Life Hangs on the Word of God

He said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47)

The word of God is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Scriptures as a trifle or as empty words, you forfeit life.

Even our physical life depends on God’s word, because by his word we were created (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3), and “he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

And our spiritual life begins by the word of God: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). “You have been born again . . . through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Not only do we begin to live by God’s word, but we go on living by God’s word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

So our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the word of God. How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the life-giving power of the word of God!

Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! The foundation of all joy is life. Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — our creation and our preservation.

All this is owing to the word of God’s power. By that same power, he has spoken in Scripture for the creation and sustenance of our spiritual life. Therefore, the Bible is no empty word, but is your very life — the foundation and kindling of your joy!

John Piper 

Have You Tasted the Truth and Walked Away?

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”

HEBREWS 6:4-6

 

PONDER THIS

How should we understand today’s verse? Think of it this way. You go to the supermarket and back in the dairy section there's a table out with little squares of cheese. Each little square of cheese has a toothpick. You go and pick up that cheese and taste it. If you're a cheese hound you might say, “Hey, that is really terrific cheese. I want two pounds of it.” So, they wrap up two pounds, and you go to the checkout stand, and you’re watching as she drags that cheese over the scanner. Then you see a number come up there, and you say, “Oh wait a minute, what’s that?” She says it’s the cheese. You say, “You’ve got to be kidding. That? You expect me to pay that much money for that cheese?” She says, “Well that’s a rare cheese. That’s imported cheese. That’s very expensive cheese. I thought you wanted it?” So, you say, “Well I thought I did too, but I didn’t know what it cost. Put it back.”

In this scenario, you’re an individual who has tasted the cheese. You’ve sniffed it. You know what it is. You’ve rolled it around on your tongue. You are aware of exactly what you are doing, but you say, “I will not pay that price,” and you walk out. You refuse with your eyes wide open, and that’s your privilege. The Bible is telling us here that those who do the same with the truth of the Gospel are in great danger.

How has your life been changed by “tasting” the Word of God?

What are ways you are tempted to neglect or reject the Word of God?

PRACTICE THIS

Read Psalm 34:8. Work to memorize this verse as a reminder of the worth of following God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

 

The Book They Could Never Bury

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.”

MATTHEW 24:35

 

PONDER THIS

The Bible is not the book of the month. It is the book of the ages. No book has ever faced as much opposition as the Bible. Men have laughed at it, scorned it, ridiculed it, made laws against it, and burned it. There was a time in Scottish history when it was a crime punishable by death to own a Bible. Many a time a man has preached a funeral for the Bible, declaring it dead. Ironically, the corpse has outlived the pallbearers. People die, but the Bible has survived, and it is applicable. It is always up to date. A man of God, a woman of God, a child of God can open this book and know more today of what’s going on in the world than everyone in the Pentagon and the White House put together. The Word of God is timeless, and it is true.

How have you seen the wisdom of the Bible surpass that of man?

What are some examples of ancient accounts in the Bible that apply to our lives today?

PRACTICE THIS

Journal today about the ways the Bible applies to your life specifically in timeless ways.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Soul’s Final Feast

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

God is not unresponsive to the contrite longing of the soul. He comes and lifts the load of sin and fills our heart with gladness and gratitude. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalm 30:11–12).

But our joy does not just rise from the backward glance in gratitude. It also rises from the forward glance in hope: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5–6).

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5).

In the end, the heart longs not for any of God’s good gifts, but for God himself. To see him and know him and be in his presence is the soul’s final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

“Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4).

John Piper 

How Sure Are You That the Bible Is True?

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.” REVELATION 22:18

 

PONDER THIS

There is a war over the Word. There are those who despise it. They simply hate God’s Word. They are against all that it stands for. Then there are those who don't despise it, they just deny it. They say, “I don't believe the Bible is the Word of God.” And then there are those who distort it. The Bible is put in their hands, but they twist it to their own destruction. There are those who dissect it. They come to the Bible with their measuring rod, with their scalpel, with their test tube, and they treat the Bible more like a math book than a love story. They’re ever learning, but they are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. There are others who disregard it. They say it’s not relevant.

