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"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk
of the word, that you may grow thereby."
(1 Peter 2:2)
I am a supplement junkie. Yes, that is an oxymoron. There are arguments on both sides as to whether vitamins and supplements actually help or not. I have chosen to go with the side that says yes, they do help. People laugh at me when I literally take a handful of pills and swallow them all at once. As I get older, I have found these supplements, particularly glucosamine chondroitin tablets, help me. Also, I believe the fish oil and niacin tablets I take are helping with my cholesterol. Hey, I even take Prevagen to help improve my memory. Yes, I know I take many supplements!
What about spiritual supplements? What if there was a pill you could take that would help you draw closer to God and would give you spiritual energy and the ability to fight temptation and witness to everyone you met? Well, actually there is. No, not a physical tablet like a multivitamin, but God has given us some very potent spiritual supplements that if we take daily will make a profound influence in our lives.
What are these supplements? Peter lists one in our biblical text for today: "the pure milk of the word". God's Word and the teaching it contains empower us to live victorious Christian lives, that is, if we read, meditate upon, and memorize it. The old adage is still very true: "Sin will keep you from the Bible, or the Bible will keep you from sin." Every day, yes, even on mission trips and vacations, I read the Word of God first thing every morning. I pick up where I left off the previous day as I read through the Bible front to back, and I always also read a chapter in the amazing Book of Proverbs. Does it help my spiritual life? Absolutely! God's Word is powerful, and it empowers me to draw near to God and receive comfort in times of hurt and power in times of weakness. David proclaimed in Psalm 119:11, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You."
We are either growing in our walk with the Lord and moving forward or becoming stagnant and falling backwards. In order to grow and draw closer to God, we have to spend time in the Word of God. You will have to get up a little earlier in the mornings but the investment in your spiritual walk with the Lord will pay wonderful dividends. Even if you only have ten minutes, do it. Get in a quiet place and read the Bible. In prayer, you talk to God, but in Bible reading, God speaks to you.
Let me invite you to take the Proverbs Challenge: read a chapter in this amazing wisdom literature every day and let Solomon instruct you on how to live in this world. Whatever day it is in the month, read that particular chapter. For example, today is October 29, therefore, you read Proverbs 29. Tomorrow read Proverbs 30, and so forth.
Send me a note on social media or even to my personal email address, dforshee@dfea.com, and let me know how God speaks to you through this wonderful discipline of daily Bible intake.
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