Fixated...On Me, Myself, and I

Do you ever feel like God has called you to serve Him in a certain area and then find yourself in critique mode after you've done what He has asked you to do?

Tonight I had the opportunity to share a brief teaching from Scripture with the ladies at Bible study, but before I even sat down afterward, I was listing all of the things I should have said, how I could have used better analogies, etc., etc., etc.! I began to wonder why I am so often fixated on me, myself, and I.

And then, God, in His merciful voice, whispered to me... It's not about you, Stephanie. It's not your words...it's my WORD. All I have called you to do is proclaim its truth. To be in passionate pursuit of Me and allow others to see that passion. My Word is amazing all by itself. Even if you had not uttered one word in addition to mine, your message would have been complete because my Word lacks nothing.

Ahh, the freeing truth of Scripture. That God does not require perfection, just obedience. All we have to do is open our mouths and speak, knowing with full assurance that the outcome is in the hands of the One whose Word never returns void.

The Word is our Weapon

I believe one of the most exciting things about God’s Word is that we can use it! Our Bibles need not take up residence on the floorboards of our car from one Sunday to the next. God’s Word is powerful, everlasting, and limitless, and He instructs us to study the Word so we can be thoroughly equipped to handle any situation that comes our way. Jesus is the most powerful example in Scripture of someone actively using the Word of God. We see His strategic use of Scripture in Luke 4:1-14.

Like Jesus, we must be ready and willing to use God’s Word in every area of our lives but especially in combating the lies of the enemy. Jesus knew the Word in context and was able to spoil the Devil’s scheme to replace truth with deception. Notice three interesting concepts in this passage: the timing of temptation, the techniques of temptation, and the tools used to triumph over temptation.

The timing of Jesus’ temptation was crucial. Satan tempted Jesus when He was most vulnerable, waiting until He was weak from hunger. Satan attacked Jesus when the desires of His flesh had the opportunity to overcome the desires of His Spirit! While His hunger made Him vulnerable to Satan’s attack, it also made Him powerful. During this period of fasting He was free from the distraction of food and could focus completely on combating the enemy with the truth of God’s Word. What Satan intended for evil, God used for good!

The techniques of temptation used by Satan should make us sit up and take notice. Satan tempted Jesus by taking God’s Word out of context. The enemy knows Scripture and is able to twist the Word in a complex way. This is why it is vital that we study and understand the whole of Scripture in context rather than just memorizing our favorite verses now and then. Satan used Scripture to appeal to Jesus’ fleshly desires: His desire for food (Luke 4:3), His desire for power (Luke 4:6-7), and His desire to prove Himself (Luke 4:9). Satan’s tactics have not changed in over 2000 years, and he appeals to our flesh as well when he tempts us.

The tools Jesus utilized to overcome temptation included speaking God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember that Jesus did not speak the truth of Scripture to the Devil only one time. Jesus rebuked the enemy three times before he left Him. We should not think we will immediately overcome temptation either.

I love Beth Moore’s notion that God puts us through spiritual battles so He can teach us to fight.1 Spiritual warfare is a divine process that strengthens our resolve and our faith. In order to prepare for the battle, we need to be feasting on the Word so we are armed with holy ammunition!

The first and last verse of this passage demonstrates the importance of a Spirit-filled life. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and after Satan departed He returned to Galilee still full of the Holy Spirit’s power. We must always rely on the power of the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives, even when He escorts us into battle with the fiercest enemy we will ever encounter. Rejoice with me today that the Word of God is an unlimited reserve of everlasting truth and yields powerful results when applied to our lives.

Some questions to ponder:

• Do I stand strong or fall into temptation when the enemy appeals to my fleshly desires?
• Did I study God’s Word today to equip myself with holy ammunition?
• Am I proclaiming the truth of Scripture to the enemy when he lies to me?
  

1. Beth Moore, Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman (Nashville, TN: Lifeway Press, 2008), 188.

12 Amazing Attributes

One of my greatest passions in life is mining the treasures of Scripture. I love the Word because I never walk away from it unchanged. Even if I have read a verse or a passage before, it always has something fresh to speak to my heart because of its living power. I have come to understand that when I run to the Word instead of to the world I will find truth. Jesus is referred to as the Word in John 1:1 and then calls himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life in John 14:6.

Just because I love God's Word doesn't mean I never struggle with discouragement and doubt. Honestly, I can be the queen of pity parties, and I don't necessarily need anyone in attendance to throw one! {wink} When I find myself in a spiritual rut, I try to carefully evaluate my focus, and what I often find is that it has somehow shifted from God above to self below. It is unbelievable to me how self-focused I can be.

During these times, what I need most is to dwell on the amazing attributes of the Word. To reflect on the totality of Scripture. To know that tucked within its pages is everything I will ever need for life and godliness. Only then can the Lord perform much needed heart surgery, ridding me of fleshly desires that war for control and replacing the lies the enemy whispers in my ears and attempts to weave throughout my mind with Truth.

Rejoice with me today that God's Word is:

1) PERFECT- “The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul…” Psalm 19:7 a

2) POWERFUL- "Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:17

3) TRUSTWORTHY- “The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7 b

4) TRUE- “The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.” Psalm 19:9 b

5) RIGHT- “The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.” Psalm 19:8 a

6) PURE- “The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 19:8 b

7) HOPEFUL- “You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.” Psalm 119:114

8) DESIRABLE- “They (the laws of the Lord) are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.” Psalm 19:10

9) EVERLASTING- “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8

10) JOY-BRINGING- “As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.” Psalm 119:143

11) LIFE-GIVING- “He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.” James 1:18

12) LIMITLESS- “Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit.” Psalm 119:96

Jesus is the Word

Have you ever wondered how some women are so intimately connected with Jesus and why they look forward with great expectation to spending time in His Word? For the first three years after re-dedicating my life to Christ, I pondered this very question. Frankly, I really couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. I had enough to accomplish each day and adding Bible study to my never ending to-do list seemed impossible. And when I did actually try to read the Bible from beginning to end, I always got stuck somewhere in the middle of Deuteronomy. The problem, however, was with my perspective.

What I eventually realized is that reading the Bible is not something that we do; it is someone we encounter. That someone is Jesus Christ. John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The simple and beautiful truth of Scripture is that true intimacy with Jesus occurs when we become willing to linger awhile in His Word. This is because Jesus is the Word.

The reality is, if we want to know more of our Jesus, we have to know more of His Word. As we become grounded in God’s Word, we cultivate a depth of intimacy with Jesus that leaves us with an unquenchable thirst and an insatiable hunger for more of Him. Through His Word, we discover His attributes, His character, His likes and dislikes, and His plan for our lives. We can then experience abundant life because we are aligning our hearts and minds in accordance with God’s pleasing and perfect will.

I'll leave you with this question to ponder.

If your husband wrote you a love letter, what would you do with it? Would you only read it on Sundays?

Or would you cherish it...read and re-read it... until it was barely legible, tattered and tear-stained from the fullness of joy found in its presence?