But I suppose the greatest enemy of the Word of God is found in churches. These are they who say they believe the Bible. They give lip service to the fact that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, authentic Word of God. But they don’t study it. They don’t know it. They don’t live by it. They don’t stand on it. You’ve got to be able to say, “I know that I know that the Bible is the Word of God.” Especially in these days, when everything that is not nailed down is coming loose. The devil is pulling nails as fast as he can. But there’s really nothing he will be able to disturb you on if you can stand on this Book. God has given you the Word.

How confident would you say you are in the Bible as the Word of God?

What things present obstacles to your belief in the Bible?

PRACTICE THIS

Spend time reflecting on, and seeking to memorize, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as a way of meditating on the truth that the Bible is God’s infallible Word.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Satan’s Strategy and Your Defense

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith. (1 Peter 5:8–9)

The two great enemies of our souls are sin and Satan. And sin is the worst enemy, because the only way that Satan can destroy us is by getting us to sin, and keeping us from repenting. The only thing that damns us is unforgiven sin. Not Satan.

God may give him leash enough to rough us up, the way he did Job, or even to kill us, the way he did the saints in Smyrna (Revelation 2:10); but Satan cannot condemn us or rob us of eternal life. The only way he can do us ultimate harm is by influencing us to sin, and keep us from repentance. Which is exactly what he aims to do.

So, Satan’s main business is to advocate, promote, assist, titillate, and confirm our bent to sinning. And to keep us from faith and repentance.

We see this in Ephesians 2:1–2: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked . . . according to the prince of the power of the air” (NASB). Sinning “accords” with Satan’s power in the world. When he brings about moral evil, it is through sin. When we sin, we move in his sphere. We come into accord with him. When we sin, we give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).

The only thing that will condemn us at the judgment day is unforgiven sin — not sickness or afflictions or persecutions or intimidations or apparitions or nightmares. Satan knows this. Therefore, his great focus is not primarily on how to scare Christians with weird phenomena (though there’s plenty of that), but on how to corrupt Christians with worthless fads and evil thoughts.

Satan wants to catch us at a time when our faith is not firm, when it is vulnerable. It makes sense that the very thing Satan wants to destroy would also be the means of our resisting his efforts. That’s why Peter says, “Resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 5:9). It is also why Paul says that the “shield of faith” can “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16).

The way to thwart the devil is to strengthen the very thing he is trying most to destroy — your faith.

John Piper 

God Is Right on Schedule

“But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.” JUDE 1:17

 

PONDER THIS

When you see people defying God blatantly, you may just want to throw up your hands and wonder, “Is the Bible the Word of God after all?” Friend, apostasy proves the Bible is the Word of God. You need to understand that. It’s precisely as God said it would be. God is not up in Heaven wringing His hands. And you don’t need to be overwhelmed and bent out of joint like something has suddenly gone awry. Everything is on schedule. The Word of God stands.

That’s what Jude was saying to these people: “Now, beloved, remember the words of the Apostles. It is exactly as they told you it would be.” And it is so important that we remember this, that there are going to be these apostates in the last days.

Where do you typically turn when you feel overwhelmed by the brokenness of the world?

What promises of God can encourage you in these times?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of promises of God that might encourage you when life is overwhelming. Keep this somewhere that you can review, and contemplate them frequently.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Contend for What God Has Revealed

“Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.” JUDE 1:8

 

PONDER THIS

In today’s verse, Jude called the apostates dreamers. He was talking about conjecture, imagination, something dreamed up. In the Book of Jude, verse 3, the Bible says we should “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude was talking about God’s Word. There is a battle for the Bible. There is a fight for the faith. We should earnestly contend for the faith. This means we must refute the “dreams” or the imaginations of men because they are not something God has revealed. This is something people have dreamed up—their own subjective religion. They have their own existential ideas rather than the revealed Word of God.

How has today’s devotion reminded you of the importance of knowing and contending for the truth of the Bible?

