Daily Devotion

May 6, 2006

Psa 119:144  The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

Knowing the Word of God, I must read it; reading the Word of God, I must understand it, for then, “I shall live”.  

The Bible is not a book of “do’s” and “don’ts”, neither is it a book of doctrines. It is a book outlining spiritual principles for us to discover.  The discovering of them by the means of understanding gives life.  Have you ever studied a passage, which all of a sudden becomes clear to you?  It opens a whole avenue of principles and a deeper understanding of the Word.   The rush, the happiness, the “goose-bumps” of that moment, is the Spirit of life feeding your soul.

The Bible is not a book too “deep” for us to understand.  It can be understood with the pure and simple innocent logic of a child.  The helpful element necessary to help us grasp the fullness of its principles is a good knowledge of culture, language and history of the areas where its actions takes place.

In the Word, God seems to teach us by exposing opposite principles.  Proverbs 26, verse 4 advises us, “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him,” while the next verse tells us, “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.”  Obviously, the Word is not here to give us legalistic guidelines as whether to “answer a fool” or not, but that there are times when you should, and times when you shouldn’t, and it also tells us the reasons why.  The Word confirms the idea and tells us that “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver (Pro 25:11).  

Oh Lord, help me do justice to your Word by letting it feed my heart, my soul.  Help me not to analyze it with my carnal mind, but help me to understand by the means of Your spirit, the Holy Spirit which you have said will lead me into all truth (John 16:3).

Joh 6:53-63  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.  (54)  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.  (55)  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  (56)  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.  (57)  As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.  (58)  This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.  (59)  These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.  (60)  Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?  (61)  When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?  (62)  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?  (63)  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:
the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Patrick Lumbroso
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