EVERY Word From God

Mt 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.    KJV

Satan tried to tempt Jesus with His apparent need for food and the lack of any sustenance out in the desert.

Had that been me, I would probably have looked at the rocks, seen that they were shaped like loaves of bread, and fell for the temptation.

But Jesus saw much deeper than His immediate need. He saw His need to only do what He saw the Father do; to only say what He heard the Father say. That was an overriding principle in His entire life:

Jn 5:19
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
Jn 12:50
…whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.      KJV

Notice the detail of what He said. It is not enough that we live by the word of God. We must live by EVERY word that comes from God.

There are at least three ways that I need to be able to hear from God so that I get every word.

The first place we begin, of course, is the Bible–also known as the Word of God.

I am constantly amazed by the number of church-going, bible-believing Christians who do not know the Bible. I am not talking about knowing, or believing my particular position on a subject. I’m speaking of the basics. People do not know the books of the Bible. They do not know who wrote the Gospels. They don’t know how many gospel accounts there are. They do not know the story of Paul’s conversion.

Basic stuff!!!

This only tells me that they are not spending time in the Word.

We begin to hear from the Lord as we spend time in His Word.

The second place we get every word that comes from God is in our personal prayer time with the Lord.

In order to do this, prayer must not be something like we run into the room, say “Hi,” spout off our requests, say “Bye” and leave.

No.

We must take time to listen. That seems to be a major challenge for the wired generation.

Thirdly, we hear from God through others.

I thank God for the fellowship of believers. I love the church. But, often, others are not aware that they have heard from the Lord on something, and I need to hear those words, too. (I know that this is often the failure of the local church itself as the pastor does not make room for others, but that is for a different topic of discussion.)

Blogging has increased our ability to hear from the Lord. I get to hear what God is saying to others, and my faith is built up, my desire is increased, my awareness is heightened.

Blogging will not replace nor supplant the need for the local church, but it certainly is providing a means for many who do not yet have a church where they feel at home.

How has blogging–whether you write or just read–affected your walk with the Lord?