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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread  – The Word Among Us

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Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors. —Psalm 119:24

 

Read: Psalm 119:17-24
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

The Word of God comes to us in many forms. Bible-centered preaching, Scripture reading, songs, study groups, and devotional articles bring to us the truths of God from Scripture. But we can’t overlook personal reading and studying either.

My heart has recently been touched by a careful, paragraph-by-paragraph study of Deuteronomy alongside the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7. Both passages contain codes of belief: The Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:6-21) and the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12). Deuteronomy shows us the old covenant—the law God wanted His people to follow. In Matthew, Jesus shows us how He has come to fulfill that law and establish the principles of the new covenant, which frees us from the burden of the law.

The Holy Spirit comes alongside the Word of God to teach, empower, instruct, convict, and purify us. The result is understanding, repentance, renewal, and growth in Jesus. Theologian Philip Jacob Spener wrote: “The more at home the Word of God is among us, the more we will bring about faith and its fruits.” Let’s pray with the psalmist: “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law” so that we might live it out in our lives (Ps. 119:18).—David C. Egner

“Heavenly Father, we bow in Your presence. Let Your Word be our rule and guide, Your Spirit our teacher, and Your greater glory be our supreme concern, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” —John R. W. Stott

When the Word of God is within us, it flows out from our life.

INSIGHT: Psalm 119 is a celebration of God’s law, broken down into 22 sections that follow the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. When we take a look at the individual sections, we see that the psalmist personally looks to God’s law as a source of life and guidance. In today’s passage, the psalmist celebrates God’s grace as he acknowledges that it is only through Him that he can keep His Word (v.17).
Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Courage to Obey

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Charles Stanley

How would your closest friends describe you—courageous or cowardly? And when you face a difficult situation, what is your most overpowering emotion? Is it self-preservation or the desire to stand for what is right and true?

Following God is never simple or easy for any one. It takes courage. A passion to obey the Lord doesn’t suddenly appear in the believer’s life. Salvation sparks love and a desire to please Him, but a courageous fire is built slowly from the timbers of spiritual knowledge, faith, and devotion.

Obedience usually begins with a healthy fear of the consequences resulting from disobedience. Until believers build a firm foundation of biblical knowledge and trust that offers better reasons to follow God, we are kept safe by the desire to avoid harsh repercussions. Thankfully, as we mature and gain greater wisdom from Scripture reading, prayer, and life experience, fear gives way to the recognition of God’s sovereignty and submission to His plans.

Following God’s will shifts our focus from the consequences of disobedience to the blessings of obedience. Once we taste the best He has to offer, we want to keep His goodness flowing into our lives. Obedience and God’s best are natural partners—good derives from following divine commands, while suffering is the result of stubbornly choosing our own way. This irrevocable principle plays out in the Bible and in day-to-day life. Every act of submission is rewarded, either on earth or in heaven. In becoming more aware of how blessing follows obedience, we realize that complying with the Lord’s will is the only wise choice.

As our faith grows, we will learn that devotion is a much more powerful motivator than any blessing the Lord might provide. All the promised blessings in the world won’t compel a believer to follow God into some frightening places. But love for our Father moves us toward passionate obedience, no matter what is at stake.

The man and the woman who courageously walk with God will always reach their destination.

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