In the coming weeks, we will be taking a close look at Psalm 119 as a church. It is the longest of all the psalms, and it is all about the preciousness and importance of God’s Word. The purpose and goal of looking at this psalm at the beginning of a brand new year is to stir up our desire and devotion to God’s Word in our personal lives. We want to be people of the Word. We want to be people who know God’s Word. We want to be people that are shaped by God’s Word. It is through His Word that God works in us.
Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” It is through God’s Word that we receive correction and training to become who we are called to be.
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the WORDS of eternal life.” (John 6:68). It is in God’s Word that we find life.
It is in God’s Word we find hope. “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4). Our hope comes from what is written in the Scriptures.
God’s Word points us to our joy. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11). Christ has spoken, His words are recorded in the Scriptures and they are for our joy.
The Word of God is connected to our fruitfulness. “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:2-3). Prospering is connected to constant meditation and delighting in God’s Word.
We need to be people of the Word. People that are frequently reading our Bibles, who know our Bibles, and are shaped by our Bibles. As we start a new year, we are praying that you will devote yourself to a Bible reading plan. To help, we have made a plan for our church. You can pick a printed version up at the Resource Center or download it on our website. Please consider embracing a commitment to God’s Word. Go through the reading plan together as a Connection Group or grab a friend and hold each other accountable. The type of church we long to be is dependent on each of us being people personally shaped by God’s Word.