Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 5 of 7: “Strangers Speak a Different Language!”
Full Sunday message, CLICK HERE
5 characteristics of God’s Word and why they matter.
1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
The angels asked the women who came to the tomb on Easer morning, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) This question surprised the women. They weren’t looking for the living. They were looking for a dead body to finish honoring it with a proper burial.
Common sense says you will not find the living among the dead.
Common sense also says that which is dead does not produce that which is alive. You might be committed to the psych ward if you were found looking for a newborn baby in a cemetery. The dead do not produce the living.
The same is true for our soul, our spiritual life. Life has to come from that which is living. Someone dead spiritually cannot give life to another. Only something alive can give spiritual life to that which is dead.
Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…”
That’s each of us by nature. As much as we would like, we cannot breathe spiritual life into ourselves, nor can another spiritually dead person do the same. Life does not come from the dead.
Jesus told Nicodemus, Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (John 3:5-6)
Life is needed to give life.
This is what makes the word of God so important for your life. It is not a “dead” book, it is as Peter and others indicated, LIVING!
John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active.
The Word of God is not a dead document. It is that which gives and sustains life in your soul. It guides and is actively at work in your life. It is the truth that purifies your heart. It is the Word that gave you new birth into a living hope found in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
There are lots of writings that have had effect for a short period of time. They capture our interest, settle a curiosity or present us with information. There is only one body of writing that continues to infuse energy and life into our being, into our soul…the LIVING Word of God!
Apply: When your faith seems weak or diminished, first plug into the Word of God for energy, encouragement, and the life-giving power of God’s Spirit.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us life through the living Word of God! Amen.