Words are powerful tools. They instruct, direct, encourage, discourage, and motivate. And they can carry such force as to radically changes lives.
"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah ..." (Jonah 3:1), We're not told if the word of the Lord came in audible form, or as an inner impression, but the details are not important. The fact is, God's word came to bear on Jonah, his messenger, and Jonah went forth with it. And this word of the Lord was simple and to the point: "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown." (Jonah 3:4). The response to these words was humble repentance by the inhabitants and leadership of a a major ancient city, Nineveh.
You and I have been given this same authoritative, life-changing word of the Lord that Jonah received. It's not the same message about the destruction of an ancient wicked city, but a message of both judgment and reward. This word is called "gospel", or good news. We might say that it is the word of the One who is the embodiment of the word - "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The Living Word declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15). This simple message sounds little different from Jonah's message, but it is a message that continues to impact and change lives even today.
The word of the Lord has come to us in the person of Jesus, the Son of God, who also declares the word of God (Mark 1:15). We have the word of the Lord in both man and message and, as such, we have been enabled to impact the lives of people around us. The question is, who has He placed in your life to impact with the word? What name(s) come to mind immediately as you read these words?
The Living Word within us wants to speak the word of the Lord through us, He wants to use us to announce the presence of the kingdom of God and the urgent need to repent in order to enter it. That's it; pure and simple. Many have made it far too complicated, and relegated this urgent priority to the realm of learned Bible theologians. The Living Word simply wants to communicate through us the partial presence now of a coming kingdom, and call the responsive to repentance.
With Christ in us, we are now "the word made flesh". As the living word in the world, let's let the power of the word deeply impact the lives of those we encounter.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah ..." (Jonah 3:1), We're not told if the word of the Lord came in audible form, or as an inner impression, but the details are not important. The fact is, God's word came to bear on Jonah, his messenger, and Jonah went forth with it. And this word of the Lord was simple and to the point: "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown." (Jonah 3:4). The response to these words was humble repentance by the inhabitants and leadership of a a major ancient city, Nineveh.
You and I have been given this same authoritative, life-changing word of the Lord that Jonah received. It's not the same message about the destruction of an ancient wicked city, but a message of both judgment and reward. This word is called "gospel", or good news. We might say that it is the word of the One who is the embodiment of the word - "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The Living Word declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15). This simple message sounds little different from Jonah's message, but it is a message that continues to impact and change lives even today.
The word of the Lord has come to us in the person of Jesus, the Son of God, who also declares the word of God (Mark 1:15). We have the word of the Lord in both man and message and, as such, we have been enabled to impact the lives of people around us. The question is, who has He placed in your life to impact with the word? What name(s) come to mind immediately as you read these words?
The Living Word within us wants to speak the word of the Lord through us, He wants to use us to announce the presence of the kingdom of God and the urgent need to repent in order to enter it. That's it; pure and simple. Many have made it far too complicated, and relegated this urgent priority to the realm of learned Bible theologians. The Living Word simply wants to communicate through us the partial presence now of a coming kingdom, and call the responsive to repentance.
With Christ in us, we are now "the word made flesh". As the living word in the world, let's let the power of the word deeply impact the lives of those we encounter.
Steve
© 2010, Steve Taylor
posted by steve @ 7:40 AM
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