Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
“There is power in the spoken word. There is longevity in the written word.
When the founders of this country wanted to come up with the things that would hold our country together, they didn’t just say it to each other, they wrote it down so it could have longevity and hold us together in the constitution. …
When God wanted humanity to understand his heart and his love towards them, he didn’t just say it, he inspired men to write it down so it could have longevity.
The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord remains forever.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHi6WXg1C-U Time mark: 4:00-5:20)
These words were shared on Sunday, June 20, by Michael Todd, lead pastor at Transformation Church in Tulsa, OK who was a guest speaker at Life.Church in Oklahoma City, pastored by Craig Groeshel. He was speaking on the matter of relationships/marriage. In setting the foundation for building relationships God’s way, he made this statement about the power and longevity of the Word of God, spoken, AND written. (Yes, I enjoy listening to other pastors/preachers [not always WELS] to be fed, encouraged, stay connected to what is being shared in messages around the country and also to hone my craft as well!)
The point isn’t the source of this quote, but the content struck me for a couple of reasons.
- God’s love for us is so great that HE took the time to have written and preserve HIS truth for me.
- God’s Word of truth is timeless and has power to impact every person of every generation in every part of the world, including me.
This week in our message we focused on Jesus’ parable in Mark 4:26-29. The seed Jesus uses in the parable is the Word of God. What it does is amazing!
Mark 4:26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
God provided his word to us in both spoken and written form. It is inherently powerful. We don’t know how it works, but it affects change. Contained between the covers of the book or in the app on your phone is the power of God ready to go to work on your heart and mine. He wrote it down so that the same powerful words that sprouted and took root in the hearts of the Apostles to cause them to believe and drove them to share Jesus with the world are the same powerful words that sprout and grow in our hearts to lead us to believe and lead us to share the message of Jesus to others.
Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
I haven’t study biology to understand all the components of a seed, but yesterday as I ate a purple carrot out of the garden (yes, they have purple varieties), I paused to marvel that a tiny carrot seed has produced this great tasting carrot.
The power is in the seed. Jesus knew this and reminds us the power is in his Word!
Tomorrow: What does the Word have power to do?
Apply: Simply take your Bible. Page through it. As you do, pray this:
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for thinking enough of me to write down your words of truth, preserving them and presenting them to me. Like a seed, let your word sprout, take root, and grow in my heart and life. AMEN.