Refocus – The Word of God
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 nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. – John 1:1-4.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
George Mueller is remembered for many things including his care of orphans. He began caring for orphans in 1832 when he moved to pastor a church at Bristol, England. It was there at Bristol that two young children became the responsibility of the church. Mueller had very little money – only two shillings at the time he began to care for the children. During the next sixty years, God moved in a mighty way to provide for that ministry. Over seven million dollars were sent by God to help meet their needs. Mueller also began 117 schools, which provided educations for more than 120,000 children many of whom were orphans. The church he pastored had 2,000 members at the time of his death. Charles H. Spurgeon said of George Mueller, “Of flowers of speech he has none, and we hardly think he cares for them; but of the bread of Heaven he has abundance.”
From where did George Mueller’s empowerment come? It certainly was in part from his voracious reading of the Word of God. Mueller was a student of the ministry of George Whitefield who was a great evangelist during the 1700s. Mueller adopted a habit of Whitefield’s, which was the reading of the Bible while on his knees in an attitude of prayer and meditation. Mueller through his lifetime had documented in his journal reading through the Bible some 200 times. I think we can see the source of George Mueller’s empowerment.
Reading God’s Word will help you to refocus upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word become flesh. Jesus quotes Scripture in Matthew 4:4, to resist the temptation of the devil, when He says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” We cannot live the Christian life without a daily nurturing, filling, that comes only from the Word of God.
I recently spoke with a pastor friend who sadly shared about one of his sons for whom nothing seems to work out. Everything his son tries always ends in some degree of failure. His son knows what the problem is in that he knows he is not on the right track with his life and that he is not in God’s will. Joshua tells us how we can get on the right track with our lives and it is through the Word of God. Joshua says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8).”
You cannot expect to read the Bible for a few moments one night and expect your life to instantly change. You can expect that through a commitment to reading through the Bible in a year (about 3 chapters a day) that you will begin to see positive changes for the better in your life. As you follow through with that commitment to God in all areas of your life, you will see over the course of months and years dramatic changes for the better occurring, which will lead to the successful living of a good life for the glory of God.
Now’s a good time to dust off that Bible, open it up to Genesis chapter one and begin to read. I can promise you that you will never regret the time you spend in the Word. Let us refocus our lives on Jesus through the Word of God.
(Refocusing your life through God’s Word.)