“…now it is high time to AWAKE OUT OF SLEEP; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the WORKS OF DARKNESS, and let us put on THE ARMOR OF LIGHT.” (Rom. 13:11-12) The forces of darkness have caused us to slumber! We have been given God’s wonderful, living, powerful and GOD BREATHED WORD OF GOD. People who regularly “use” God’s Word know by their own personal experience, that this is not just “text” printed on a page (written or presented electronically). There is life and power in these GOD BREATHED words. “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall NOT RETURN TO ME VOID (empty), But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isa. 55:11) That is why the Word of God is referred to as, “…the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the Word of God.” (Eph. 6:17)
The devil knows of this power in God’s word so, look what he has done, there has been a decrease in the Biblical WorldView in America in 2019 it was 12% of Americans who were regular and consistent readers of God’s word to the current 6%—the lowest number ever recorded. According to George Barna. A large majority of Americans today believing that human beings are “basically good,” and less than 40% seeing human life as having real value or as being “sacred.” Whereas, God, “…so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him MIGHT BE SAVED.” (John 3:16-17) God did this because, “There is no one righteous, not even one…ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:10, 23)
What must we do to get back to receiving God’s word? “…you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. And you must COMMIT yourselves wholeheartedly to (My Word) that I am giving you today. REPEAT them again and again to your children. TALK about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. WRITE them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:5-9)
-Bill Stockham