Sword of the spirit

'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.' 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Have you ever been to an all you can eat buffet? I’m a bit of a foodie and so I love a good buffet! Recently in Portsmouth a new buffet restaurant opened with a wide variety of foods from all over the world. There’s Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Italian, traditional English and other options. The beauty is that I can pick all the foods I enjoy and ignore the rest. Sounds great, but it’s not always the best thing for my health and waist line!

God’s Word is food for our spirit. Jesus point out that we don’t live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). God’s Word will give us the right vitamins and nourishment for us to grow stronger in our faith. But it’s important that we don’t treat scripture like we would a buffet.

Whilst we may have favourite verses and passages we prefer, if we want to mature and carry out our mission, it’s vital that we get a mixed diet. That means embracing the full counsel of God’s Word, even the bits we might not like or understand. Sometimes scripture is challenging and may be difficult to digest, but it’s there for our benefit.

As followers of Christ, reading the Bible is an important part of our journey. But I would encourage you to not just read it mechanically. Read it prayerfully. Meditate on it. Pray through it. Believe it. Memorize it. Declare it. Apply it. And of course, share it with others!

All scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Not just some of it, or most of it. But ‘all’. This should give us great encouragement and confidence as believers when it comes to the Bible. Enjoy feasting on God’s Word today and every day. You won’t regret it!

- Daniel Harman