Thoughts for another day

Jan. 22, 2008

Today's verse: Mt. 4:4. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Man’s conflict with God occurs when he refuses to hearken to what God says. This conflict is bad and puts him away from God’s presence. We see this in Genesis when Adam disobeyed God. Later, when God called out to him, he hid. His disobedience caused his fall, which required someone to save him. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ did the redemptive work on the cross.

Man usually refuses to hearken to God because he thinks there is something better God hasn’t told him about. It is the yearning for that ‘something’ that consumes his mind and makes him seek it out to satiate himself with. Take the case of a child whose mother forbade him to eat the cookies she had made and kept in the glass bottle. Every time the child looked at the bottle, greed gripped him and ultimately, tricking mom, he took the bottle and ate the cookie. But, the cookie was bitter. Before long, his stomach quivered and he had a miserable time; because he didn’t know that mom had put in some medicinal powder to cure a stomach ailment the neighbor suffered from. To douse the bitterness of the medicine, she had put it in a cookie!

My friend, you see, the above verse says that listening to God’s Word is food. Food for our souls and when needed, food for our bodies. Countless are the examples in the Bible and also in today’s time when the mere presence of God, satisfied the body. Take Moses who stayed in God’s presence for 40 days and nights without eating or drinking, a single thing. People have fasted for long durations trusting God and have remained healthy with glowing skin. Of course there are people from other communities who also fast for long periods but they do not necessarily do it with the hope of living.

God’s Word is precious and life sustaining. We have to hearken to it, for in His Word, we find the strength to live a good life. I would urge you today to imbibe each Word that has proceeded from our God and let this Word make you live a life worthy of your Savior’s praise.