The Importance of the Word

Many people who call themselves Christians are still bound to the things Christ wants to set them free from. Many of us are still living mediocre lives because we are too scared to ask God to do big things. Many of us also have many doubts when it comes to the existence and supremacy of God. Many of us are also failing to live within the promises of God.

This is primarily because we don’t read His Word.

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ROMANS 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

The Word of God carries power to set us free, to bring us salvation. The reason why we are told to meditate on the Word day and night ( Joshua 1:8) is because God wants us to understand and utilise this power. Everything we look for or ever need is in the Word.

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The Word is also a man. The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst men. This “flesh” is Jesus. Jesus is the Word manifested. And as we all know, Jesus is the saviour of the world, Jesus is the only way to God. So to know more about this Jesus, we must read Him and He is the Word. ( more info on this in John 1).

Reading the Word also brings light. Jesus is the Word, as well as, the light of this world (John 8:12). So when we read the Word, we also receive light.

Now, light illuminates and basically brightens up a dark path. It is common knowledge that we live in a dark world because this is the territory of the devil.

When we do not read the Word or do not read it often, we receive very little light which prevents us from moving because we are in a dark place. No movement in the spiritual realm could mean a stagnant spiritual and physical life ( it just seems as though you’re stuck in life and have no purpose).

Therefore, this demonstrates that, the level of light received by us determines our progress in life.

On the other hand, the more you read the Word, the more light you receive, so the easier it is to move and conquer in this dark world. Psalm 119:105 buttresses this point beautifully of the Word of God serving as a lamp to help us move, basically. And as Apostle Joshua Selman said “ You’ll never rise past the illumination you have”.

Take reading the Word very seriously because it holds the key to your freedom and advancement in life. Do not be deceived that you can watch a sermon or worship to replace it. We have to literally eat the scriptures and retain them to memory because they contain Words from our Father which would guide us in this life.

A heart of gratitude

Life has been very hard recently for many of us and during tough times we forget to pray, commune with the Lord, and spend time with the Lord.

Some of the things we experience daily can’t be described…

The pain that penetrates our hearts on this earth, our minds can’t fathom it.

Pain. Tears. Forgetfulness.

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More often than not, when we are going through hardships we forget to thank God because we think He put us in the situation however He didn’t put us in the situation, He allowed the season to occur.

Even in sorrowfulness don’t forget to thank Him and bless Him, enter His gates with a heart of gratitude even before you express your pain to Him.

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Life comes at us with a bunch of hurdles but how we approach the situation makes our story different from others. Everyone will experience uncertain seasons one way or the other but God promises us that the righteous may stumble but they shall not fall for He upholds them with His righteous right hand so we must not be discouraged ( Isaiah 41:11).

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During those seasons when you think you can’t feel the Holy Spirit remember that He may be hovering. Just like in Genesis as God was making something great (the world), the Holy Spirit was hovering over His magnificent works. Even though it took time, God made something great and all throughout that time the Holy Spirit was hovering.

Similarly as we go through all sort of seasons and sometimes we “don’t feel” the presence of the Holy Spirit, He may be hovering because God is making something good. It will take some time but He is working everything for our good according to His perfect and magnificent will.

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Make a conscious effort to praise His name when you can’t utter words.

Bless Him when your heart aches for love.

Seek Him when your mind is raided with lustful thoughts.

Proclaim His name when you forget who He is.

Shout when you’ve lost your motivation to speak about Him.

Read His word even when you don’t understand it.

Testify about His goodness even if you seem further away from Him.

Thank Him for the victory that is to come.

Learn to look pass the current situation. Declare victories. Remember previous seasons. Stay calm and breathe.

Cheer up and enter His gates with a heart of gratitude.

Intimacy

How to be intimate with the Spirit of God and the things we reap from intimacy with the Lord

The first step to intimacy is understanding who you are before God and who He is. You are God’s creation and not His co-equal so in the place of intimacy, respect and honour must be present. Secondly, you cannot exist without God but He can exist without You therefore He is not only your friend but He is Lord over you. Humility is also key. Having a glimpse of how great and large God is can lead you into deeper realms of intimacy because you start to see Him as He is, the Great I AM.

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God is not someone you fit into your schedule. Your schedule works around Him. He is the key player and the ten remainder players have to find a way to work around Him. All I am trying to say is God must have His own time slot. You don’t go on purposeful outings with friends just by chance but with careful planning and anticipation, you set a date and time and meet up to have a blast. It is the same with God. If you desire to be more intimate with the Lord, you must set time aside for this.

Next, His presence must be there, obviously. But you must make room for His presence. As it is said, God does not force Himself into any setting. He goes where He is welcomed and when He notices that You are willing to receive anything from Him, He does so dutifully. Making room for His presence is easier said than done but it all starts with everything said at the start ( knowing who You are before Him and understanding who He is).

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When it comes to what we reap from intimacy with the Lord, I think being allowed to be intimate with Him alone is a privilege and an honour. One thing I’ve also come to learn is that when you spend time with the Prince of Peace, an overwhelming sense of peace consumes You and it’s not necessarily because you prayed for it but it is because you have been with Him who holds peace. Additionally, in the place of intimacy, God shares “burdens” with you. I don’t know if “burdens” is the right word but things that God needs someone to pray about so that He can enforce change, God begins to share them with you. You start to understand His desire to save all mankind and you start to love as He does. All this happens because you become intimate with Him.

My prayer is that you’ll become more intimate with the Lord because after all, we are His children.

Intimacy- spending time with God and having meaningful encounters