God's Word in My Life

Happy Tuesday to all of you! I, Michele, am going to take you back to a portion of 2 Timothy that was inadvertently skipped in Chapter 3. Please go back to verses 10-17 with me and see what you hear God saying to your heart.

This is what I hear you saying to me, Lord:

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (v. 16)

I need to commit to being in your Word every day so that my feet stay on your path and my mind stays full of truth. This world is full of lies and every kind of darkness. It would be easy to fall away from you, Lord, by neglecting your teaching. You use scripture to point out what is wrong in my life. Ouch! On occasion you use my quiet time with you to convict my heart of sin that needs to go, of things or attitudes that do not fit with your direction in my life. If I depend on people, reality TV, advice columns in magazines, or the evening news to cloud my perception of truth I will be in trouble quickly. When I struggle in life I need to turn to you, Lord, and seek absolute truth. Your Word is the only absolute truth. Please continue to show me what is wrong in my life. I realize my need to change when you show me what wrong attitudes, behaviors, or thoughts I'm entertaining. I know that you will work change in me when I understand my wrongs and repent.

You may choose to speak a truth to my heart through scripture at just the perfect time and I know for certain that you are speaking directly to me. I may feel lost and abandoned and you use a passage to comfort me and give me peace. You show me truth which helps me to ignore the lies. All scripture is inspired by you, God. I can hear your voice and know how you may be guiding me if I'm committed to being in your presence.  Truth is what I need if I profess to be your follower, Lord. Please place in my heart a desire to always seek your truth.

God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (v. 17)

I am also able to encourage others and know what they may need when I'm devoted to spending time in your Word. You have called me to be your witness and ambassador in this lost world but you did not call me to figure out how to do that all on my own. You provide tools for me to use and all the power, strength, courage and motivation I need. You, O Lord, are all I need to do everything you call me to do. When I feel like I'm not capable please remind me that I'm not. I can do nothing without you! I may need to step out and take the initiative but you will not leave me to conquer any task on my own. If you call me to do it you will provide everything I need to accomplish it. What an honor it is to be your daughter and get to be on mission with you! Equip me, Father. I'm ready! Amen.

I obviously have no idea how often each one of you spends in God's Word, but I bet we can all admit that it's not nearly enough. With the beginning of a new year I'm hoping we can all make an attempt or, even better, a commitment to spending time with God and in his Word on a more consistent basis. Only you know what you can commit to and what will be realistic for you. I know that I feel so much closer to God and full of joy and peace when I spend daily time reading my Bible and in prayer. And, God loves it when I put him first and spend daily quiet time in his presence.

I hope that you've been blessed and encouraged by this post. If so, please share this with your friends and/or family. What a great way to share a blessing!