The Word To Live By: 1-7-26
Phil Waggoner
I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1,2
The Word To Live By: We are talking about steps we take to live our lives by faith. The first one was tied to our confession and the importance of it. Next is presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God (behave in such a way that honors the Word of God). Both of those things - the way we talk and the way we behave - are very much tied to the way we think. In Isaiah 55:8,9, the Spirit of God said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” The Spirit of God wants us to think like Him because His thoughts and ways of behaving open the channels of blessing and abundant life that Jesus came to give us. In Ezekiel 18, the Spirit is talking about living a righteous life, and in verse 25, He says, “You say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? In April of 1975, it took me about 10 seconds to figure out that the way I was living was not working. It took me a couple of months to figure out that the way I was living was tied to the way I was thinking. That’s when I began to read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) from the standpoint of “How did Jesus think and handle everyday life?” We get a glimpse of Him at age 12 when His parents found Him in the temple listening and asking questions about the Word with the Bible teachers. Then in John 5:19 and 20, He says, I don’t do anything that I don’t see The Father doing, or what He shows me to do. Where did He see it and where was the Father showing Him? In the Word. Jesus learned and asked questions and spent time in the Bible so He could learn to think and act like God. Jesus grew in the Word of God. He wasn’t born with the full knowledge of how to operate His life according to God’s purpose for it. He learned it from His parents, from His teachers, and most importantly, from revelation knowledge of the Holy Spirit - the same Holy Spirit and Bible that are available to us. The more of the Word of God that you put into your spirit through hearing, reading, and meditating on, the more you will begin to change your behavior and thought life. I’ll get into meditating on the Word more as we move along.
Read through the Bible in a year: Luke 8:26-56; Genesis 13,14; Psalms 7;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 7, Matthew 4:1-13, Acts 7:
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160