Soul Food

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, ESV).

“More to be desired are they [i.e., God’s words] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10).

The Word of God is a priceless gift we have in our hands: do you cherish it? Do you go to the Scriptures for soul food? Do you study and meditate, do you listen to the Lord and respond in prayer? Is the Bible sweet to you—is it treasure? There is more to the Christian life than joyfully diligent Bible study, but never less!

Satan is always at work tempting us to bypass God’s Word:

• "There’s no time for serious Bible study in my schedule"
• "I’m no scholar—it’s too hard to understand"
• "The Bible doesn’t inspire me—it’s not relevant to my life"

Satan has a lot of lies, those are just a few. And people fall for them! I hope you don’t. You make time for food, right? Skipping the Bible leads to spiritual starvation. The daily news is relevant, right? How much more pertinent to your life and eternal joy is the news of God’s greatness and grace?

The bottom line is that authentic Christianity involves trusting in Christ—we’re saved by faith (Eph 2:8-10). How is faith gener­ated and sustained? “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). Reading and wrestling with the Bible is how we grow in faith; as we spend time with Jesus Christ via the pages of Scripture, the Lord arouses faith / trust / devotion in our hearts. By contrast, failing to dig deep in God’s Word and study it carefully destroys faith.

Let’s be candid: Does the Bible receive your undivided, eager attention on a regular basis, and are you involved in groups or classes that help you dig deep into the treasure of Scripture? Or are you walking away from Christ? It’s one or the other.

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