Living the Word

So today in Discipleship class, Nissa Sanford talked on being a minister. I'm not talking about being a pastor, or a teacher, or any other kind of professional Christian. (Though that is an awesome calling, and one that I respect very much.) She was talking about being "ministers of the Word" and what that means. What she said was TOTALLY different from what I was thinking...but it opened my eyes.

In Acts 6:4 when it talks about the apostles devoting themselves to the "ministry of the Word and to prayer" the greek word for ministry is Diakonos-"to wait on or serve."

What does it mean to "serve or wait on" the Word?

Well, from my restaurant job I know that as a server, you ask what the customer wants and then you give it to them....no matter what. So, it stands to reason that if we are to be devoted to the "ministry of the Word" then we should always be ready to give the Word whatever it asks for, without question.

Okay, cool you say....but what exactly is "the Word" and why is it worthy of our service?

The Word is just that....the words of God himself. Through human hands, God wrote down everything we need to know about life, salvation and serving Him. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent equipped for every good work."

Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away."

So the Words of God, written in scripture, are the direct result of God's divine inspiration, and they are eternal, just as God himself is eternal.

That is why the Word is worthy of our respect, honor and devotion....because it shows us the spirit, promises and intentions of God almighty. The Word is a product of the Lord, and thus reveals him to us in a way that nothing else can. Therefore, we must obey it FULLY.

Why should we be lovers of the Word?

1. As I said, it is a revelation from God, and should be respected as such.

2. It is to our benefit. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that "The Word of the Lord is sharper then any two-edged sword, it penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and the intentions of the heart." Reading the Word shows us how to live as Christians. It is also a tool for discernment. You know those times when you're not sure whether a thought is from the Lord, yourself or the enemy? That's what the Word is for. When we read the Word, we can see the difference between soul (ourselves) and Spirit (God). Not only does the Word benefit us mentally and emotionally....it is physical as well. Deuteronomy 8:3/Matthew 4:4 tell us that "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." This, and other examples, go to show that the Word benefits us physically. That is why it is SO powerful to pray scripture back to the Lord in cases of physical ailment. Those words are life, and truth, and our bodies respond to that.

Okay, so now we know WHY the Word is so important....and what it does for us, now it's time to live it.

"Let us rise up to the Word of God, rather then dragging it down according to our own personal experience." Michael Pearl

That is an awesome quote. I know that there are times when I try to justify living outside of the Word because I "don't see things that way", or my "personality is different". NO. No, no no. That's wrong. The Word is God's outline for my life. I don't get to chose parts of it to live out...and I don't get to leave parts out. It is all or nothing.

So what do you think? Will you do it with me? Come on guys, let's LIVE THE WORD. Let's stop "trying" and just do it. Sure, we'll mess up....that's expected, but why set low expectations? Let's try to live out the Word in every area and see what happens. I have the feeling that God will be honored through our failed attempts. But if we sit back and say, "that's too much change....I'll work on one thing at a time....let me get this straightened out first." NO! Stop being deceived. Let's live this out, let's dive in head first! Go for it, you may be suprised how well it goes.

James 1:22-25 "But be doers of the Word and not merely hearers, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like."

-Julie

P.S. One last thing....my homework for this week in Discipleship class is to share Jesus with a non believer. Honestly, that scares me to death. I'm excited, but SO nervous! It's hard because I only have one week....but hey, there are PLENTY of non Christians around me...I just have to be sensitive for the opportunity from the Lord to arise. I could use prayer on that. Oh, my hip is still pretty bad. I got some stretches/strengthening excercise from my teacher that should help, but today was painful. Please continue to lift that up in prayer. One thing my teacher said was, "if Satan can't get your mind or your heart, he's going to go after your body. That's just the way it is in ministry. When you decided to do this, you signed up to be in the front line of the battle....you're a target." How true! I covet your prayers.