BY RICK WARREN
“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 NIV)
Have you noticed that if you go without food for a stretch of time, you start feeling a little weak? If you go a bit longer, your mind starts getting a little groggy. Go a little longer, and you start feeling cranky. If you go even longer without food, you start feeling lethargic.
The same is true with God’s Word — the food for your soul. The Bible says, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 NIV). God’s Word is as necessary to your soul as food is to your body. If you don’t get into the Bible, you’re going to start feeling lethargic.
You may say, “But I go to church every week.” If the only spiritual input you get in your life is the weekend message, then you’re having a banquet once a week and fasting the rest of the week. No wonder you’re weak and groggy and cranky!
Whatever you put into your body and your mind is what’s going to come out. The computer experts call that “GIGO” — garbage in, garbage out. If you put garbage in your mind — and there’s plenty of it out there — that’s what’s going to come out in your life. If you put soul food in your mind, that’s what’s going to come out. You can put in stuffing (meaningless things that fill your time) or poison (like violence and pornography and all kinds of evil things), or you can put in the Word of God.
Do you believe everything you watch on television or hear on talk radio? Do you believe everything you read in the newspaper and magazines? Do you believe everything you read in the Bible? So why do we spend more time listening to and reading what we don’t believe? Did you know that the average “New York Times” weekend edition has more words in it than the entire New Testament? Yet, I know people who sit down with the “New York Times” on Sunday morning and read it cover to cover, but they’ve never read through the New Testament.
What are the results of filling your mind with the Word of God? Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32 NKJV). If you abide in God’s Word, you will experience freedom in your heart and Heaven for eternity. And, you will prove to the world that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Talk It Over
- What do you fill your mind with the most? TV? Books? Internet?
- What do you want to exhibit with your words and actions? How does your input contribute to that desire?
- What are the practical steps you can take to fill your mind with more of God’s Word and less “stuffing”?
