Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven – Ps.119:89
The Scriptures stand firm, unshaken, forever enduring, and forever relevant. No matter what foolish men do with it here below, it is our immovable Truth throughout all eternity. It shall never grow old or lose its relevance.
Jesus said in Mt.24:35: “Though heaven and earth pass away, My Words will never pass away.” And again, Mt.5:18: “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the Law until everything takes place.” Yes, “The Word of the Lord endures forever!” -1 Pet.1:25.
May the confession of Job be the reality of your life! Job 23:12: “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the Words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
O Dear Listener, this perfect Word renews the inner man, imparts wisdom, rejoices the heart, and enlightens the eyes! This is the testimony of Ps.19:7-11: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
“The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. They are more desirable than gold and sweeter than honey. By them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.”
Pause and reflect on this: What does your life consist of? What are you devoting your waking hours to, day by day? Listen to Jesus in Mt.4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”
Deut.32:46,47: “Take to your heart all the Words with which I am warning you today; for it is not an empty Word for you; indeed it is your life!” The Lord Jesus confirms the life-giving power of His Word in Jn.6:63: “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I have spoken to you, they are spirit and they are life.”
Dear Listener, it is this unchanging Word of God that will transform your life step by step into conformity to Jesus Christ Himself. Jn.8:31,32: “Jesus said to those who believed on Him, ‘If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.’”
O that we might all become like Ezra! “Ezra had devoted his heart to study and seek the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His decrees and laws” –Ez.7:10. Let us be like Joshua: “This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, so that you will be careful to do everything written in it” –Josh.1:8.
May we all imitate Timothy: “Be diligent to study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who correctly handles the Word of Truth” -2 Tim.2:15. And may each of our hearts rise with joy and exclaim: “O how I love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day” –Ps.119:97.
Yes, this most excellent Word of God will keep you from sin. Ps.119:11: “Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” It is your wisdom above all others: Ps.119:98,99: “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.”
Will you grow in spiritual life? 1 Pet.2:1: “Long for the pure milk of the Word that you may grow thereby.” This Word will strengthen you in the conflict to overcome the enemy of your souls. 1 Jn.2:14: “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” And how is that accomplished? By taking up “the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God” -Eph.6:17.
And by the Word of God Christ cleanses His church: Eph.5:26: “by the washing of water with the Word.” By it we are guided and kept from stumbling: Ps.119:105: “Your Word is the lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” And when that Word fills our hearts, we are certain of praying according to the will of God. Jn.15:7: “If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.”
This is the sure basis of all genuine trust in the Lord: Ps.56:10: “In God, whose Word I praise, in the Lord, in whose Word I praise, in God I have put my trust.” Rom.10:17: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Dear Listener, there is no other valid basis for faith and godliness. If you lose or are ignorant of the Word of God, you are adrift on a stormy sea that will not end well. Heb.2:1: “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to the things we have heard lest we drift away from it.”
But beware! Deut.4:2: “You shall not add to the Word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God.” Do not be deceived by foolish dreamers and fake prophets in Prayer Houses and Cathedrals.
Isa.8:19,20: “When they say to you, ‘Consult the mediums and spiritists; with their whispering and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.’ Should not a people consult their God? To the Law and the testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word, there is no light in them!”
We live in terrible days like those of Jeremiah 6:10: “Behold, the Word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; they have no delight in it!” What should we do? The same thing Jeremiah himself did: Jer.15:16: “Your Words were found and I ate them, and Your Words became for me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart.”
But do not follow the fake prophets of the deception of their own hearts. Jer.23:16-36: “Thus says the Lord Almighty, ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They make you worthless. They speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord.
“‘I did not send these prophets, yet they ran around claiming to speak for Me. I did not speak to them but they prophesied. I have heard these prophets say, “Listen to the dream I had from God last night!” And then they proceed to tell lies in My Name.
“‘By telling these false dreams they are trying to get My people to forget Me. But let him who has My Word, speak My Word in truth!
“‘Therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘I am against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, “This prophecy is from the Lord!” I am against these false prophets. Their imaginary dreams are flagrant lies that lead My people into sin. I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all.
“‘Stop using this phrase: “Prophecy from the Lord.” For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the Words of our God, the living God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’”
Dear Listener, “Seek from the Book of the Lord and read” –Isa.34:16.
Copyright Steve Phillips 2020