Why Should I Read and Meditate on God's Word Daily?

Why ask this question?  Why is it an issue?  Well,we live in a busy world.  We are all “running” everyday.  We all have lots to do.  We all have full schedules.  We each have a set of priorities.  Each of us can say, “I’m a very busy person.” We each set our own schedules.  We each decide what we will do.  We each “choose to do what we want to do each day”. Well, in the busyness of life, why should we read God’s Word daily?  Why is it important to make it a priority to open God’s Word and spend time reading His Word everyday?   And why is it important to read a significant portion rather than only a scripture or two a day? Well, let me explain. The Word of God is food for our spirit.  Some believers don’t seem to realize that we really do need to feed our spirit, similarly to how we need to feed our physical bodies. In view of this reality, some believers feed their spirit very poorly, and very inconsistently.  For that reason there are too many believers that are basically “spiritually anemic”  -  weak, unreliable, easily defeated – spiritually. Too many believers “nibble”on the Word of God when they need to be eating “good, wholesome, and nourishing meals” of God’s Word. It appears that too many believers seem to live a “fasted” lifestyle when it comes to God’s Word.  Yet, when it comes to God’s Word, you should NEVER fast. Every believer needs a daily “diet” of God’s Word.  We should read and meditate on God’s Word every day.  Reading 3 chapters in the Bible everyday is a good basic “diet” to begin with. When we read the Word of God everyday, many very important things happen to us spiritually.  We grow closer to God, we grow in our knowledge and understanding of God, and we are empowered in the things of God.  As we read and think on God’s Word, the Word and the Holy Spirit together are working on us.  They are molding and shaping us to become more and more like Christ.  As we spend time reading God’s Word, the Word “programs” us to think and walk and act more and more like Christ. Daily as we read God’s Word, we are empowered in the things of God. Also, we are washed anew by the cleansing power of God’s Word.  (Eph. 5) As we read, we are nourished in the things of God, and we grow in the grace and knowledge of God  (II Peter 3:18).
Take time to pray and ask God to help you begin the discipline or habit of  reading God’s Word everyday.  Once you begin this habit, it will be one of the most productive habits or disciplines of your whole life.
“Your Word is a Lamp to my feet, and a Light to my path.”  Psalm 119:105

Eleven Excellent Reasons You should Read the Word of God Everyday.

 It tells you how to be genuinely saved and how to grow up in your faith. (John 3:16, Psalm 119:105,Romans 12:1, 2, and Phil. 4:6,7)

It gives you clear guidance and direction for much of your life.  (Psalm 119:105

It empowers your prayer life.  (Phil. 4:6,7)

It sharpens your ability to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit more and more clearly in your life. (I Corinthians 1:5)

It ministers to your mind, body, and spirit.   (Proverbs 4:20-22)

It helps you to maintain your mental health, (Prov. 4).

It increases the anointing on every area of your life.  (I Corinthians 1:5)

It increases your wisdom in every area of your life.  (Proverbs 1 - 4)

It enhances your intellect and your personality. (It can literally increase your I.Q.) (I Corinthians 1:5)

It pours grace, joy, and peace into your spirit, your mind and your life.  (II Cor. 1:2, I Timothy 1:2, and II Timothy 1:2, and Galatians 5:22)

In direct statement or in principle, it gives you guidance and/or direction about every issue or topic in life.  (Psalm 119:105)

Seven Things we should seek to do with the Word of God everyday.
Read It.
Hear It.
Believe It.
Speak It.
Obey It.
Pray It.
Meditate On It.

* Remember!  Reading 3 chapters in the Bible daily will bless you a lot!

For Salvation

If you would like to know Jesus Christ personally, and would like to invite Him into your heart, pray this or a similar prayer in order to make that step:

Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God.   I recognize that I have sinned and done wrong.  Forgive me of all the wrong I have done.  I do believe that You died on the cross to pay for my sins, and I believe that three days later You rose from the dead, so that I could be saved. Thank you Lord, for loving me enough to die for me.  Lord Jesus, come into my heart.
Become my Lord and Savior.  Make me the person you want me to be. You said in your Word, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Right now Lord, I ‘m calling on your name.  Lord Jesus, save me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit.   Thank you Lord for saving me, and I now confess I am a child of God.   In Jesus’ name.   Amen.

Hypocrisy

What does the Bible say about hypocrisy?

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Question: "What does the Bible say about hypocrisy?"

Answer:In essence, “hypocrisy” refers to the act of claiming to believe something but acting in a different manner. The word is derived from the Greek term for “actor”—literally, “one who wears a mask”—in other words, someone who pretends to be what he is not.

The Bible calls hypocrisy a sin. There are two forms hypocrisy can take: that of professing belief in something and then acting in a manner contrary to that belief, and that of looking down on others when we ourselves are flawed.

The prophet Isaiah condemned the hypocrisy of his day: “The Lord says, ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men’” (Isaiah 29:13). Centuries later, Jesus quoted this verse, aiming the same condemnation at the religious leaders of His day (Matthew 15:8-9). John the Baptist refused to give hypocrites a pass, telling them to produce “fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). Jesus took an equally staunch stand against sanctimony—He called hypocrites “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15), “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27), “snakes,” and “brood of vipers” (Matthew 23:33).

We cannot say we love God if we do not love our brothers (1 John 2:9). Love must be “without hypocrisy” (Romans 12:9, NKJV). A hypocrite may look righteous on the outside, but it is a façade. True righteousness comes from the inner transformation of the Holy Spirit not an external conformity to a set of rules (Matthew 23:5;2 Corinthians 3:8).

Jesus addressed the other form of hypocrisy in the Sermon on the Mount: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). Jesus is not teaching against discernment or helping others overcome sin; instead, He is telling us not be so prideful and convinced of our own goodness that we criticize others from a position of self-righteousness. We should do some introspection first and correct our own shortcomings before we go after the “specks” in others (cf.Romans 2:1).

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He had many run-ins with the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees. These men were well versed in the Scriptures and zealous about following every letter of the Law (Acts 26:5). However, in adhering to the letter of the Law, they actively sought loopholes that allowed them to violate the spirit of the Law. Also, they displayed a lack of compassion toward their fellow man and were often overly demonstrative of their so-called spirituality in order to garner praise (Matthew 23:5–7;Luke 18:11). Jesus denounced their behavior in no uncertain terms, pointing out that “justice, mercy, and faithfulness” are more important than pursuing a perfection based on faulty standards (Matthew 23:23). Jesus made it clear that the problem was not with the Law but the way in which the Pharisees implemented it (Matthew 23:2-3). Today, the wordphariseehas become synonymous withhypocrite.

It must be noted that hypocrisy is not the same as taking a stand against sin. For example, it is not hypocrisy to teach that drunkenness is a sin,unlessthe one teaching against drunkenness gets drunk every weekend—thatwould be hypocrisy.

As children of God, we are called to strive for holiness (1 Peter 1:16). We are to “hate what is evil” and “cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). We should never imply an acceptance of sin, especially in our own lives. All we do should be consistent with what we believe and who we are in Christ. Play-acting is meant for the stage,  NOT real life.  

💙💚💛💜 Misty