What are some ways we contend for the truth of the Bible? How does the Bible defend itself?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out as many ways you can think of that the Bible defends itself. How does this give you further confidence in God’s Word?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power of His Word

“And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

REVELATION 19:19

 

PONDER THIS

In Revelation 19, the battle is set. Here is the Antichrist and his armies. They have come to make war on Heaven’s King. But this is laughable. Jesus, followed by the armies of Heaven, is coming this time not for His Church, but this time with His Church after the seven years of the Great Tribulation. Here’s the Antichrist, this braggart, with his followers, speaking blasphemies, ready to make war with Jesus. And the battle ensues, the moment of anticipation has come, but it’s over with two words. Jesus says, “Drop dead.” He destroys them with the sword that goes out of His mouth. (See Revelation 19:21.) His word, the same word that spoke them into existence, will speak them into oblivion.

How often do you reflect on the power of God’s Word?

How does the reminder that Satan is no match for Jesus change the way you view the problems you are facing today?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time today to read Genesis 1 and John 1; reflect on the truth and power of Jesus as God’s Word.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How to Delight in God’s Word

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)

Never reduce Christianity to a matter of demands and resolutions and willpower. It is a matter of what we love, what we delight in, what tastes good to us.

When Jesus came into the world, humanity was split according to what they loved. “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19). The righteous and the wicked are separated by what they delight in — the revelation of God in Jesus, or the way of the world.

So someone may ask: How can I come to delight in the word of God? My answer is twofold:

1) pray for new taste buds on the tongue of your heart;

2) meditate on the staggering promises of God to his people.

The same psalmist who said, “How sweet are your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103), said earlier, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). He prayed this, because to have spiritual eyes to see glory, or to have holy taste buds on the tongue of the heart, is a gift of God. No one naturally hungers for, and delights in, God and his wisdom.

But when you have prayed, indeed while you pray, meditate on the benefits God promises to his people and on the joy of having Almighty God as your helper now and forever. Psalm 1:3–4 says that the person who meditates on God’s word “is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.”

Who would not delight to read a book, the reading of which would change one from useless chaff to a mighty cedar of Lebanon, from a Texas dust bowl to a Hawaiian orchard? Nobody deep down wants to be chaff — rootless, weightless, useless. All of us want to draw strength from some deep river of reality and become fruitful, useful people.

That river of reality is the word of God, and all the great saints have been made great by it.

John Piper 

You Practice What You Truly Believe

“‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’” MALACHI 3:10

 

PONDER THIS

Do you know why you don’t obey the Word of God? You don’t believe it. Consider today’s text. There’s not a person in the Church who doesn’t want Heaven opened and God pouring out such blessings that we can’t even contain them all. All of us want that, but not all of us tithe. Why? Because we don’t believe the promise. If you believed the promise, you would tithe. We always show what we believe by our actions. Doesn’t everyone want Heaven opened and doesn’t everyone want a blessing? We simply don’t believe the Word of God.

Where do you recognize that you don’t believe the Word of God?

What evidence does your life give for your belief or lack thereof?

PRACTICE THIS

Ask God to reveal in areas in which you have not shown belief in and obedience to His Word. Take steps toward obedience today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Believing Everything Except the Truth

“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’” ACTS 8:18-19

 

PONDER THIS

There are people who claim to be believers in Jesus, but they don’t believe the doctrines of the Bible. They don’t necessarily believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven. They believe in astrology. They believe in reincarnation. These things are emphatically taught against in the Word of God. We have today a generation of people who are “very spiritual” but do not believe the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

But the reality is we better get a bulldog grip on God’s Word and God’s truth. Thousands of churches are filled with moral people who had spiritual experiences but were not born again. Simon the sorcerer said he believed. But Peter said, “You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God” (Acts 8:21).

How can you know your faith is truly faith in Jesus and not in someone or something else?

How does clinging to God’s Word help you make this distinction?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of things you believe come from Scripture. As you are able, note specific references that show you these things are real.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Inseparable, Not Identical

“ . . . having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” 1 PETER 1:23-25

 

PONDER THIS

Though Jesus and the Bible are not identical, they are inseparable. What is the Bible called? The Word of God. What is Jesus called? The Word of God. A man and his word may be different, but Christ and His Word are not different. I’m not saying that Jesus and the Bible are identical, but they are inseparable.

