The Power of God's word to Encourage and Refresh

So here we go, a forray back into the world of blogging.
Looking at the dates of past blogs, I've been quite shocked how long it has been. The content of the recent blogs that I have written also point to the fact that I was probably only writing them to get free books!

A couple of weeks ago I preached in church...

We're currently in the middle of a series called 'The power of God's word to...'
As a church we've explored the power of God's word to bring life, encourage and refresh, cleanse and to guide. My week was about encouragement and refreshment...

The key thought in preparation was that to be encouraged and refreshed in the word of God we need to be in His Word.

Over the past two years I have read the James Bond books by Ian Fleming. I really recommend them if you haven't. I don't normally read fiction, but Fleming has a way with words that seems to jump out of the page. It was a joy to read these books and I made time and space in my day to read them.

I wanted to challenge the church to get into their Bibles. To make time in their days, to make it a priority. To eat, chew, swallow and digest the powerful word of God so that it gives energy, drive and direction in our lives. In turn we will be encouraged and refreshed!

I challenged the church to read the book of Philippians and over the past two weeks have been encouraged by emails and conversations of how God has been speaking through his word to encourage and refresh. For me I was struck by Philippians 1:7 where Paul writes;

All of you share in God's grace with me.

Be encouraged by the thought that we share in the transformational grace that changed Saul the murderer to Paul the apostle. We share in that grace!!! The grace of God does not discriminate, it does not run dry and it covers completely. What an amazing reality, but also a challenge that we should then display that same grace.
Do you feel you need encouragement and refreshement. Emmerse yourself in the word of God. Here's a few pointers if you struggling to figure out how...

1. Develop a spiritual diet

We need to develop a diet that is healthy that helps us to lose the weight of sin, that leads us into spiritual habits, that brings health.

2. Be expectant
When you read God's word, be expectant that God, by the power of his Holy Spirit wants to speak to you. Meditate on the information in God's word. I believe God wants to bring revelation through his word which in turn leads to transformation

3. Stay accountable
Share your intentions to be disciplined in God's word and give them permission to ask and challenge. Encourage one another to become bible reading believers.

4. Try something new - try a different way of getting into God's word. Maybe an alternative reading plan or even memorising parts of scripture.

Feeling jaded, tired, weary, discouraged? Join me in seeking refreshment through God’s holy and powerful word