WE NEED TO BE SELF-FEEDERS
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Matthew 4:4 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This alone is an interesting thought—the Holy Spirit directed Jesus to a place of physical struggle and temptation. We often think when we are tempted it is because we are out of God’s will or in the wrong place. But sometimes temptation and struggle come when we are in the will of God. This is part of God’s work of perfection in our lives.
The second thing I notice is that Jesus placed incredible importance on the Word of God. Three times it is recorded that Jesus was tempted and each time Jesus responded by quoting from scripture.
This tells me the importance of the Word of God. It is vital to have the Word of God stored in our hearts and minds. We must learn to be “self-feeders.”
As a pastor I have heard of people saying they are leaving one church to go to another church because they are not “being fed anymore.” I struggle with that statement because usually the person saying that claims to be a mature follower of Jesus.
When I was a baby in a highchair my mother had to feed me. As I grew up one of the first lessons was to learn to feed myself. It was usually messy to start with, but it was important I learned to feed myself.
God has given us His written Word so that we can feed ourselves. He has also given us the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher and Guide in the process. As we read the Bible the Holy Spirit can take the written Word and turn it into a Rhema Word.
This is when God’s written Word becomes a living word for my situation and circumstance. This is what happened to Jesus in the wilderness of temptation. The written Word from Deuteronomy became a Rhema Word to apply to His present situation. Jesus knew the written Word so the Spirit could transform it into a Rhema word.
The more we read and memorize the written Word the more material we are giving the Holy Spirit to create Rhema moments in our lives. Rarely have I had a passage of scripture come to my mind as a Rhema Word that I have not somewhere in the past read that passage.
This is why I daily take time to read my Bible. I take time to write down passages of scripture each day and reflect in writing what that passage is saying to me. This is how the Spirit transforms the written Word into Rhema Word.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit, I need You to transform the written Word into a living word for my life. Help me to listen to You each day.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”
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