Foundation for Living with Jesus

  God’s Word

Now we come to one of the most significant foundations for living with Jesus. It cannot be built by habit or by threat but by the desire to know Jesus better. How often and how much we read is something that is personal and changes by the seasons of our life, but there is no excuse for not reading and understanding and applying God’s word to the way that we live. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. This is so important to believe that all scripture is inspired by God. Something that is easy to forget is when the Apostles preached after the day of Pentecost the only scripture they had was the Old Testament and at times we are tempted to place more value on the New Testament which is wrong. Also, it is important to understand that God’s word is not a book of stories, nor a book of facts or a book of history but is God’s revelation to us so that we can grow spiritually. It is not about how much we read but how much we changed by applying God’s truth to the way that we live. Jesus taught at the end of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7:24-28 we have a strong foundation in our lives when we do or live by what God’s word teaches. This truth is reinforced by James 1:22-25 verse 22 says: “But be doers of the word. Nor hearers only, deceiving ourselves”. The application of God’s word to the way that we live cannot be overemphasized because it makes our living fruitful. To help this happen I have developed in my life a discipline which is to ask myself two questions every time I read God’s word. Firstly what is the scripture saying – this helps to give the right context to what I am reading. And secondly, what is the scripture saying to me? – we must always expect the Spirit of God to reveal His truth to us regularly, this is how we build a strong foundation in our lives. It must be pointed out that there is a danger that we can know a lot of scriptures and are tempted to debate our knowledge with others. 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 says: “God, Who has made us sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”. Unfortunately, some people can quote many scriptures but do not demonstrate Christian character in the way that they live. Psalm 119:11 says: “Your word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against you”. Psalm 119:105 says: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my pathway”. Psalm 119:129 says: “The entrance of Your words gives light”. There is so much more that could be said but I trust what is written will encourage you to be strong in the Lord through the application of God’s word in your life. And the truth of God’s word will be the foundation for Living with Jesus.