Your Questions...His Word (post 6) AND a Giveaway!

This post is a part of our current series, "Your Questions...His Word." Click here to go to the beginning of the series and to learn about the giveaway! Also, be sure to check out the most recent post, "A Fellow Mommy Needs Your Prayers" and continue to lift up Sonya in prayer as she copes with the recent loss of her precious baby boy, Zion.

For now, back to our series...as a follow up to our post on devotions, I feel compelled to share just a few more insights about the significance of being in God's Word. I have to admit, we Christians sometimes sound like we are speaking a different language at times, don't you agree? I mean what does it mean to be "saved" and what do you mean by "believer/unbeliever" and being "in Christ" or "in the Word?" While each of these words/phrases in and of themselves warrant their own post, I want to focus today on being "in the Word."

Very straightforwardly, I am talking about reading and studying the bible for oneself. This very act is central to doing devotions. The question arose from the previous post about the difference between prayer and devotions. I guess for me, prayer is often a part of my devotions, or alone time with God. I like to start and end my time with God in prayer, where I just talk to Him. While circumstances sometimes determine the words of my prayers, I always express my thankfulness, first and foremost for having Jesus in my heart, whom I accepted by faith. You can read more about accepting Jesus here. Devotions, for me, may also include reading a daily devotion online, which typically includes a couple verses of Scripture and a story that goes along with the main message of the verses. These types of devotions are also found in various books. More often, however, my personal devotions consist of me digging into God's Word, the Bible. I may open up to the book of Psalms and just read one a day, or stick with that same one for several days, pouring over the Scripture and reflecting on what it has to say. Right now (and for the past 3 weeks), I have been in Isaiah 61, working to memorize these verses. I say these things to give examples, not to prescribe a specific way of how you ought to spend your quiet time with the Lord. In all honesty, I think you need to do what works best for you, but the key is that you do so with devotion. If the concept of devotions is new to you, a devotional book may be a great start and it's perfectly okay to pray to God and admit that this is new and ask Him to show you how to learn more about Him. I find great comfort in Jeremiah 29:13 which says, "You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart." Seek Him!

So back to "being in the Word"...We've made it clear that "the Word" is the Bible. Some may wonder what is so important about that? Isn't it just a book? Wasn't it written like a really long time ago and what relevance would it have for me in this day and age? These are all real and valid questions, with real and valid answers. While entire books have been written on this topic which address these very questions, I will just share a few thoughts and Scriptures that the Lord just laid on my heart as I thought more about the topic of devotions and being in the Word. The gospel of John starts with this verse:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."
(John 1:1-2)

At first glance, this may seem confusing. With an understanding of God's Word, we can conclude that this verse is telling us that God's Word has been with us since the beginning of time. It is apparent that the use of the word, "Word" is referring to someone when it says, "He was with God in the beginning" (vs. 2). Later in this passage (vs 14), Scripture says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." The "Word" is referring to none other than our precious Jesus, Savior of the world. That is just one reason why being "in the Word" is so significant. We are drawing close to God, through Christ. Amen?

I would like to conclude with a simple verse that I pray will connect some of these dots for you. Psalm 130:5 says,

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His Word, I put my hope."

In His Word...Jesus...I put my hope. My hope is in His Word, my precious Jesus. What about you? I would love to read your comments below, and remember, each comment is entered into our drawing for a "Mommy shower" goodie giveaway!

One more thing - Proverbs 31 Ministries ran an awesome devotion today that is related to what we've been discussing; being in the Word! Check it out by clicking here.