I read the Bible in the morning, and it speaks to my heart. It is food and nourishment to me. I read the news also, but it does very little for me. The Bible points us to our Savior, Jesus, and gives us understanding of who our God is. Century after century, people have tried to burn it or bury it. And the kings of this Earth have set themselves against it.

Jesus and the Bible both have come from God, both live forever, and both are unchanging. We can never have kingdom authority, speak with authority, preach with authority, witness with authority, or live with authority unless we get under the authority of the Word of God and we surrender to Jesus as Lord of our lives. God’s Word, the Bible, and the Living Word, Jesus, are inseparable. We need both!

What are some ways we try to separate the Bible and Jesus? Why is it important to recognize they are inseparable?

What has been harder for you: being under the authority of Jesus or being under the authority of the Word of God? How are they different? How are they the same?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray for the believers around you to be encouraged and nourished by the Word of God and to learn to follow in the way of Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Piercing Power of the Word

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

The word of God is our only hope. The good news of God’s promises and the warnings of his judgment are sharp enough and living enough and active enough to penetrate to the bottom of my heart and show me that the lies of sin are indeed lies.

Abortion will not create a wonderful future for me. Neither will cheating, or dressing provocatively, or throwing away my sexual purity, or keeping quiet about dishonesty at work, or divorce, or vengeance. And what rescues me from this deception is the word of God. 

The word of God’s promise is like throwing open a great window of bright morning sunlight on the roaches of sin masquerading as satisfying pleasures in our hearts. God has given you his good news, his promises, his word to protect you from the deep deceptions of sin that try to harden your heart and lure it away from God and lead it to destruction. 

Be of good cheer in your battle to believe. Because the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, it will penetrate deeper than any deception of sin has ever gone and reveal what is truly valuable and what is truly worth trusting and loving.

John Piper 

Fighting Words

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with one of my most often-used promises: Isaiah 41:10.

The day I left for three years to study in Germany, my father called me long distance in New York and gave me the promise of this verse on the telephone. For three years, I must have quoted it to myself hundreds of times to get me through periods of tremendous stress.

When the motor of my mind is in neutral, the hum of the gears is the sound of Isaiah 41:10. I love this verse.

Of course, it’s not the only dagger in the arsenal of my faith.

When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise of Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).

When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

When I am anxious about the welfare of those I love, I battle unbelief with the promise that if I, being evil, know how to give good things to my children, “how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).

So by all means fight unbelief with every promise in the book. But it helps to have one central, default weapon. And for me that has been Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Precious, precious promise!

John Piper 

God’s Final, Decisive Word

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

The last days begin with the coming of the Son into the world. “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” We have been living in the last days since the days of Christ — that is, the last days of history as we know it before the final and full establishment of the kingdom of God.

The point for the writer of Hebrews is this: The Word that God spoke by his Son is the decisive Word. By the Son’s own design, that word has been captured for the ages in the writings of the New Testament. He explicitly made provision for this, lest every generation be left to itself to dream up the decisive word of God. This word will not be followed in this age by any greater word or replacement word. This is the Word of God — the person of Jesus, the teaching of Jesus, and the work of Jesus, captured by inspiration in the apostolic writings we call the New Testament.

When I complain that I don’t hear the Word of God, when I feel a desire to hear the voice of God, and get frustrated that he does not speak in ways that I may crave, what am I really saying? Am I really saying that I have exhausted this final, decisive Word revealed to me so fully and infallibly in the New Testament? Have I really exhausted this Word? Has it become so much a part of me that it has shaped my very being and given me life and guidance?

Or have I treated it lightly — skimmed it like a newspaper, clicked through like a quick series of internet postings, dipped in like a taste-tester — and then decided I wanted something different, something more? This is what I fear I am guilty of more than I wish to admit.

God is calling us to hear his final, decisive, inexhaustible Word — to meditate on it and study it and memorize it and linger over it and soak in it until it saturates us to the center of our being.

