I know I am risking preaching to the choir. The fact that you are reading this blog shows that the Bible is really important to you.
This year more than at any other time in our generation we need to rediscover the Word of God, Jesus, and it is to find our voice in speaking that Word into our everyday life. “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘I have put my words in your mouth” Jeremiah 1:9. The Bible is our answer. The prophets spoke the Word of God in the Old Testament and then the Word of God was personified in Jesus. There is power in the Word of God as the centurion shows us with his understanding of ‘Go’, ‘Come’ and ‘Do’.
“Jesus said to him, ‘Shall I come and heal him?’ The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go,” and he goes; and that one, “Come,” and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (Matthew 8 v 7-10)
The Church cannot be Bible-less Christians. That’s not to say having a Bible in the house rectifies that, it doesn’t. The Bible has to be in our lives. It is our daily bread. Christians fast more from the Bible than they do bread. Bible-less Christians are powerless ones. Bible-less Churches are drifting or declining ones.
The centurion didn’t know everything. He knew less of Jesus than you. But one thing he did know was that a word from the lips of Jesus came with a higher authority that he had. A word from Jesus was enough for his servant’s illness. Where are the words of Jesus? We have them, the whole of God’s Word right here in front of us, the Bible.
There is still power in the Word of God. But it must come from the pages of the Bible and into your heart and mind and out onto your lips. Both Ezekiel (3:3) and Jeremiah (15:6) knew the meaning of ‘eat this scroll’ and so must we. We must eat the Bible so that when we speak wisdom, power, healing, grace, discernment and truth flows.
I will write more on this tomorrow.
Missions Paul 