Stay in the Word, Church!
Three Sundays ago I preached a message from Mark 4 on the parable of the Sower. I emphasized Jesus’ teaching on the seed planted in the “thorny” ground – how the clutter of life (worries, wealth and wants) can limit (even eliminate) our receptivity to God’s Word and our productivity in God’s Kingdom. The bottom line of the message was that we have to be more receptive to be more productive. With that truth in mind, I hope you are all staying current with your chapter-a-day Bible readings. I pray that you are not allowing anything to distract you from your “face-to-face” quiet time with God. If you stay on board with the daily readings, you will get more out of the morning sermons and will give more to your 242 small group! And if we all get on the same page and stay in the Word all year, imagine how unified in spirit and in purpose we will be as a church body! (See 1 Corinthians 1:9-10)
OK, that’s part of the reason I penned this article. The other reason is to give you a written copy of the short piece I read to you that Sunday. It is a thought-provoking piece (source unknown), that tells us what to do with God’s Word.
GOD’S WORD:
KNOW IT IN YOUR HEAD.
STOW IT IN YOUR HEART.
SHOW IT IN YOUR LIFE.
SOW IT IN THE WORLD.
Brothers and sisters, let’s all get into the Word and stay in the Word in 2010. You can be sure that it will make a huge difference and pay huge dividends. How do I know? I have God’s Word on it! “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
Rich Howell
