Psalm 1:1-3
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Several weeks ago I made a visit to the doctor to visit with him about my health. I resolved that I was not satisfied with my health and decided that I needed to change my habits. I looked ahead to my future and made decisions/goals for how I wanted to live and interact with my children and my wife. We spent time talking about the importance of diet and exercise as a part of my daily routine. The Doc said diet would help me drop unwanted weight and exercise would help with my fitness. As I have been working out, the Lord has brought many spiritual parallels to my mind.
First he took me to 1 Timothy 6:8, For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
He reminded me that physical training did hold value but not as much as if I train in godliness with a solid diet of God's Word and the exercise of prayer.
Today I'd like to focus on our diet; tomorrow we'll look at exercise. Psalm 1 above says the person who delights in the Word of God is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding fruit, constantly growing and prospering. Are you planted by the stream? Do you daily draw nutrition from the Word of the Lord? or are you anorexic? Do you starve yourself of God's Word?
Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Deuteronomy 32:46-47 says, "he said to them, "Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess."
The Word of God is our very life. How will you discipline yourself to ingest a steady diet of God's Word? Do you have a plan in place? In your fast, are you replacing the time you would have spent eating that food or the time you would have consumed in that activity with time in your Bible? Let me encourage you to get a plan in place. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27, "But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." A plan will help you in your discipline. Pray and ask the Lord to help you with your discipline. Tell a fellow believer about your plan and ask them to hold you accountable in your discipline.
Here are some ideas*:
1. Read through the Bible in one year.
2. Listen to the Bible
3. Start a Scripture memory program
4. Get involved in a Bible Study
5. Form a small accountability group
*list found in Steve Farrar's Point Man
Still need help? The staff would love to help you build this discipline into your life. Please let us know if we can help you.
My prayer is that through these 40 days you will become like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
We are sustained by Him alone,
Patrick
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