Daily Bread

Matt 22:29 “But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.”

God dedicated the longest chapter in the Bible to the importance of the Word, Psalms 119. There are 176 verses of Scripture in Psalms 119. Of the 176 verses, 169 of them are dedicated to expressing the absolute necessity of the Word of God in the life of a believer. The psalmist uses at least one, and sometimes more than one, synonym for the Word in all but 7 verses. When you read the words law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, word, ordinances, or righteousness, the psalmist is speaking of the Word of God. The psalmist drives home the fact that the Word of God blesses, purifies, restrains the sin nature, teaches, encourages, counsels, revives, strengthens, comforts, directs, establishes, produces reverence for God, grants salvation, builds faith, gives freedom, produces love, protects, enlightens, promotes compassion, humbles, shelters, is the source of wisdom, sustains, redeems, and is absolute truth.

If some pharmaceutical company developed a pill that guaranteed all of those things to anyone who took it, everyone on the planet would take it everyday. Why then is it such a struggle to make a daily commitment to make the Word of God a priority for your life? In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every Word the proceeds from the mouth of God!” This means that the Word of God is as important to sustaining life as food. How many times a day do you eat? How many times a day do you read, meditate, and talk about the Word of God? How many days have you gone without food? How many days have you gone without reading the Word? Do you ever crave your favorite food? Do you ever crave the Word of God? The Bible is a key that opens the door to eternal life in Heaven and Spiritual life on earth. Psalms 119 is devoted to the instruction, benefit, reliability, and absolute dependence on God’s Word.