Posted:
Based on “The Precious Promise”
by Pastor Norm Holm; 9/9/09,
Message #NH102;
Daily Devotional #1 -
“Marinating in God’s Word”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): “Some people like to read so many [Bible] chapters every day. I would not dissuade them from the practice, but I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen verses all day than rinse my hand in several chapters. Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up in your very soul, till it saturates your heart!” Charles Hadden Spurgeon
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): Every follower of Jesus knows the importance of the Bible. It only takes one day in a Bible-centered church to understand its significance. Sometimes, however, there’s a disconnect between what we know in our head and what we live out in our daily life. We know, in theory, that God’s Word speaks to life’s situations and changes people, but does our mind automatically jump to think that change only applies to someone else’s life? After all, we might rationalize, “I’m too busy to study the Bible,” or too distracted, or too uneducated. Fill in your own blank for what’s keeping you away from God’s Word. Besides, isn’t that why we have pastors? To teach us what we need to know from the Bible?
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): Ponder for a minute the food we eat that has been marinated. It takes on the flavor of that in which it soaks. It also ends up being more tender and more flavorful because we took the time to let it marinate. But in order to have such a delicious meal, we have to plan ahead. Marinating means no instant feast. Similarly, how would our lives be different if we marinated in God’s Word? Would we take on the flavor of God? Might we have the revelation that the Holy Spirit is no respecter of people? What He reveals to one person in the Word, He is willing to reveal to another.
We just need to make ourselves available to soak. Where do we begin? Perhaps start with the Scriptures from the weekly teaching. Revisit them during the week. Read. Memorize. Reflect. Consider how they apply to our lives. Let our thoughts continually return to these precious words given by our Father. A life saturated with God’s Word is a life transformed by God. Consequently, the world takes note and may even become a little hungry.
