SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1117

“Keep the Word”

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. – Psalm 119:11,105

What value do you place on the Word of God? Do you treasure it? Is it merely an inanimate book to you or do you know it to be the Living Word of God i.e., Jesus Christ?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:1-5

If the Word of God is nothing more than a book of fictional stories, then why have governments and evil factions worked so hard for centuries to eliminate it? Bibles have been removed from public places. They are confiscated at borders of countries and burned. Plaques with Scripture verses are being removed and destroyed. Prayer is banned in public places and the Name of our Lord is only allowed to be used in vain. The answer as to why is found in John 3:19.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. – John 3:19

When we keep the Word of God in our heart we maintain our moral compass with which to navigate the myriad of decisions and choices we need to make in this life. The Word gives us discernment and clarity when faced with the deception of the evil one.

For 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. – Hebrews 4:12

Inasmuch as our bodies need food to live, so do our spirits need to be nourished by the Word of God. We need more than a nibble every now and them. We need to continually feast on the Word.

But he (Jesus) answered, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. – Matthew 4:4

We need to keep the Word of God not only in the sense of obedience to it, but also in the sense of treasuring it in our hearts. Keeping the Word makes us complete and equipped with the full armor of God. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of Godmay be complete, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

When we keep the Word we, as the Body of Christ, are a preserving force (salt) in this world. The Word in us is the Sword of the Spirit bringing the light of Jesus to dispel the darkness of evil.

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…- Matthew 5:13-15

In this critical election year fraught with the pandemic and economic turmoil, emotions run high. Political ads are infested with half-truths and flat out lies. Fact checkers need to be fact checked. The Body of Christ MUST rise up en masse, complete and equipped with the Word of God as their moral compass to rightly discern the way to vote.

Rise up church! Keep the Word and be salt and light in this dark time.