DAILY DEVOTIONAL – October 18, 2019
“Every Word”
Prayer: Jesus You said in John 8:32, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” We admit Lord that we are so easily distracted and pulled away from the committed life we should have in Your Word each and every day. Your Word is Life. Lord, forgive us and help us to draw ever closer to You through Your Word. Amen.
Scripture: Matthew 4:1-4
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Devotion – “Every Word”
In his book entitled “The Fight for Faith”, author Ray C. Stedman tells an insightful story of what happened to the pelican population in Monterey, California. Monterey is a seaport town in central California that was home to dozens of fish canning factories.
“Fourteen canneries lined the waterfront street called Ocean View Avenue…the street and its fish factories had become unofficially known as Cannery Row. It was also home to thousands of pelicans. The birds had migrated to Monterey and settled around the fish canneries because of the plentiful supply of food. The fishermen would bring in their catch, clean it on the waterfront, and discard hundreds of pounds of scrap fish parts for the pelicans to feast on. This arrangement worked well for decades. The fishermen could dispose of the waste fish, and within hours it would all be cleaned up by the pelicans. That all changed in the mid 1950’s when the fishing industry collapsed, and the Monterey canneries closed their doors.
Hundreds of pelicans waited for the fishermen to arrive with food, but the fishermen didn’t come. The pelicans began to starve. In the wild, pelicans would dive into the water to get their meals. But over the decades of being fed by the fishermen, the Monterey pelicans had forgotten how to fish for themselves.
The pelican population in Monterey would have starved to death if wildlife experts hadn’t come up with a solution. They captured wild pelicans in other coastal sections of California and brought them to Monterey. The wild pelicans immediately started hunting their own food. The Monterey pelicans watched, learned and joined in.”
It should be no surprise that we can learn valuable lessons from observing God’s creation and creatures. As it says in Job 12:7-10
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
And Paul says in Romans 1 verse 20, “For his [God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
We tend to be a lot like the pelicans of Monterey…in more ways than one, don’t we? I don’t know about you, but I have prayed many times asking God, “why do things have to be so dang hard?!” I mean why couldn’t God just solve all of my financial problems so I never have to worry again? Why can’t God just make that co-worker or family member realize how difficult they are being and how many problems they are creating? Why doesn’t God just tell the doctors what is wrong, or why doesn’t He just heal me Himself right now?! Why can’t God just make life a bit easier?
Well the truth is friends, it’s because we are no better than the Monterey pelicans. I think if we are honest with ourselves, when things are going wonderfully well the tendency of our sinful hearts and minds isn’t to double down on our commitment to the Lord in our life of discipleship, following Him. If everything worked out for us perfectly all of the time and we really had no complaints in life, what would our prayer life look like? What does it look like even now? If God solved all of our problems before they became our problems, would we search the Scriptures or live more fully in the Word of God? How much time are we spending in the Word each day even now?
I never cease to be amazed anytime I go to a Christian bookstore either in person or online. Has there ever been a time when the very Word of God has been more accessible? And yet, we live in a time of historic Biblical illiteracy; not just in our culture and society but in our own churches. Could you imagine what would happen if God’s people spent half as much time digging into their Scriptures as they do scrolling through YouTube videos and Facebook posts? I believe we would see the change and revolution of faith that we always talk about wanting to see. Much like the pelicans’ had it too good for their own good and were starved and perishing as a result of their complacency, we should not be at all surprised when our churches or we ourselves start wasting away from malnourishment because complacency has caused us to forget the only place we ever find the strength and purpose and hope and joy to life this life to the fullest by living this life fully committed to the Lord Jesus and for His glory, and living it in His Word.
Let us never forget, even in the midst of our difficult times, how wonderfully good life is my friends! Our most Loving and Gracious God could have written us off and tossed us aside (like the Monterey fishermen disposed of the waste of fish) and allowed us to devour ourselves in the very sin we committed against God. However, that is not what God has done. God didn’t just drop a couple of stone tablets out of heaven or send us His Holy Scriptures and hope we figured things out on our own in order to be saved from the death our sin has brought upon us. No, the Word of God Himself that made all things, the Son of God Himself took on human flesh being born a man, and came here Himself not only to teach us and guide us in how to be restored to God, but Christ Jesus who was and is the Word of God in the flesh gave up His own life on the cross in order to provide that salvation as a free gift of God by grace through faith in His death and resurrection.
And as if that was not enough, which it most certainly is, this Lord Jesus who rose from the dead and ascended to heaven has promised to always be with us as our only source of true hope and life, and it is through the pages of Scripture that Christ has said He will speak to us and teach us and reveal to us His Will and the ways in which we should go.
Our Lord Jesus knows what it means to be tested and tempted more than we ever will, Jesus knows what true hardship and suffering is, and in response to the Devil’s tormenting as we read in our text for today, Jesus reminds us of where true life and satisfaction can be found in any circumstance. Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
I often see people write inspirational quotes or Bible verses on sticky notes and stick them on their bathroom mirrors as the first thing they see when they get up in the morning, or stick them on their car dashboard or on their computer screen so that they are always reminded of what it says. Whether or not you’re into doing that, here is a verse to remember everyday. Jeremiah 15:16:
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
I also like how The Living Bible translates this particular verse:
Your words are what sustain me; they are food to my hungry soul. They bring joy to my sorrowing heart and delight me. How proud I am to bear your name, O Lord.
By faith alone in Christ Jesus, You bear the Name of the Risen Lord my friends. Let us abide all day every day in that Name by remaining in His Word. Remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
