Looking into the Word

James 1:25" But who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer ofthe work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

God's desire is that His Word would fill our hearts. He longs forHis Word to be hidden in our hearts, but He also wants us to live itout. The idea is that we woud be so filled up with the Word of God that we would become living Bibles in today's society, acting out the truth and displaying it before a lost and dying world.

This is our duty. In order to know what we're to do with the Word, we must first hearit. That word, "hear," is mentioned 522 times in the Bible. It doesn't matter what Scripture is open. It doesn't matter whatportion is being preached, or what portion you are reading; "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God," and as God's people, we have a duty to hear His words. Sometimes, we as Christians determinethat we will have "selective hearing" when it comes to the Word ofGod.

I remember visiting my grandparents not too long ago. My grandfatherwas struggling somewhat with his hearing, and my grandmother said tome, "He can't hear a thing we say. He's nearly lost his hearing, buthe's too proud to get a hearing aide."A few minutes later, my grandmother said to my grandfather, "Paul, you need to take out the garbage." He didn't move, and after a whileshe came to me and said, "You see? Your grandfather can't hear anything!"

As she walked back into the kitchen, he looked up at me, winked, and said, "Selective hearing."

It is possible to mark our Bibles and yet never have the Bible markus. When Christians decide that we do not want to receive the meat of God's Word so that we can be nourished, get out on the battlefield, and stand up for Jesus as soldiers of the Cross, we are reading the Word of God selectively. The Bible is a mirror, a toolof God to show us the intentions of the heart.

It shows us what needs to be changed. The danger is that we will look into the mirror and see a something-a need-and do nothing about it.

We must not just learn intellectually; we must allow the Lord to touch and change us. Our children need parents that are living Bibles. I am speaking of living purely, so that we might stand before our children having taken in the Word of God, our lives different. We must be growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we look honestly into the Word of God, we see properly where we stand in the light of a holy God. We see not only the holiness, the sinlessness, the unchanging nature of God, but we see the sinfulnessof man. God's Word shows us where our lives resemble the world,where something needs to be changed, and we come to that place wherewe respond to the need.

Today, as you open your Bible, don't be a "selective hearer" in your study. Allow the Word of God to transform your perspective by therenewing of your mind, and the Spirit of God will speak to yourheart. Will you let Him guide your path and guard your lips today?

By Dr. Paul Chappell
Lancaster Baptist Church - California

The Powerful Message of the Apostle Paulby Dr. Paul Chappell

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 "For ye remember, brethren, our labour andtravail: for labouring night and day, because we would not bechargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father dothhis children, That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called youunto his kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God withoutceasing, because, when ye received the word of God, which ye heard ofus, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, theword of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

In this passage, we perceive that Paul powerfully preached the Gospel message to the early Christians in Thessalonica. In verse nine, Paulsays, "…we preached unto you the gospel of God." Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood for the redemption of the world, must always be the central theme of our message.

We also notice that Paul boldly preached the Word of God in versethirteen, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because,when ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us, ye receivedit not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God…."This is a bold assertion of the fact that Paul was the directrecipient of divine revelation.

Paul was saying that the early Christians did not receive the Word of God as coming from man. Theydid not sit around and question God's Word or scrutinize itsauthority. They realized that God sent His Word through the ApostlePaul.

As Christians, our message today is just as powerful as Paul's message was in the first century. Romans 1:16 states,"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God untosalvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first; and also to the Greek." Someone once said, "God said it, I believe it, that ettles it." No, God said it, that settles it, whether we believe it or not. God gave us His Word, and it is our responsibility to obey it and to share its message with the lost world.

I want to remind you today that we have a powerful, life-changingmessage! Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick andpowerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…." The Word of God hasthe power to change lives. It is more powerful than counseling sessions or worship concerts. It is more persuasive than political propaganda. here is power in God's Word. We must lift up the name of Jesus today and make Him known, for it is the message of God's Word that changes lives.

The Apostle Paul's desire was to see lives changed through thepreaching of God's Word. As you begin your day, my question to youis, "Will you boldly proclaim God's Word to your co-workers and friends today so that their lives may be changed by the power of theGospel?"

God's Unfailing Provision

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I Kings 17:12-15 “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.”

In I Kings 17, the prophet Elijah had just told King Ahab that there was going to be a drought in the land for many years to come. God commanded the prophet Elijah to go and live by the brook, where he could drink freely from the brook, where God commanded ravens to feed him. However, after the brook dried up, due to the lack of rain, Elijah had no more water to drink. At this point, the Lord told him to go to the city of Zarephath and there would be a widow woman to “sustain” him.

Elijah finds the widow woman and she quickly tells him that she has no bread, but only a little meal and oil and he can’t have that, because she is making a cake for her and her son “that we may eat it, and die.” You must wonder what the widow was thinking. Who is this man, does he not know that there is a drought in the land and there is no water? However, she “went and did according to the saying of Elijah”, because he promised that “the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.” Notice Elijah never promised that the barrel and cruse would be overflowing bountifully, but promised only that it would never fail.

In my own life, I have found that if I am faithful to the Word of God, He will meet every need in my life and supply for us. God has not promised us a “health and wealth” gospel. God never said that the pantries would be full and we would live a care-free life. He did, however, promise to supply our needs. When we look at our checkbooks and wonder how we will pay the bills or if we wonder how much longer we can make it, thank God it isn’t up to us, but “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19)!

by Dr. Paul Chappell
Lancaster Baptist Church - California