Wednesday, June 17

Jeremiah 15:16 (NIV)

 

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.

 

Is God’s Word a delight to your heart? Are they sweet to you? Do you eat them?

 

I have one vitamin Deborah makes me take every day. I hate it! It’s as big as a softball and it tastes like chalk. I almost gag to look it. But she says it’s good for me (I hope), so I obediently, although reluctantly, shallow the thing.

 

Some people must feel that way about God’s Word. They do anything to avoid it. They either avoid reading the Bible entirely or consciously neglect reading the parts they don’t have a taste for (i.e. Old Testament). They do these little “bread basket devotions” that are quick and easy to shallow. They avoid preaching and Bible study—they are too busy for that sort of thing. They’ll occasionally tune in their favorite Bible teacher on the satellite radio—but it’s just noise to help pass the lonely time in traffic. They’re like a man “listening” to his wife while he watches the game on TV.

 

I’m not opposed to those things—if they are supplements to your spiritual diet, not the main course.

 

You don’t just need to taste God’s Word—you need to shallow it. Meaning this: you don’t just read it or listen to it—you obey it! God does not intend for His Word to be praised but to be practiced. We don’t just admire it; we apply it!

 

Your TAG time (Time Alone with God) should be your favorite meal of the day.