word, there is dependence. Just as a newborn baby is completely dependent upon milk for nourishment, so are we completely dependent upon the Word for our spiritual nourishment. Our spiritual growth and strength is directly connected to the time we spend in and how we relate to the Word of God. ...It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God-Matt 4:4. Physically we can't survive without food, spiritually we can't survive without a regular intake of the word of God. Our very lives depend upon the Word! If we are going to truly be built up, firm and established in our faith we must get beyond casual reading of the Bible. Causal or superficial reading of the Word is like eating but not chewing your food. When we eat without properly chewing our food, we don't digest the food properly and our bodies can't absorb the nutrients from the food that we have eaten. The same thing happens spiritually when we fail to engage when we read the Word. We read it but we don't get the spiritual nourishment from we should from it. Too often we are not even present in the moment, unaware that God is present. Some times we just read but we have not heard God speak. We are encouraged not just to read but to meditate (ponder, consider, murmur to ourselves) upon the Word. A word picture for meditate is a cow chewing the cud. Ever notice how a cow chews? It chews very slowly over and over and over again, as if to ensure to get every ounce of nutrient from each morsel. Periodically the cow will shift its weight and it seems when his food gets real good, he will let out a long moo. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success - Jos 1:8. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor nor standeth in the way of sinners, sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night - Ps 1:1-2. Lord help us to meditate, imagine, contemplate and think about Your Word day and night, so we can be built up, strengthened and firm in our faith. learning to meditate, Diane P.s. practice meditating upon a verse all day long. Consider starting a Bible verse journal. Write the daily verse in the King James Version and then write it in the Amplified version. Open your heart to the verse. Write a conversational prayer to Lord about the verse, asking Him to help you apply to your life. Meditate upon the verse all day long. Do this daily. How are you making out with putting people and problems on your stretched out faith and commending them to God? As we continue with our process to be built up instead of broken down, let's revisit Acts 20:32: And now brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of grace which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. The second key to being built up is constructing our lives upon the foundation of the Word. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ -I Cor 3:11.The word built up means to be strengthened, established, firm. The most important part of any building is its foundation. The foundation determines the size, shape and strength of the building. If a building is going to stand tall, the foundation must be dug deep. Spiritually, if we are going to be built up, our lives must be constructed upon a deep relationship with the Word of God. Building our lives on any other foundation will not hold up in the tough times. Jesus describes it as so: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it - Matt 7:24-27. If we are going to be built up, the old foundation must be cleared away. We must be completely exposed. Our old way of thinking must be moved out and our hard hearts must be broken up. As we open up the word, we have to connect with our hearts. We have to talk with God, ask Him to help us understand what He is saying to us personally. As we read His word and consider what He is saying to us, asking how the Word that we are reading applies to our lives. It is not enough to get that scripture of the day on our phones, glance at it while sipping our lattes, and think we are good because we had a minute with God. No, if we are going to be built up, strengthened and firm in our faith, we must begin to see the Word of God as spirit and necessity for life. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby - I Pet 2:1. We must crave the Word just as babies crave milk. Our very perspective of the word is must change. We can't see the Word of God as just a book. The Word is God speaking to us personally. He is sharing His heart with us. It is our love letter, our insurance policy complete with a declaration of all our benefits, our portfolio of our spiritual assets, our declaration of independence. Blessed is the man that doesn't construct his life on bad counsel but delights in himself in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, the bringeth forth his fruit in his season...Ps 1:1-2. When we begin to construct our lives on the word of God and thinking about it all the time; considering it over and over and over again. We will be planted, strengthened firm, built up! . under construction, Diane p.s. let's take some time this week to really examine our foundation. Are all our decisions based upon the Word? Every time you read the Word become aware and sensitive to the fact that God is speaking to you personally. Just came back from an amazing Women's Retreat. The Lord used that time to Rebuild my faith, my hope and my joy. Believe you me, I so needed rebuilding. The everyday grind of life had begun to deplete my energy and douce my enthusiasm. Do you find yourself at times feeling discouraged, heavy and weighed down by life? My prayer is that Lord will build you up and strengthen you. And now brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified - Acts 20:32. Paul realized this was the last time he would see the Elders at the Church of Ephesus, in his farewell address to them he highlights in this verse three things that will help build us up: commending things to God, constructing our lives on the foundation of the Word, and contemplating our future inheritance. Paul knew that the Church was about to come under tremendous attack and he would not be there to protect them. So he commended them to our Heavenly Father. In other words he carried them to God and deposited them with Him, entrusting Him to protect them, provide for them and perfect those things which concerned them. If we are going to be built up and not broken down we too must learn to commend things to our Heavenly Father in prayer. Our problems and the people we are concerned about consume us and the weight of worry burdens us. We must learn to cast all our care upon Him for He cares for us - I Pet 5:7. In Luke chapter 5, Jesus was in town ...and the power of the Lord was present to heal them - Luke 5:17b. There was a paralytic man who had some friends who were determined to get him in front of Jesus so that he could be healed. They put him on a bed and carried him to Jesus; unfortunately, it was a sold out crowd, and they could not get him in front of Jesus. I can imagine them in their effort to get their friend to Jesus, saying excuse me, excuse me, trying to make their way through the crowd, only to be meant with rolling eyes and indignant looks that screamed you should have gotten here earlier. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch in the midst. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee...Arise, and take up thy couch, go into thine house - Luke 5:20, 24b. These men were so committed to laying the paralytic at the feet of Jesus they climbed up on the roof, starting tearing the roof apart so they could get him to Jesus. We must show that same persistent to lay at the feet of Lord the people and the problems that are weighing us down. Who are you so worried about that it is a weight, wearing you out ? It's time to put them on your stretched out faith, commend them to our Heavenly Father in the Name of Jesus. Lay them at the feet of our Heavenly Father. Entrust Him to heal, help and provide for them. Commend them to God! laying some people and some issues at His feet, Diane p.s. Identify the issues and the people you need to lay on on your stretched out faith carry them to the Lord. Every time you begin to worry commend them to your Heavenly Father. |
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