A Reminder To Stay Plugged Into His Word

In review of Matthew 4:4 it says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Bottom Line:

No one can live bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

What this means to me:

I can not live on bread alone, I need to see and be obedient to the word God provides. Being diabetic, I really notice when my blood sugar gets low or if I’ve gone without protein for a stretch of time. I start to feel a little weak. If I go too long I get jittery and cranky. I would imagine If I went even further, I’d start to feel lethargic.

The same is true with God’s Word. This verse says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NIV). Putting God’s Word in my life, is as necessary as eating. Likewise, If I don’t get into his word, I”ll get cranky and lethargic.

Just going to church is not enough. This is much like going to a banquet once on Sunday and fasting for the rest of the week.

I have learned that whatever I put into my body and mind is what’s going to come out. In my field, computer technology, we used to have a saying... garbage in, garbage out. If I let my mind be filled with garbage, and there’s plenty of it out there, that’s what’s going to come out in actions and words.

By default, my life is filled with all kinds of things I see on TV, hear on the Radio and read in magazines, newspapers or billboards. A better investment would be to make sure that I’m not missing my daily time with him and his word. Continuing to stay plugged into his word will help my outlook on life and allow good things to flow from it.

Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32 NKJV). So, if I abide in God’s Word, I’ll experience freedom in my heart and Heaven for eternity. And, then I’ll prove to the world that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

How to Respond to a Messed Up World

In summary of Hebrews 13:14 it says, “This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.”

Bottom Line:

This world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

What this means to me:

The world I actively participate in, is not my real home.  I am like a foreigner in a different land.  My real home is where I’ll be in eternity and it will be a place where I’m dwelling with God.  While I’m in this world, I’m not part of it.  Unfortunately this world I do live in is pretty messed up. Given my status, this is how I will respond to it.  First, I receive God’s grace daily. The Bible says in Romans 5:17, “Through the sin of one man death began to rule because of that one man. But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ! All who receive God’s abundant grace and are freely put right with him will rule in life through Christ” (GNT).  Secondly, I’ll remind myself that this place is temporary. I shouldn’t get caught up in this fallen world — the fashions and the values — because nothing I see is going to last. Everything is going to vanish one day. There are only two things that are going to last for eternity: God’s Word and his people. So I need to build your life on those things that are going to last.  This is all temporary. You don’t have to put up with the pain for the rest of eternity. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:14, “This world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven” (LB).  So pain will come my way. It’ll likely come my way, in some manner or another, every day of your life. But it won’t last.  One day in heaven all my pain — physical, mental, and emotional — will go away.  It is something I can count on.

God Uses All Things For Our Good And His Purposes

In summary of Romans 8:28 it says,

“We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Bottom Line:

God will use everything to work toward the good of those who love him, he will work them into his purpose.

What this means to me:

This verse reminds me that everything I go through and experience in life will be used by God, whether I consider it good or bad.  God has a purpose for everything and uses it to further his kingdom and grow me.  So in this I can be sure that every detail in my life of love for God will be worked into something good.  As I look at this this morning, I’m reminded of several folks in my life who are facing difficult situations (sickness, job stability, illness in a family member.) For them those pills are bitter going down, but all of them have peace in knowing that God is working regardless of the outcome.  I too have experienced similar issues in the past, but I have come to realize (like my friends) that God is up to something good, even if we can’t always see it. He is actively working to bring good out of whatever happens in life. To hold on to hope in the midst of tough times, it’s important to grab a hold of this truth on hold onto it always.  

This verse, tells us that when you put your whole life together, every piece of it works together for good. It’s similar to making a cake in which I might not like the taste of each ingredient, but when it’s all put together, its hard for me to keep my hands off of it. God wants to bake an amazingly tasty cake with my life, and he wants to use even the distasteful and bitter elements to do it.  It’s important to note that God doesn’t say that everything works together “like we want it to” or that every story will have a happy ending. The reality is not every decision I make will be a success.

The verse also reminds me that since I’m a believer I can have absolute confidence that the Master Designer of the universe causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God.  Hope isn’t the same as optimism. It isn’t the belief that something bad will turn out well. It’s the absolute confidence that every part of your life ultimately makes sense regardless of how it turns out this side of eternity.  

From my vantage point, my life look like a mess at times, but God’s view from Heaven isn’t the same as ours.  You can’t even imagine the good that God has in store for your future. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says, “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future” (NCV).  My future is in his hands — and there’s no better place for it to be.

Being Encouraged, Having A Heavenly Cheering Squad

In summary of Hebrews 12:1 it says,

“We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back.”

Bottom line:

We have a great pool of people whose lives are an example to us of what faith means.  So run with determination the race that is before us. So strip off the things that hold us back and slow us down, especially the sin that holds on and easily trips us up.

What this means to me:

Its encouraging to know that I have lots of examples of people whose lives provide me with a testimony of what to live in faith means.  These are the pioneers who blazed the way ahead of me.  I can read about them and gain insight from their lives.  In addition what I’m learning is that they are also there cheering me on.  So I need to consider the things that are holding me back from living a life of faith, especially the sin that holds onto me tightly and easily keeps tripping me up.  Then run with all the determination and endurance I have the race that God has set before me.  I can take and use Jesus’ life as one of the greatest examples.  He  both began and finished this same race of human life.  What I need to keep in mind is that what I do is never private,  I have an audience in Heaven looking down.  They are my cheering section.  Every believer who has ever lived is in the stands watching me live out my faith and cheering me on. When I’m scared, they’re rooting for me to be courageous. When I want to give up, they’re urging me to keep going. When I feel insignificant and forgotten, they’re in my corner.   So for the next few days, if I start feeling down or defeated I will keep in mind that I have a cheering section in Heaven who is encouraging me.