In order to apply the Word of God to our lives and live it out the way He wants us to live it out, we need to do three things before the Word can flow through us and exude from us. We need to receive the Word. We need to Ingest the Word. We need to Digest the Word.
1. Receiving The Word
Romans 10:17 "Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
- We receive the Word by hearing the Word. We hear it not only with our physical ears, but with out spiritual ears. This hearing can only be done in the Spirit; it is not an action we can control.
- We receive the Word into our hearts when we believe that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son.
- We receive the Word when we accept Him as Lord and Savior of our souls.
- We receive the Word when we into ourselves when we confess out loud that Jesus Christ is Lord.
2. Ingesting The Word
Psalm 34:8 "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
- We ingest the Word when we take it into our mouths. Scripture tells us to "taste and see that the Lord is Good". (Psalm 34:8) Does that mean we eat our Bibles? Not hardly. It means to open our Bible and read what God wants us to hear every single day.
- It is entirely possible to read your Bible all the way through in one year. Do we have to understand it all all at once? No. We just need to begin reading at the beginning of the Bible and read it all the way through to the end of Revelation. I know a woman who has read it all the way through several times in a month! (not me, though I am filled with awe at her hunger).
3. Digesting The Word
1 Timothy 4:15 "Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all."
- We digest the Word when we meditate on the Word.
- We digest the Word when we pray over the Word we are reading, asking God to open our eyes to what He wants us to understand.
- We digest the Word when we dig deeper into the Word, studying it out for ourselves.
- We open our Bible at home and double check that what the minister is saying is the Truth of the Word for ourselves.
- We read the Bible in order to know the Word; that discernment of right and wrong be made apparent to us.
The Spirit of God is constantly stirring the Word within us once the Word is in us, like a chef stirs the stew until it is ready to be served and eaten. So, I pray, Holy Spirit move through me. Stir me. Use me. Make me ready to stand on the Word. Make me able to share the gospel even more so. Amen.
