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Thriving...in the Word


Four Steps to bring you face-to-face with Truth

Let's talk about a phrase so often overused, and understood: "The truth shall make you free.”  The statement comes from the very words of Jesus Christ, found in the book of John, chapter 8.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

It's clear that knowing the truth can only follow abiding in the Word of God.  What does it mean to abide in His Word?  You read it, read it, read it, think about it, sing about it, read it again....then you FOLLOW it, live BY it, day after day, ponder over things with Proverbs, sing His praise with Psalms, learn to grow stronger in Romans, get inspired by Acts----let every bit of it be absorbed into your thinking, your doing, your being.  THEN, the truth becomes clear, in everything.  It's only then, when you have grasped the full body of truth His word has to offer----about yourself, about the things around you, and about God---then you can really put things into perspective, and fully, completely understand.

I want to encourage you, if you are not already devoting some daily time in the Bible, to force-feed yourself, if you must, to get the nourishment that you so desperately need.  It won't take long, and the little time it takes will be SO rewarding.  After you have strengthened yourself, you'll be better equipped to tackle the challenges ahead of you!
Here are four easy ways to get started:

1.   Read the Proverb of the day (there are 31) first thing in the morning.  There is so much wisdom in this one book--every chapter is packed with bits of advice, and it's funny how something relevant to what you have just read will come up during the day.  God is really big on timely teachable moments.

2.   Pick a chapter of Romans or one of the gospels at lunchtime.  Either of these choices will give you some heavy spiritual "meat" to get through the day.  You can't read Romans without growing and learning--there are so many serious truths in this book.

3.   Settle in for the night with a chapter of Psalms.  Not all of Psalms is bright and joyful--David went through some seriously tough times, and it's reflected in this book, even though he is not the author of all of them.  You'll find a tremendous sampling of how to trust and praise God in the good times and the bad.

4.   If you have a smartphone or iPad, download a Bible APP.  This is the easiest way to make sure you always have the Word readily available.  You can search for scriptures, bookmark your favorites, and even share snippets of the Bible with your friends through built-in tools with FaceBook.

 READY? SET? READ & BE REVIVED!


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