John Piper 

While Peter Was Still Speaking

“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.” ACTS 10:44-46

 

PONDER THIS

When Peter spoke, it wasn’t merely his persuasive speech that got the attention of the crowd. God stepped in. Verse 44 says, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.” God moved in the hearts of the people; it was not Peter’s word alone that convinced them.

The personal witness of the saints, the prophetic witness of the Scriptures, and the powerful witness of the Spirit all come together to point to the Messiah and convict the hearts of those who need to be saved. I thank God that I don’t have to try to talk you into anything, because anything I could talk you into, somebody else could talk you out of. This Holy Spirit is still available and active today, ready to convict hearts and change people from the inside out. It is not by your own strength that you will change or by your intellect that you will understand the things of God. The Holy Spirit will guide you and help you and show you the way.

When has the Holy Spirit brought you understanding of God’s Word or will?

How dependent are you on the Holy Spirit in daily life?

PRACTICE THIS

Praise God for the help of His Holy Spirit.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power of a Superior Promise

I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts. (Psalm 119:45, my translation)

An essential element of joy is freedom. None of us would be happy if we were not free from what we hate and free for what we love.

And where do we find true freedom? Psalm 119:45 says, “I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts.”

The picture is one of open spaces. The word frees us from smallness of mind. “God gave Solomon . . . breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29). The word frees us from threatening confinements. “He brought me out into a broad place” (Psalm 18:19).

Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The freedom he has in mind is freedom from the slavery of sin (John 8:34). Or, to put it positively, it is freedom for holiness.

The promises of God’s grace provide the power that makes the demands of God’s holiness an experience of freedom rather than fear and confinement. Peter described the freeing power of God’s promises like this: “Through [his precious and very great promises] you become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:4).

In other words, when we trust the promises of God, we sever the root of corruption and sinful desire by the power of a superior promise.

How crucial is the word that breaks the power of counterfeit pleasures! And how vigilant we should be to light our paths and load our hearts with the word of God!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

John Piper 

Life Hangs on the Word of God

He said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47)

The word of God is not a trifle; it is a matter of life and death. If you treat the Scriptures as a trifle or as empty words, you forfeit life.

Even our physical life depends on God’s word, because by his word we were created (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3), and “he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3).

And our spiritual life begins by the word of God: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). “You have been born again . . . through the living and abiding word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

Not only do we begin to live by God’s word, but we also go on living by God’s word: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3).

So our physical life is created and upheld by the word of God, and our spiritual life is quickened and sustained by the word of God. How many stories could be gathered to bear witness to the life-giving power of the word of God!

Indeed, the Bible is “no empty word for you” — it is your life! The foundation of all joy is life. Nothing is more fundamental than sheer existence — our creation and our preservation.

All this is owing to the word of God’s power. By that same power, he has spoken in Scripture for the creation and sustenance of our spiritual life. Therefore, the Bible is no empty word, but is your very life — the foundation and kindling of your joy!

John Piper 

What to Do When Doubt Creeps In

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” 1 JOHN 5:13

 
PONDER THIS

One day the devil began to whisper to a little boy and said, “You’re not saved. You don’t feel right. You don’t deserve it. You’re not good enough.” And all the way home, the devil was just dogging the footsteps of that little boy.

The boy sat on the couch, trying to get it all sorted out because he wanted the absolute assurance that he was saved. He remembered John 5:24, “Verily, verily I say unto you” (KJV). Verily, verily? That means truly, truly. “I say unto you,” Jesus says, “He that heareth my word,” and the boy said, “I heard it.” “And believeth on him that sent me,” and the boy said, “I believed.” “Hath everlasting life,” and the boy said, “I have everlasting life. I’ve done it. The Word says so.”

By then, it seemed like Satan was so close he was under the couch. The boy took the Bible and stuck it under the couch, and said “Devil, read it for yourself.” When the devil gets on your trail, don’t argue with him; he’s not worth it. Point him to the Word of God and step out of the way.

When have you felt discouraged in your faith? What Scriptures encourage you in these times?
Who do you know who has struggled with assurance of faith? How can you provide encouragement?

PRACTICE THIS

Encourage someone who is struggling in his or her faith and pray for your friend to grow in assurance of salvation.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers