15 Minutes in the Word

It's a sad but true fact that many professing Christians do not read the Bible. They may occasionally read a devotional.

They may come to church where they may or may not hear the Word of God. But at the beginning of this year, on January 1, some of you weren't there. You were recovering from a hangover or something. I don't know why.

But the attendance was a little down on January 1, but it is on our web. But I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to every day of this year to be opening your Bibles and reading it. I said for a minimum of 15 minutes. Some of you can read much longer.

For some of you, you're not going to do that. But to spend at least 15 minutes, particularly if you're not used to reading the Bible. So my challenge was to read the Bible, not to read a book about the Bible, not a commentary, not a devotional, not the study notes that some of you may have at the bottom of the Bible, but to actually read the Word of God. My wife told me some time ago that she was in, I think it was, Panera, one of the local restaurants, and there were men there, supposedly for a Bible study. But she said the interesting thing was they never opened their Bibles.

They have a study guide, they may talk, but they didn't actually study the Word. Have you ever been at a so-called Bible study where the Bible is hardly opened or where the focus is on another book about the Bible? And while Bible courses and books about the Bible are helpful, I have got many, many of them, there can never be a substitute from you, the Holy Spirit, and this book. And if you're not reading the Word of God, let me encourage you to read it, to reflect, to meditate, and to pray. This is God's living Word. Why do I constantly encourage you to read your Bibles?

Why do I continually say from this pulpit, let's open our Bibles? Because we believe that the Bible is the Word of God. At the dinner on, yeah, last night, I quoted from an article I had read that day that came up on my iPhone, where someone is saying that the Bible, that this book communicates the Word of God, but it is not the Word of God.

It's false. This book is the Word of God. Yes, it communicates the Word of God, but whether you understand it, whether you encounter it or not, this Word stands. This is the living Word of God. It is inspired by God, it is inerrant, it's living, it's our guide, it's our supreme authority, and it is food for our soul.

You will never, ever be a strong believer apart from reading the Word of God. And this strong conviction that this book we call the Bible is the living Word of God impacts everything we are and do at Calvary. Listen to these verses to remind ourselves what God says about His Word. First of all, Psalm 138 verse 2, I bow down toward your temple, your holy temple, and give thanks to your name, for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your Word.

Did you get that? God has exalted above all things His name and His Word. Isaiah 40 verse 8, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 66 verse 2, but this is the one to whom I will look, he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my Word.

Have you ever experienced trembling as you read the Word of God? Matthew 4 verse 4, the words of our Lord, as He's being tempted by Satan, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes, present tense, that comes from the mouth of God. It's not dead, it comes, continues to come, because it is the living Word of God. And we do not live by material things alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Matthew 24 verse 35, again the words of our Savior, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Paul to Timothy, to Timothy 3.16, all Scripture is breathed out by God, inspired by God, profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

We will not be equipped for every good work. We will not be equipped to do what God wants us to do on this earth unless we're in the Word of God. Hebrews 4 verse 12, the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. You experience the piercing of the Word of God, the conviction of the Word of God.

There you are at home. You're reading the Word of God, and it is convicting you. Well to help us, let me ask you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm number one. Psalm number one. This is the first Psalm in the Psalter, 150 Psalms, and it is an absolute jewel. It's a brilliant Psalm. Only six verses, but rich in truth.

I want us to read it later. We'll look at a few verses from Psalm 119, which in its 176 verses presents the importance of the Word of God. A great prayer for all of us to pray as we come to the Word of God is found in Psalm 119 verse 18. Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Pray that prayer as you come to the Word of God. Lord, open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from your law. He who has ears to hear, let him hear, that we come in a humble, teachable spirit. Teach me, Lord, speak to me through your Word. Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your law.

We pray that. Psalm one, here it is, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers the wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Wonderful little psalm, isn't it? Six verses, Psalm 1.

I want us to think of it in this way. A tree is contrasted with chaff. The psalmist talks about a tree, and he also talks about chaff.

First of all, the tree, verse three. This man who is blessed by God is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The man then, the woman who is blessed by God is likened to a tree. Now there's wonderful good news in this psalm that irrespective of your background or education or economic situation or your attainments, it is possible for all of us to be blessed by God. The blessings of God on your life are not dependent on your circumstances. God seeks to bless you. God wants to bless you. That's tremendous news, and the psalmist is telling us of this person who is blessed by God. How may I receive the blessings of the Lord? Here it is. Now this word, blessed, that we have in verse one, actual fact is plural in Hebrew, and it occurs 26 times in the Psalms.

Here is the first occurrence. Blessed is the man, and he describes how we receive the blessing. We just read it in the psalm. Let me think of some other ways in which we can be blessed according to the psalmist. If you have your Bible there, look at Psalm 2, the last verse, verse 12. Psalm 2, the end of verse 12, here's another blessing.

Blessed are all who take refuge in Him that is in God. How can I be blessed by making my refuge in the Lord? Then over to Psalm 32 for another blessing.

We use that word blessing as kind of a cliché, isn't it? I want to be blessed by God. You want to be blessed by God. Calvary Church wants the blessings of God. Every single one of us wants God to bless us.

Here's another blessing. Psalm 32, verse 1, blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. If you know the forgiveness of your sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, if your transgression is forgiven, if your sin is covered by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are a blessed person.

Verse 2, blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity. You know, sometimes in a legal case, in a criminal case, sometimes the case, although the accused is initially charged with a certain crime because of circumstances, because of further investigation by the police or whatever it is, the charge is dropped, and the case is dismissed, and it can be dismissed in certain ways, but then sometimes it's said there is no, there is nothing against you. Your record is completely clean. There may have been a cloud over you.

There may have been a suspicion over you, but now it is absolutely clear, a clear record. That's the point. I'm blessed by God because all of my sins have been born by my Savior. Psalm 34, verse 8, here's the other one. O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Where do you go in a time of danger? Where do you go in a time of trouble?

Where do you go when circumstances in your life are absolutely horrendous? Answer, I'm going to take my refuge in the Lord, and there I will receive a blessing. Psalm 119, we're not going to read it all, so relax. Psalm 119, here's another blessing. Psalm 119, verse 1, blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Are you walking in accordance with the Word of God?

You're blessed. Number two, blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart. As we seek God with our whole heart, as we pursue the Word of God, we receive a blessing.

Here's another one. Psalm 146, verse 5, the same word, blessing. Psalm 146, verse 5, blessed is He whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, His God who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, and so on. I receive a blessing when my hope, not in my circumstances, not in my achievements, but my hope is in the Lord.

Incredible that God, who's infinite in His riches, bestows His blessings on us. Now look back to Psalm 1 and think of this tree in Psalm 1. The individual, then, in Psalm 1 who is blessed is likened to a tree. This individual in Psalm 1 has a true relationship with God.

He is God-centered. He is what we would say grounded, grounded. I mean, fascinated by the subject of being grounded. Do you know people like that?

Do you know people who are grounded? There's something solid about them. They're not easily blown around. They don't panic too much in a crisis, in a difficulty. There is a poise, a dignity, a strength, a depth which comes from a right and living relationship with God.

They're like a tree. They're blessed because they know that God is watching over them. They're blessed because they know that God is in control of their life. They're blessed because they understand that everything they have comes from God. They're blessed because they know they're in the hands of God, and they are seeking God, and they're not easily moved. They're not easily pushed over. I'm talking spiritually, because there is a spiritual grounding.

They have strong roots which go down. These blessings are not dependent on outward circumstances, which in some cases may be very, very difficult. I've known the strongest people spiritually who are in very difficult circumstances. These blessings certainly are not based on what other people think of them. And the people of God, as we all know, we sometimes suffer. And it's true, as we look out, we sometimes see the wicked, the dishonest person, the liar flourishing. And sometimes it seems that those who disregard God have an easier life than we do. But the blessings of God transcend the most severe and difficult of situations.

You want that, don't you? You want to be grounded. You want to have deep roots. Charles Spurgeon said, a Bible which is falling apart usually belongs to someone who's not. So this individual doesn't easily fall apart. Doesn't mean to say we don't have emotions. Doesn't mean to say that we don't find ourselves in difficult circumstances.

We do, but here in verse 3 is a beautiful illustration of the individual who's blessed. This individual has deep roots as she is secure in the Word of God. Irrespective of the circumstances, whether good or bad, she stands strong because she's rooted in God and in His Word. A tree which has deep roots will stand in the storm. When the great oak is straining in the wind, the trunk sends down a root on the windward side. And there are trees which are easily blown over in the wind and in the hurricane.

There are other trees which stand strong. Why? Because they have deep, deep roots. We want that, don't we? You don't want to be a superficial, shallow person do you?

Easily blown around following the latest fad, the latest fashion, the latest doctrinal error. No, we want to draw deep. Notice it.

It is planted by streams of water. Daily then, at least in my 15 minutes, hopefully more, I'm drawing deeply from the fresh water of God and His Word. God's always fresh, isn't He? Sometimes we're tired, and sometimes people look to us for help and we don't give it. We're stale. We're tired. We're a bit irritated.

We don't want to be troubled by people. God is always fresh. His compassion fails not. They are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. I guarantee, my dear sister, you get up to tomorrow morning, noon, night, whenever it is you open your Bible, that God is fresh. That God's streams of living waters are constantly fresh. They're never stagnant.

They're never stale. Here is a fresh, vibrant, fruitful life as we experience the blessings of God. It's not a wonderful way to live.

You're finding yourself the last few weeks a bit stale, a bit critical, a bit discouraged. You say, well, my circumstances are derailed. I'm not talking about your circumstances. I'm talking about where are your roots? Where are you going? Are you going to the Lord for refuge? Are you looking to His Word, or are you looking inwardly thinking you can have the solution, or looking to friends, or your husband, or your wife, or your parents, or whoever it is?

Here is what the wise man does. The person who's blessed, the roots are going into the living streams. Jeremiah, I'm reading through Jeremiah at the moment, but in Jeremiah 17 we have a similar picture.

In fact, it's an identical metaphor. Let me read it to you. Jeremiah 17 verse 7, "'Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,' whose trust is in the Lord. He's like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." What a tree. What an individual this woman is, receiving the blessing of God.

Her trust is in the Lord. She doesn't fear when heat comes. This tree can stand the heat. This tree can stand the drought. It does not fear when heat comes, is not anxious in the year of drought.

What some of our greatest enemies? Fear and anxiety. Who has not experienced fear? Who has not experienced anxiety as we think of the future, as we think of today, as we wonder? Here's an individual who's like this strong tree and is not shaken, doesn't fear, doesn't panic, is not anxious.

Why? Because the trust is in the Lord. See, when your life is conformed to God's Word, you'll have spiritual depth.

We live in a very shallow, plastic, almost phony society, don't we? We don't want that as followers of Christ. We want spiritual depth to experience the blessings of God. Notice the promise in verse 3, the last sentence, in all that He does, He prospers. There's fruit.

The leaf doesn't wither. He prospers. This doesn't necessarily mean material blessing.

God may give you them or it may not. That's not the point. But whatever this individual does will be in accordance with the Word of God.

Your choices, your attitudes, your goals, your values and your actions will be based on the Word of God, and you will be blessed. That's the tree. Now think of the contrast, the chaff. Verse 4, the wicked are not so, but like chaff that the wind drives away.

You don't want your life to be like that, do you? Chaff blowing in the wind. Remember that old song? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. If you're under 30 or 40, you've never even heard of it, but some of us know it well.

It was a great song. The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. That's the chaff blowing in the wind. The picture is of the harvested grain. It's taken to the threshing floor to an elevated position and tossed in the air so that the wind drives away the chaff. The wheat falls down the chaff.

The husk is driven away in the wind. It has no substance. It's worthless. It's empty. It has zero value.

If you do not follow God's Word, your life is without value. Such an individual is hollow. He's a man of straw, barren, lifeless, superficial, weightless, just like a dead husk.

You come across people like that? Hollow. No substance. No stability.

Blown around by the latest fad. There's a barrenness in the soul. This is the natural outworking of sin. Remember Paul says in Galatians 6, what a man sows, he reaps. If you sow of the flesh, you'll reap of the flesh. If you sow of the Spirit, you experience the blessings of God, because the time of testing comes to us all. For the man whose life is like chaff, I may be speaking to some man or woman. You don't know Christ.

Your life ultimately is like chaff. It's a time of judgment. Verse 5, therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, He says, there will be a separation of the righteous from the wicked, the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, the saved from the unsaved, says Paul, for we'll all stand before the judgment seat of God. Do you live your life in the light of eternity?

Do you? It's all about the immediate. It's all about you.

You've created this little life for yourself. This psalm is a delightful psalm, but it's a serious psalm, because in the psalm there's only two ways. There's the way of the righteous which will prosper, and there's the way of the wicked which will perish. You'd like a third way, would you? You want a little bit of Christianity and a little bit of the world? You would like a middle way? There is no middle way.

Understand that. Satan tries to tell you, don't become too fanatic. Walk a middle course.

No. Followers of Christ don't walk a middle course. We walk in the way of righteousness. There's the way of God, and there's the way of Satan. There's the way of Abel, and there's the way of Cain. There's the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked. Says Jesus, there is a narrow way, and there is a broad, easy way which leads to destruction. That's what the psalmist is saying. If you're like that, if your life is like chaff, you're on the wrong road and it leads to destruction. Now think of the results of the individual who reads and obeys the Word of God that is going to bring supernatural transformation.

I emphasize supernatural transformation. First of all, in verse 1, we're going to see, having looked at the picture of the tree and chaff, that conformity to the world brings ruin. You want to be like everyone else? There's something within us that wants that, doesn't it? Particularly when we're younger. When we get older, we don't care so much what people think. But when we're younger particularly, we want to fit in. Okay, understand that conformity to the world brings ruin. Verse 1 again, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. Don't you find it very interesting?

I do. That when the psalmist, the first psalmist in the Psalter, the Israel's hymnbook, the first psalmist in the Psalter, when he tells us about blessing, he starts with a negative. That's not the way of the world, is it, today? Everything's the popular philosophy. Everything's got to be positive.

Everything's got to be upbeat. The world tells us, you know, you really can't discipline children. It's all got to be positive reinforcement.

Have you had children like that? And the parents say, well, we don't say no. We're positive people.

And we say, yeah, we look at your children, we understand that. It's all positive, positive, positive, positive energy, positive affirmation. If you're going to be blessed, God is telling you that there are certain things that we must not do. Paul says very strongly in Romans 12, do not be conformed to the world.

Do not be conformed to the world. God's way is opposed to your natural desires and inclinations, these evil desires that you have. And God's way is opposed to our pagan culture in which we live. Remember, if you're following Jesus Christ, you can't also be following the things of the world. Jesus says that.

You can't love God and money. You've got to make up your mind which road are you on. The way of blessing and the way of transformation begins with a personal turning from evil and sin. No, I don't know about you, how you were raised, but I was, and we were told by our parents there are certain things you did not do.

That was a very wise counsel. What do you need to turn from in your life? You're seeking to follow Jesus Christ. Where are the temptations in your life?

Where do you find yourself perhaps conforming to the world? What temptations do you find yourself facing? Notice the slippery slope of sin. Notice that sin always, always takes you downward.

Sin, please understand, even that little first sin, that sin always takes you away from God. Once we walk, this man walks not in the counsel of the wicked. Then you don't stand in the way of sinners, and you certainly don't sit in the seat of scoffers.

Do you see the progress? First of all, we're just living our life and we're hearing what's going on in the world, but then we stand, and then before we know it, we're sitting in the seat of the scoffers. A very graphic way, isn't it, to portray the downward slope of sin. The downward path begins with listening, verse 1, to the counsel of the wicked.

Where do you get? Who are you listening to? What are the influences in your life? Today there are countless media outlets, aren't there, and programs and videos and podcasts and social media and political commentary.

We're inundated with it. Or the workforce, the friends that you listen to, or the school you go to. What are we listening to? What are the influences in our life? It's a good question for all of us, isn't it? See, our way of thinking, the counsel we get, quickly leads to the way we live.

It begins by listening, but it doesn't stop there. Now I find I'm beginning to adopt some of the thinking of the ungodly, and before I know it, now I'm actually doing exactly what they say, and I'm sitting in the seat of people who are actively opposed to the gospel. The Psalmist is saying, don't go that way. I'm saying to you, don't go that way. It will lead to ruin. The way of the transgressor is hard. Conformity to the world brings ruin.

I would think of the contrast. The transformation through the living Word of God brings blessings. I know you want the blessings of God.

You wouldn't be here on a Sunday evening when you could be doing anything else. You're here because you crave the blessings of God. You're seeking after God.

The way of personal transformation then is by understanding I'm not to be conformed to the world. I'm going to say no to sin. I'm going to say no to my evil desires. I'm going to take a stand against the scoffer. Abba doesn't stop there.

Positive, what am I to do? I am to delight in the law of the Lord, and on His law, He meditates day and night. Do you have joy when you read your Bible? See, this woman has got these roots down. She's listening more to God than to her neighbors and her friends and her family, or to her favorite program on television. No, she's spending time in the Word, and it's not just something to take off and say, OK, Mano keeps telling us to read the Bible. I suppose I should do it, and I've ticked it off, and now we're gone with life.

No, that's not it at all. This woman is blessed by God. She delights in the Word of God. She's driving her children to school on the way back in the quietness of the car. She's meditating on the Word of God. She goes for a walk. She does her housework.

She's working in her office. Wherever she is, there is a focus on Scripture. What's meditation? I look on meditation as preaching to yourself.

We had our pastor's retreat on Monday through Wednesday afternoon. We're talking about preaching and teaching and reinforcing to each other that before we preach and teach to others, we must first preach to ourselves. You preach to yourself, but that's true of us all. As you read the Word of God, take that and preach it to yourself. What do I learn here? Is this true of me?

What sin am I to avoid? You're meditating. You're chewing it over. This word is used of a line growling over its prey.

It's going to enjoy it. It's meditating. It's just something that you chew over in your mind. The power of the Word of God is this, I guarantee that the more you read it, the more you meditate on it, the more you will love the Word and the author of the Word. If you love someone, you listen to them. Don't say you love Jesus Christ and you don't listen to His Word.

That doesn't follow. If you love someone, if you love your wife, if you love your parents, if you love your children, a mark of true love is that we listen and we enjoy hearing the voice of someone we love. I have people in Scotland if they call me, they don't have to identify who they are. I know their voice. I love talking to them. It's a joy.

Where there's a love relationship, we want to hear the voice. And here's a powerful thing of the Word of God. You've experienced, haven't you, that as you read the Word of God, it supernaturally cleanses you. Do you find how easy it is to get dirty in our world? I'm talking spiritually dirty, morally dirty. We live in that dirty, seasy, sleazy world.

You hear that language where you work. It's on television, it's on the media, and we're bombarded by it. Furthermore, it's not just out there, it's in here. I read from Jeremiah 17, I could have continued where Jeremiah says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. So we have wicked, evil hearts. We have evil inclinations and desires, and now as we read the Word of God, there is a spiritual cleansing. Turn with me to Psalm 119, as we're almost finished this evening. Psalm 119, verses 9 through 16, I commend all of Psalm 119 to you. Verse 9, one of my favorite verses from the camp where I came to Christ, it was the theme verse for the camp, in fact for the whole camp movement. Psalm 119, in the King James it said, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? Answer, by taking heed thereto according to your word. That's the King James. That's how I learned it.

But let me read it in the ESV. Psalm 119, verse 9, how can a young man keep his way pure? Any young men, any young women here? How can you live a clean life? Any older men, older women here who find they may be compromised in their thinking and their actions, how can you live a clean life in a dirty world? Answer, by guarding it according to your word. Not marvelous. With my whole heart I seek you. Let me not wander from your commandments. I have stored up or treasured your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Here's the antidote to sin, sin that comes so easily into our life as we treasure the Word of God, as we've meditated on it, as we have memorized it. We live a life of purity. Blessed are you O Lord. Teach me your statutes. As you're reading the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is teaching you.

He's the perfect teacher. With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth in the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. Is that true? You delight in the Word of God more than looking at your portfolio, your riches, or your bank statement, or your possessions? David did. Remember he says, Psalm 19, about the Word of God, more are they to be desired than gold. Yes, than much fine gold.

Sweeter also than honey on the honeycomb. David knew the law of the Lord. He delighted in the law of the Lord.

He's a man after God's own heart. Verse 15 of Psalm 119, I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes. I will not forget your Word.

Marvelous, isn't it? The power of the Word of God to save us, to cleanse us, and to keep us on the path of God and to experience the rich blessings of God. No, this Word must not only be in my mind, it must be in my heart, it must be in my life and applying to all of life. Eleanor Schmidt tells a story of arriving early for surgery, and she saw the young surgeon was reading a book and as she looked, she realized the book was a Bible. Does reading the Bible help you before or after the operation, she asked.

Her soft one-word answer was, during. Any surgeons here? I want that kind of surgeon, don't you? A pure heart. But does the Word of God penetrate your work and your life?

Do you do your tests? This surgeon is saying as he carried out the surgery, the Word of God was in his heart. You go about your business. Go to the bank, the hospital, the school, wherever God places you.

Law enforcement. Not an easy task in our difficult world. Wherever God has placed you in His sovereignty, make sure the Word of God is central. Not something you just read in the morning and leave at home as it were, but no, you take it in your heart.

And that we think, what would God have me to do? Isn't it amazing how the Holy Spirit brings to mind the Scripture that you have been meditating on? You say, John, there's 66 books in this Bible, where do I begin? Well, if you're a new believer, I would encourage you to read the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it's all about Jesus Christ.

His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection. Read about Christ and think of Christ as you follow Him. Read the Psalms, 150 of them, for all experiences of life. You can just read one. Some of them are longer, some like Psalm 1, only six verses.

Only takes you a few minutes to read it and to meditate on it. Then I would suggest you read the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, starting from creation and right through to the children of Israel as slaves in Egypt as Joseph dies in Egypt and longs that his bones would be taken to the Promised Land. And then read the Epistles, Paul's letters.

Start with some of the smaller ones. Ephesians, we're studying that in the evening. The Philippines, only four chapters. Colossians, only four chapters.

Thessalonians, only five chapters. Read and study a few minutes every day and pray that God's Word will always be part of who you are. And if you're a parent, what a joy to open and share.

Share something that God has placed on your heart that you have first preached to yourself and you can explain to that little boy, that little girl that God has given you the wonder of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And your life, like millions before you, will be transformed. And there is the blessing of God. What does Psalm 1 say again? Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And on his law, he meditates day and night. He's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so, but like chaff that the wind drives away. May God give us more and more an appetite for His living Word. Our Father and our God, we thank You for Your Word. We know that our forefathers died as they translated it, and so we want to value it, not just as a historical record, but as a living truth in our hearts. Help us to delight in it. Increase our love for the Word of God, and may we humbly take that living Word and through Your Spirit apply it to our lives. We long for Your blessing. Bless us, we ask in Christ's name. Amen.