His Words

When I went to our staff conference in Dallas last month, my friend, Kelly, gave me a journal and a jar of Scriptures. This is really cool because every night before I fall asleep I pull out a Scripture and meditate on it as I'm falling asleep in the arms of Jesus. The first night i had it, I pulled out a Scripture and read it and it nourished me so much that I wanted to pull them all out and read them all. So typically i end up pulling out four or five to feast upon. One of the first few I pulled out though was from Philippians 3:10- "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering, becoming like Him in His death." (wow, that's the first Scripture I've memorized in a while... sad.) So I began to meditate upon what it meant to become like Him in His death. Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He became sin and sin was nailed to the cross. Sin died so that righteousness could live. We need to put our sin to death so that righteousness can live through us. Then I began to meditate on what the power of His resurrection was. I know that everyone says that the power that raised Christ from the dead also lives in us, but what exactly does that mean? What is the power of His resurrection? This is when God started speaking to me through these Scriptures and it was really sweet. The next morning after meditating on these Scriptures i pulled out another Scripture which said this "Praise be to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you." What an amazing promise through the resurrection. The power of the resurrection is what has given us new life and a living hope. Without His resurrection, we would have no hope. Because of His resurrection, we have an inheritance that will never fade and it's kept in heaven just for me. I want to walk in that new life that He gives us. I don't want to ever take it for granted. I want to walk passionately in that new life and not just let my life go on as if I haven't been changed. He has given me new life and a hope of things to come, no matter what my circumstances, I have a living hope.
God has been speaking to me directly more and more through His Word. I don't mean just reading a Scripture and saying, Oh that's really good, i should apply that to my life. I mean, He's been answering me with His Word. The other day i was about to pull out a Scripture out of my jar and i said, i think outloud, "What does the Lord say today?" The Scripture I pulled out started out saying "The Lord says,...." I loved the way He answered me. The other night, i felt so anxious and worked up. I was on my knees in the shower, just trying to get peace in Him. I felt like I hadn't had time to myself and I was just wanting to get away with Him. As I went to bed, I pulled out a stack of Scriptures hoping to search through them to find something that would give me peace. Of course the first two that i looked at were "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 and Psalm 23:2 "He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters" It was exactly what I needed at the time.
God's Word is not just a good guide for us in our lives. It is that, but it is so much more. It is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. His Word is able to discern our hearts and thoughts. His Word provides the answers for our heart and soul. His Word is a way that He speaks directly to us, that He communicates with us. It is His good gift to us, His heart and wisdom opened to us to draw us deeper into Him.