Ann here!

I said this morning: "What shall I write about today Lord?"

He seemed to whisper back: "Tell them about the key to success."

The key to all this? The key to being an overcomer in your faith life?

The key is: Absorb the Word of God. Drink it in as often as water. Drink it in regularly throughout your day. Meditate on it. Accept it. Believe it. Act on it.

Read it without your own cultural prejudices or ideas of what should be 'right'. If you see something in the Old Testament, for example, that doesn't sit comfortably with our modern-day culture don't judge it: Ask God about it and ask for the 'mind of Christ'. Read it with an open heart. Be willing to have your mind changed. Let the written Word of God do its good work in you. Let it implant itself in you.

My friends, here's a suggestion: Read Psalm 119 and note all the parts that talk about the Word of God and what it means to a believer. Here are a few phrases I underlined in there recently:

Happy are those who keep Your testimonies (v. 2)

I searched You with all my heart (v.10)

I take pleasure in the path of Your testimonies (v.14)

I will meditate on Your precepts and I will watch Your paths (v. 15)

Your testimonies are also my delights (v. 24)

Do for me according to Your word (v. 25)

I have joy in Your word like a man who finds a great treasure (v. 162)

Great is the peace of those who love Your law, and for those they will not fall (v. 165)

Your testimonies are for me a heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart (v. 111)

Oh how I love Your law! All the day I meditate on it (v. 97).

And so on. 

My friends, I think I heard it said once that Billy Graham used to read nothing but the Bible, and leave it open in his home all day long so that he could snack on it throughout the day.

I love that. And, that said, even that is not enough. The Word of God must be combined with an open heart to all that is in it. Ask God specifically to change your lens where it needs to be changed. Pray over your Bible and ask God to remove any lies you are believing in relation to its content. That's important!

From what I understand, it's possible to spend a lot of time in the Bible but not see truth, or not get to know God. The success of our reading hangs on us asking for the Holy Spirit and receiving all we read with an open heart. 

Finally, here is an analogy God gave me:

When you drink in the Word of God it is like drinking washing up liquid ('dish soap' in America!). You will have a bellyful of that soapy strong liquid. I will, in turn, add the water of the Holy Spirit to your belly, and you will bubble up and pour out a cleansing flow of goodness to all around you. That, in turn, will do its purifying work to those in your family and others around you. So drink!

My friends, let's commit afresh to drinking the Word of God as if our lives depended on it. And it will surely do its good work.

... And receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21, ESV).

Much love,

Ann