Day 21: How Does The Word Transform Us?
The MilktoMeat curriculum is designed to give you both the “diet” and “exercise” you need to grow spiritually mature. Today we will discuss the first of three Core Exercises: Hearing God’s Word, Seeing His Glory.
Earlier, we considered how The Message of the Bible has transformed the lives of multitudes of people throughout history. The Message of Truth in the Bible has transformed our lives as well and this is why we want to help others understand how the Bible reveals Father-God’s work in His Son Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. This promise of transformation is given to all who hear this Message and desire to get in line with God’s plans and purposes.
The Bible, the Written Word, is the means that God uses to reveal Himself, His purposes and His plans clearly to us. When we submit our thoughts, emotions, and desires to this reality through faith, we know that God’s Spirit is at work within us. It is this work of the Spirit that brings deep-rooted transformation:
2 Corinthians 3:18
We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Our main prayer is that by going through this study you will Hear God’s word. When you hear His word, we pray that you would then See His glory—His profound beauty that is absolutely remarkable. If these two things happen, you will be transformed.
As the passage above says, the Spirit of the Lord brings freedom. He frees us from all of the lies and deception that keep us shackled to the false “ways” of this present world. He sets us free to see the larger Reality of Life given to us in The Master Story that can only be seen when we see things from God’s perspective. We learn to see things from this perspective by hearing what the Bible reveals about the One True God who exists and who wants to know us and be known by us.
Core Exercise 01: Hearing the Word, Seeing God’s Glory (Receiving)
MilktoMeat is designed to give you both the “diet” and “exercise” you need to grow spiritually mature. We are going to discuss three core spiritual exercises throughout this study. Some people call these exercises spiritual disciplines, but we like the idea of exercise more. It takes discipline to exercise, but that is not the goal. So what is a spiritual exercise?
Key Definition: Spiritual Exercise
A spiritual exercise is any activity that engages your body and your mind in a way that affects your core—your heart. Although these exercises require our effort, they always work in cooperation with Father-God’s empowerment—His grace.
Spiritual exercises are essential to growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Some call these exercises disciplines. We are going to use the term exercise because it describes what we are doing by engaging in these activities—exercising our hearts and minds. The Word of God is our diet. As Jesus Himself told The Devil, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
The first core exercise and the foundation of all our actions is learning to hear the word of God and receiving what He has given us. We take in the Word through reading, thinking about( meditating, pondering) and memorizing what Father-God has given to us in His Written Word. Like any other exercise, this is a process that takes time and practice. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Get a Bible you can understand | There are a multitude of Bible available today. Go to a bookstore a read a few. Get one that is easy for you to understand. The ESV or the NIV are good choices. There are many good study bibles available with good resources to help you understand what you are reading. We recommend the ESV Study Bible.
Be Patient | If you are new to reading the Bible, you will probably not understand everything you read on the first go. Be patient. The goal is not to have immediate understanding, but to become familiar with the Scriptures and get the Word into your thought life.
Be Intentional | Set aside some time everyday to simply read the Bible. Like any exercise, you have to work this into your schedule.
Read Slowly | Don’t try to read too much. Start with a Psalm or one of the Gospels and go slow. Focus on receiving what you are reading more than just “getting it done.”
Read with Others | One of the most important things you can do is read the Bible together with others, especially those who know a little more than you. Also, reading the Scriptures out loud allows you to hear them more clearly than simply reading to yourself. That may sound a little strange, but it really works.
Ponder what you read | Ask questions while you read: “Why does it say this?” “Why is this in this order?” “What does this mean?” If what you are reading does not raise questions for you, you are not engaged in the reading.
Ultimately, through our reading and pondering God’s Word, we want to cultivate vision. We want to be able to see reality the way Father-God does.
Exercise only works if you do it! Take some time now to think about what you need to do, what you may need to change in your daily habits to practice this exercise.
Scan back over or reflect on this week’s reading and ask yourself:
1. What have I learned that gave me new ideas and images?
2. How do these truths call me to change the way I am thinking?
3. How do these truths call me to trust Father-God more?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
