Verse of the Day 4/3

Through the Bible -Judges 13-14, Luke10:1-24

 

Good morning,

When I was a kid I loved to swim.  One of my favorite things to do whether at a friends' pool or a public pool was to see how far a could swim underwater while holding my breath.  I still enjoy doing that, but don't make it quite as far.  The longer you would go the pressure would build, finally I'd burst to the surface and take in a deep breath.  The swimming was fun, but I needed the air to sustain me.

 

In the Old Testament, one of the words translated as "soul" is "nephesh" which means to breath.  You get the picture from Genesis where God breathed into man the breath of life.  You are a living, breathing soul, created with an awareness of eternity.  As the author of Ecclesiastes writes, " He has put eternity in the heart of man".

 

For today's verse we'll go to Psalm 42 where we get a picture of the "soul" that thirsts for God.

 

Ps 42 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?     NKJV

 

As we need air to sustain us here physically, as Christians we need God's Word to sustain us spiritually.  The deer seeks water daily.  We should seek, desire to know God better, daily.  If you are alive in Christ,,going without it should be like swimming under water.  You can go for a short time without it but you'll feel the need building the longer you go.

I read the following about Martin Luther in a biography of him by John Piper.  You can see how important the Word of God was to him.

"One of the great rediscoveries of the Reformation -especially of Martin Luther- was that the Word of God comes to us in a form of a Book. In other words Luther grasped this powerful fact: God preserves the experience of salvation and holiness from generation to generation by means of a Book of revelation, not a bishop in Rome. The Word of God comes to us in a Book. That rediscovery shaped Luther and the Reformation.

 

In 1539, commenting on Psalm 119, Luther wrote, "In this psalm David always says that he will speak, think, talk, hear, read, day and night constantly—but about nothing else than God's Word and Commandments. For God wants to give you His Spirit only through the external Word". This phrase is extremely important. The "external Word" is the Book. And the saving, sanctifying, illuminating Spirit of God, he says, comes to us through this "external Word."

Luther calls it the "external Word" to emphasize that it is objective, fixed, outside ourselves, and therefore unchanging. It is a Book. Neither ecclesiastical hierarchy nor fanatical ecstasy can replace it or shape it. It is "external," like God. You can take or leave it. But you can't make it other than what it is. It is a book with fixed letters and words and sentences."

 

God's Word is outside of ourselves, but lives in us as we take it in and apply it.  Think of someone from a younger generation to whom you can impart a longing, a desire for God and His Word.  Who knows, someone from your high school Sunday School class, Young Life group, or your family will make a lasting impact on the world for Christ.

 

In Christ,

Mike

 

Ps 42:1-43:1

42 As the deer pants for the water brooks,So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.When shall I come and appear before God?  3 My tears have been my food day and night,While they continually say to me,"Where is your God?"
4 When I remember these things,I pour out my soul within me.For I used to go with the multitude;I went with them to the house of God,With the voice of joy and praise,With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?And why are you disquieted within me?Hope in God, for I shall yet praise HimFor the help of His countenance. 
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me;Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,And from the heights of Hermon,From the Hill Mizar. 7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;All Your waves and billows have gone over me. 8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,And in the night His song shall be with me — A prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God my Rock,"Why have You forgotten me?Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" 10 As with a breaking of my bones,My enemies reproach me,While they say to me all day long,"Where is your God?"
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul?And why are you disquieted within me?Hope in God;For I shall yet praise Him,The help of my countenance and my God.

NKJV