WHERE DO YOU KEEP THE BIBLE?, No. 436

WHERE DO YOU KEEP THE BIBLE?

“Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies:
for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than my teachers:
for thy testimonies are my meditation”
(Psalm 119:98, 99).

Where do you keep the Bible in your home? On the shelf? We have lots of Bibles on our bookshelves. In fact, I have a whole shelf of different translations.

Is it beside your bed? On the table? In the bathroom? On your iPhone? It’s great to have God’s Word in all these places, ready to pick up wherever you happen to be. But even if we have twenty or more Bibles in our home, it’s not enough. We’ve got to keep it even better places.

The Bible itself tells us where it’s meant to be:

IN OUR MINDS

Psalm 119:48: “I will meditate in thy statutes.” (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2; and 119:15;130). How do we get our minds filled with God’s Word? By reading it at every opportunity. How do we fill our children’s minds with God’s Word? By establishing Family Devotions in our homes, every morning and evening. They can never get enough. It is their wisdom, their education, their life, their guide, and their discernment to know what is of God and what is not.

IN OUR HEARTS

Psalm 119:11: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” We must get it past our minds and down into our hearts. Have your children got God’s Word in their hearts? Is it settled in their hearts? Is it the foundation on which they base everything they learn? When we, and our children, have God’s Word imbedded into our hearts, it keeps us walking in God’s way and never veering to the right or left. I love Psalm 37:31: “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” And Psalm 119:165: “Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them.”

Read also Deuteronomy 6:6,7; Psalm 40:8; 119:34; 111; 161; Isaiah 51:7; and Luke 2:19, 51.

IN OUR MOUTHS

We think it is enough to keep God’s Word in our hearts. No, God wants it in our mouths. He wants it in our children’s mouths. He wants it in our grandchildren’s mouths. Isaiah 59:21 is God’s vision for us as we raise our families: “As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy MOUTH, shall not depart out of thy MOUTH, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever.”

Are God’s words flowing from your mouth? Are God’s Word in your children’s mouths? When you sit together with them at lunch today, quote the beginning of some Scriptures. Stop half way through and see if they can finish the verse. Our children should be familiar with God’s Word. It should be coming out of their mouths.

Read also Psalm 116:10; 119:13; Romans 10:9, 10; 2 Corinthians 4:13; and Hebrews 10:23.

IN OUR HANDS

Psalm 149:6: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.” Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and is part of our armor. We can’t live without it. We can’t fight off the temptations of the devil without it (Hebrews 4:12 and Revelation 1:16). In fact, Psalm 149:7-9 tells us more of the power of this sword we have in our hearts, mouths, and hands: “To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: THIS HONOR HAVE ALL HIS SAINTS. Praise ye the Lord.”

The Bible also tells us to lift up our hands to honor God’s Word: Psalm 119:48: “My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved.” When you feel excited about a Scripture you are reading, lift your hands to the Lord to praise and honor His Word.

IN OUR FLESH

What does Proverbs 4:22 say about God’s Words? “For they are life unto those that find them, and HEALTH to all their flesh.” The word “health” in Hebrew means “medicine, healing, a cure.” God’s Word translations says: “They HEAL THE WHOLE BODY.”

When we constantly confess God’s Word ALOUD our body hears it. God’s Word is life and healing and the more our bodies hear it, the more they live in divine health (Proverbs 3:18 and 16:24).

I don’t let my body hear the word sickness or what’s wrong with me. I keep my mouth shut unless I speak healing words.

Make sure God’s Word is in the right places.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father God, I know there are no other words in this world that are as powerful as Your living Word. Give me the longing to saturate my mind, heart, and mouth with Your words. Convict me if I ever spend more time reading other things more than Your Word. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

God’s Word is my life, my health, my strength, my wisdom, and my guidance. There is nothing to equal it!