Bible Verse of the Day Sunday February 19th 2023

Isaiah 41:1 “Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.

There is not one living thing on God's green earth that does not require a renewal of its strength. The trees of the forest, even though they do not labor, must have the living waters of the earth and intake the life-giving nourishment from the soil. The gigantic Redwood trees have only gotten to their gargantuan state by taking in the sap from the ground. By the same token, our lives will never be sustained and renewed without the physical and spiritual nourishment that comes only from God. Just as it is necessary to repair and refurbish our physical bodies through food and water, our spirit and soul must undergo a daily renewal of nourishment that comes only in and through the Holy Word of God and prayer. If we neglect to replenish our physical bodies with the bread and water that God provides in and through His created world, they will begin to deteriorate. Similarly, if we neglect to feed our spirits and souls with the bread and water of God's Holy Word, our spiritual being will begin to decline and weaken.

If we disregard our spiritual health by not feeding it with the nourishment of God's Word and prayer, we will be woefully unprepared for the assaults from Satan that will come our way daily, sometimes hourly. When the storms come, and the plants and trees do not have a deep-rooted support system to receive their nourishment from God, they will topple over and die. Likewise, when the winds of a Nor-Easter or a hurricane come suddenly upon the sailor, and his mask is not secured, there is a danger of the ship being tossed back and forth by the waves. Similarly, if we do not secure our life's ship with God's Word, we will be tossed back and forth with every wind of Doctrine (Ephesians 4:14).

Many churches have disintegrated or been destroyed because of the lack of foundational biblical teaching, or the church's body exists from Sunday service to Sunday service without the nourishment of God's Word. Unnourished Christians leave the door open for any false teachers that come in like wolves among the sheep. Peter devoted the lion's share of his second letter to warning about false teachers. The Apostle Paul's final warning to the Church at Ephesus warned of the dangers of false doctrine (Acts 20:28-30). A daily regimen of the nourishment of our spirits and souls need can only show up in one place: the saving grace of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. He is God's Word (John 1:14), and along with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and a daily regiment of Bible study and prayer, we can know continued spiritual strength and spiritual growth.