We are in part 2 of our series, “How to Live a Spirit-led Life.” You can find part 1 here.
Using the acronym P.R.A.Y.E.R., we are exploring what it means to live as unto God:
Our next letter is R:
Read the Bible –
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
deuteronomy 30:19
Because (the Lord goes on to say through His servant Moses) we need to obey His Word and cleave unto to Him for our very life, health and strength. And it is then that we will prosper in all that we do.
The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
deuteronomy 30:29
And it is “those things which are revealed” that we read about in the Bible. Hence, the second letter in our acronym that we are using to learn how to live a Spirit-led life is R:
Read the Bible – As believers, we know that we should read the Bible, but sometimes we lack motivation. Here, I set forth three powerful reasons for reading the Bible. Repentance, Relationship, Restoration.
- Repentance – when we read the Bible, the Spirit of God will convict us. The Word of God has the power to locate us and bring us to a place of repentance. This is why we should strive to read the Bible daily because repentance is not a one-time event but an ongoing spiritual activity that causes us to be in constant fellowship with our Heavenly Father, which brings me to the next reason as to why we should read the Bible.
- Relationship – Wow! What can I say? I mean, this is our entire reason for being. That when we “acknowledge Him in all of our ways, He shall direct our paths”, which means that we have absolutely nothing to worry about. Period.
- Restoration – As we experience the daily onslaught of whatever the world is throwing at us, we must seek the restoration of our mind, our will, our emotions. One of the most “therapeutic” things that I can do in the course of my day is to meditate on God’s Word. We must meditate His Word if we desire to benefit from it. John’s prayer was that we prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. So our do we experience “soul restoration”? David put it best:
The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the [sunless] [a]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with [b]oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.
psalm 23 (AMP)
The footnote for Psalm 23:5 (AMP) states that “The Lord blesses and anoints His believers with the Holy Spirit, Whom oil symbolizes, to prepare them for His service.” We all as the Lord’s disciples have been given an assignment for the upbuilding of His Kingdom to reach out to others and to make Him known with the gifts and calling to which He has called us.
Discover Your Mission
When you read the Bible, you locate yourself. In my book, Cloud by Day, Fire by Night (release date TBA), I chronicle my family’s journey crisscrossing this nation with a mission (Bold As A Lion Outreach Ministries) to share the Good News of Jesus’ Salvation, and the testimony of His faithfulness to those who believe. The endurance that I needed to continue that journey with our “young pride” of children came as a result of reading the story about the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness to the promised land. But I did not just read it, I absorbed it. It became the narrative of my life, and it empowered me to do the work that the Lord had assigned to me. Reading the Bible helped me to start the mission. Reading the Bible helped me to press through and complete that missionary journey. And reading the Bible is taking me into the next phase of ministry and business; to next-level thinking, to next-level living to the full, into overflow (John 10:10 AMP).
Change Your Mindset
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
romans 12:2
To walk in the overcoming life that Jesus has offered us in John 10:10, we must renew our minds to the Word of God. It is our only defense against the powerful influences of what the world has to offer us, which can seem very good at times, but its foundation is sinking sand. Do you want to know what the will of God is for your life? Read the Bible. He will speak to you in wonderful ways!
Manifest Your Destiny
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
mark 11:24
The concept of manifestation did not begin with the philosophy of men. Jesus spoke these words to His disciples after they had marveled at how a fig tree obeyed His voice and dried up. Jesus said to them (and to us who are also His disciples):
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
mark 11:23
The requirements for manifesting your destiny? a)Speak to your mountain(s); b)Believe that what you are speaking will come to pass. So what are you speaking? What you read in the Bible. Because what God has spoken, He shall surely bring it to pass!
The Just Shall Walk By Faith And Not By Sight
It takes faith to read the Bible and believe what it says. To believe that God is Who He says that He is and that He will do (for you) what He says that He can do. But you what, God is faithful. And you see His faithfulness, not only in Bible stories but in your own life as well. It is the goodness of God that draws man to repentance. Which means that surely He has a track record in your personal circumstances. If you are not seeing God’s goodness in your life, perhaps you should consider keeping a gratitude journal.
The issue is not whether God can do whatever we need done that we cannot do for ourselves, but it is our ability to believe that He can and will do it and give voice to what it is that we believe.
5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it. 6 But the righteousness based on faith [which produces a right relationship with Him] says the following: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into Heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down; 7 or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we had to be saved by our own efforts, doing the impossible].”8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”-
romans 10:5-8 (AMP)
The same faith and Word that it took for you to be saved is the same faith and Word of God to provide for you, to heal you, to deliver you and your children. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Your healing is in your mouth. Your deliverance is in your mouth. Your provision is in your mouth. You see, here in this place, you won’t hear me talk about how God might heal you. We only talk about absolutes here. Because God absolutely can heal you everywhere you hurt. Do you know why? Because He already healed you 2000 years ago when Jesus took 39 stripes for your healing, died, and rose again with all power in His hands, you were healed!
It’s not a matter of whether or not God is going to heal someone or in other words He heals some but doesn’t heal others. Are you kidding me? No! That is not the God that I serve. The Lord has freely given to us, but it is up to us to freely receive. How do we receive our healing, deliverance, restoration? We speak what the Word of the Lord says about our healing, and we believe that Word like our lives depends on it (because perhaps it does), and believe me when I tell you that God is not getting any Glory out of you being sick and diseased.
And furthermore, if He wants to teach you something; Do you know how you can avoid being in a car accident because God wanted to teach you something? Read the Bible. Do what it says to do. Let it transform you from the inside out.
What Should I Read?
Suppose you are needing some encouragement in your Bible reading; In that case, a few suggestions to start could include: The Gospels, Psalms, Proverbs, Biblical Stories, or researching a current issue/topic that you are grappling with in this season of your life.
You also might like to try learning the Bible with others with online devotionals, or a 12-month Bible reading plan.
Why Does It Matter?
When we read the Bible, we discover why we are here; and learn how to experience life’s most important relationship. The Bible imparts unto us the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding needed to become the best versions of ourselves in the true sense of the phrase, and empowers us to become a blessing to others.
It’s the Gospel story of how a loving God came to us in person to redeem our sin-infested souls from the hand of an enemy that is hell-bent on our eternal damnation. Have you accepted the free gift of eternal salvation? Jesus paid a dear price for it. And for that reason we should dedicate our lives to learning about this Great Love that has been bestowed upon us.
Read the Bible – Conclusion
Reading the Bible produces great benefits (and results). How we take advantage of those benefits depends upon our willingness to be in right relationship with our Lord and Savior, to repent when the Holy Spirit convicts us, to allow ourselves to be chastised by Him so that we walk in integrity, and we are restored to God’s original design for us.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
matthew 7:24-27
Grace and Peace
Silvana
