When you watch this week's video, you'll notice an abrupt ending. Apologies for that - I was interrupted by the doorbell and as I rushed to answer it, I kicked the camera off the tripod! Realising that God works in mysterious ways, I decided to end it there and continue with part 2 next week.
In preparing these adventures for us, I approach my own story, week by week, with fresh eyes..to see what the Lord is saying to me. This week I was struck by the fact that literally a few sprinkles of the seed of God's Word, sown into a ready heart, was enough to start the journey that has led me to where I am with God today. What power lies in that seed!
So this week and next week, we're going to be focusing on the importance and significance of the Word of God and hopefully, recovering our excitement and faith in its power.
Monday
Watch the video. Here it is for your convenience. Don't forget to comment and to share your experiences either under this blogpost, on the Youtube channel or on the Change Your Life Facebook page. By the way, when you open this video, go and click on the YouTube button you see on the bottom right. It will take you to YouTube where you can easily leave comments (the reason I suggest this is that some of you are struggling to leave comments on this Blog)
Tuesday
Reread chapter 2 of my book Brighter Than The Noonday Sun and notice how just a few words from my headmistress was enough to instill massive faith in me. It's what Romans 10 says and I love the way Eugene Peterson has put it in The Message:
..unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to. When you hear this, do you picture a pastor behind a pulpit? No. A few words, a well-chosen answer from God's Word, the simple telling of the simple story of Creation..these everyday words that we can use in our conversations, text messages, social media posts and so on, have an enormously powerful effect. Don't double-guess yourself, just go ahead and speak them - and ask God for opportunities to sow the seed of His Word in your everyday life.
9 Say the welcoming word to God - "Jesus is my Master" - embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation.
10 With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"
11 Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this - heart and soul - will ever regret it."
12 It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help.
13 "Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."
14 But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them?
15 And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims, A sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!
16 But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: "Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?"
17 The point is, Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to.
Wednesday
Today reread Chapter 6 of my book and make a special note of the fact that the Lord spent time teaching me to do nice things for other people - in secret. This is nothing other than Matthew 6: 1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven" and Matthew 6: 3, 4 "But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you". When I came back to the Lord, as an adult, one of the first things He said to me was, "Right, lets pick up where we left off..I was teaching you to do your good deeds in secret." This is fascinating on so many different levels. First, have you ever heard a sermon on this topic? Obviously, us Christians don't really think this is a very significant part of the Bible and yet, for the Lord, it is so important that it was one of the first things He trained me in. Second, I find it interesting that God expects us to actually LIVE the Bible. Third, I find it wonderfully reassuring that God is so in control of our personal, one-on-one discipleship that He was able to pick up exactly where we left off, after a break of 19 years. Why don't we also call important what God calls important and practice doing good deeds, in secret, this week (of course, we can't tell each other about it 'though LOL).
Thursday
I once knew a man who also met the Lord as a very young child. He was in a dangerous situation because his stepmother was a witchdoctor who had succeeded in killing off some of his siblings by means of black magic. One night, someone appeared to him and told him to no longer pray in the name of Mary but in the name of Jesus, and to say certain words before he went to sleep, to protect himself. Years later, as an adult, he found those exact words in one of the Psalms. There are two super-powerful spiritual weapons that we have at our disposal as believers - one is the name of Jesus and the other is the Word of God. Today we are going to tackle an area or aspect of our lives that is troubling us with the spiritual weapon of God's Word. The first thing you need to do is select an area or aspect of your life that needs dealing with - is it your health, your finances, a relationship? Next, go to prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to the perfect Scripture verse to undo that problem (this may take some time but it will be worth the effort). Once you are armed with that weapon/Scripture you are going to say it and pray it at least three times a day until you are convinced of its truth and its power to overthrow your problem. Let us know how it goes!
Friday
I know that some of you may find these teachings a bit old-fashioned and you may not agree with everything these men say…BUT… hang in there and just listen to how these men understand the power of the Word of God and how to wield that power by speaking it out, because we have something to learn from them. We have a LOT to learn from them, truth be told.
Saturday
Get connected to a Bible reading plan. If you'd like to use the one that I developed to go with our Big Picture course, just click on the link below. It will take you to a document that you can download on to your computer.
Sunday
Go to church. Go to a church where they preach the Word of God accurately. Then receive, receive, receive the "implanted seed that is able to save your soul." (James 1: 21)
Love you guys. I hope you've enjoyed and been enriched by this week's focus on the Word of God. May you be fully blessed this week. I'll see you next time - until then, Avante!
Declarations and Word proclamations
My friends and fellow adventurers, I believe very much in the power of declaring God's Word and praying God's Word in to situations. Please let me know if you'd like me to make a resource - a video or a written resource - of useful declarations and Word proclamations.
Love you guys. I hope you've enjoyed and been enriched by this week's focus on the Word of God. May you be fully blessed this week. I'll see you next time - until then, Avante!
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