Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:36 — English Standard Version

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20 — English Standard Version

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 — English Standard Version [this may appear taken out of context since this is directed to the people of Israel, but as God’s people, be they, Jew or Gentile unless there is true repentance, true revival within individuals there will be no healing, no improvement.

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 — King James Version

Your Daily Appointment With God

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

By Joseph Parker

Reprinted from American Family Association

Your Word is a Lamp to my feet and a Light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).

Believers would be wise to decide to feed our spirits better than we feed our bodies. Obviously, we feed our bodies physical food.  How do we feed our spirit? We feed our spirit the Word of God.

Often, we feed our bodies two or three meals a day. Well, a good basic diet for our spirit is reading at least three chapters in the Word of God a day.

Time spent reading and meditating on the Word of God daily and consistently is very productive. It’s basically like having a daily appointment with God. It’s a consistent opportunity to spend time every day, one on one, with the Lord Jesus.

When you read the Word of God you are interacting with Jesus. You spending time in the presence of your heavenly Father.

What a tremendous, blessed and great opportunity this is. Think about it. You can have personal time every day with your heavenly Father. You get to spend time each day with and in the presence of the Creator of the universe.

A great truth to know and understand is that the Word of God ministers to and blesses your mind, body, and spirit. When you are reading the Word of God, grace pours into you.

What a tragedy, and what a tremendous missed opportunity it is daily if we are so busy that we just don’t get around to spending this time with God in His Word.

“I am so busy, I don’t have time to have an appointment with anyone – God or anybody else!” some might say. To which some would reply “Oh, I would never say that about not having time to spend with God.” Yet, we don’t have to say it with our words. Our actions actually speak loud and clear for us.

For too many people, their actions say “God, I don’t have time for you.” So, though we would never say it with our words, our actions clearly speak for us.

In order to have a daily appointment in the Word of God, we have to make time. We need to prioritize taking time to spend with God in His Word.

“This is a big sacrifice for me to do this every day” some might say. How tragically silly we in our humanness can be.

Who is busier – God or you? Who has more on their plate to deal with – our heavenly Father or you and I?

Yet God, with all that He has to do in overseeing the universe, will take as much time with us, as we will take with Him.

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:20–22).

It’s very important and significant to note a very critical truth in the passage above. The actual Hebrew word for “health” in verse 22 is the word for “medicine.”

So, it’s very true and accurate to state that the Word of God is medicine to all our flesh. It’s medicine to our physical bodies and is actually medicine and nourishment to our entire being.

In Exodus 15:26, we are told: “…for I am the Lord, your healer.” In other words, Christ is our great physician. His medicine is the Word of God. And Christ is the Word of God.

Decide to take the supernatural medicine of the Word of God every day.  When you and I spend time reading and meditating on the Word of God, we are taking a dose of God’s medicine – His Word.

It ministers to our mind, body, and spirit – with no bad side effects.

Psalm 103 speaks of some of the benefits that come from Christ, who is the Word of God:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:1-5).

An interesting observation I have made over the years as a pastor in interacting with believers who have been faithful students reading God’s Word daily is that they often seem to have a youthful appearance. In other words, they look significantly younger than their age.

Yet this is not surprising at all to me. I believe that it simply illustrates the truth mentioned in verse five of Psalm 103. This is just one more of the many blessings that come from reading the Word of God every day.

Let’s be wise enough to make spending time in the Word of God one of, if not the high priority of our day. Choosing to spend time with God in His Word daily is one of the most fruitful habits in all of life.

Reading three chapters a day is a great goal to strive for.

Also, parents, if you choose to start having each of your children read three chapters out loud to you, this can be some of the most fruitful time you spend each day – for them and for you.

Today is a great day to get started with blessed habits like these in your life and in your home.