The Word To Live By: 3-7-26
Phil Waggoner
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15
The Word to live by: This is the last thing that Jesus told His disciples after He was raised from the dead and before He returned to heaven (Matthew 28:19). A disciple is a devoted follower in word and deed. I ask the question, “Why?” a lot. Especially in the Bible. Why does God want me to love my neighbor as myself? Why does God want me to live by faith and not necessarily by sight. (I’m never going to get hit by a train that I see coming because I’m going to move out of the way. To stand there and pray about whether I should move or not is ignorance gone to seed.) Why does God want me to treat others the way I want to be treated and not the way they treat me? Why do I have to forgive someone who has hurt me either physically or emotionally? The answer is in John 10:10 and made clear in The Amplified Translation when Jesus said, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” God the Father wants us to enjoy life to the fullest and He sent Jesus and gave us His Word so that is possible in our lives. We are not all called to other countries, but we are all called to share His good news with everyone we know. We can do that in many ways, but I have found that the best way is how we live. There’s old saying, “I can’t hear what you are saying because what you are doing is so loud.” People form opinions more on what they see you do than what they hear you say. If you want people to listen to you form a relationship with them by being a doer of what God says in His Word. Follow His words that say to love your neighbor as yourself which translates into treating them the way you want to be treated. There are people who need the love and hope we have in Jesus. So, if Jesus is our Savior, then let’s live like it. Offer your praise to God for who He is; worship Him through the way you live your life. You really don’t have to go any farther into the world than next door or around the corner.
Read through the Bible in a year: Matthew 11:20-30; Leviticus 13; Proverbs 25;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs; Proverbs 7, Mark 5:23-43, 2 Corinthians 6
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160