Enduring Word: Place Your Hopes in His Unfailing Promises

You can place your hope in God’s Word.  All the promises of Scripture are “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ Jesus.  We can take His Word to the proverbial bank.  Not only that, as Moses said, Scripture is to be our very life.  Make no mistake about it, we are the losers if we neglect such a precious gift.  Paul also tells us God’s Word is profitable and useful in training us up in righteousness.  The psalmist says it is sweeter than honey in our mouths.  Indeed, all of Psalms 119 is a wonderful tribute to Scripture.  It serves to whet our appetites to go further still in the learning and application of it.  Make no mistake about it, excellence in handling the Word is not gained without industry.  As Ruth tirelessly gleaned the fields for earthly food so too we must go forth in hearing, searching and applying the Word to our lives so that we may glean the spiritual food that will sustain us.  Man is made up of body, soul and spirit and we starve our spirits when we neglect His Word.  Through diligently studying and applying its Truths we will reap great benefits.

We are to pray before beginning to study - asking the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to His Truth and equipping us to apply it to our lives.  This is hugely important, as it enables us to discern and walk in Truth correctly.  It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit’s power that we are able to apply what we learn to our lives so that we may be a changed people – conforming us by degrees into the image of Jesus.  This is a necessary element in growing up in Christ.  We don’t want to remain babies tossed by every wind of doctrine that comes our way.  Further, we are to take everything we are taught back to the Word, as did the Bereans, to make sure it is Truth before we make it a part of our core values.  This is commended by God.  There are only two things on earth that are eternal – the Word of God and the souls of men.  It is wise to invest in both.