Getting Into the Word of God

We should always underscore the reality of Scripture and its importance in the Christian life. The Bible not only forms the foundation of an effective prayer life, but it is foundational to every other aspect of Christian living. While prayer is our primary way of communicating with God, the Bible is God's primary way of communicating with us. Nothing should take precedence over getting into the Word of God and getting the Word of God into us. If we fail to eat well-balanced meals on a regular basis we'll eventually suffer the physical consequences, and what is true of the outer man - our physical body - is also true of the inner man. If we don't regularly feed on the Word of God we're going to suffer spiritual consequences. That's why Jesus said man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Great physical meals are one thing - great spiritual meals are quite another.

In fact, in the Legacy Study Bible I use the word MEALS as an acronym so that people can understand what it means to eat great spiritual meals from the Word of God. The M stands for memorization and meditation. The E stands for the examination of the Word of God. The A stands for the application of the Word of God. Wisdom is the application of knowledge as Jesus taught. The L stands for listening to God as He speaks to us from His Word and the S has to do with studying the Bible for all it's worth.

In examining Scripture it's typically best to start with one good translation and then stick to it. This will provide you with consistency as well as help you in the process of memorizing the Word of God.

In studying - and here's the contrast - it's best to use a number of good Bible translations. Since there are so many translations available today we are in a blessed time when there are many different translations that give us the range of meanings that are acceptable for words of phrases as they come from one language - either the Greek or the Hebrew or the Aramaic - into the receptor language, in our case English.

My exhortation today is to get into the Word of God and get the Word of God into you.