{"id":160,"date":"2017-01-06T13:04:04","date_gmt":"2017-01-06T13:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=160"},"modified":"2017-01-06T13:04:04","modified_gmt":"2017-01-06T13:04:04","slug":"3-incredible-rewards-consuming-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2017\/01\/3-incredible-rewards-consuming-word.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Incredible Rewards of Consuming the Word"},"content":{"rendered":"
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www.unsplash.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I\u2019ve talked to people who regularly consume the Word, they speak often about how the Word guides them, how it illuminates their path, how it helps them know which way to go. I think of the verse in Psalm 119 that says \u201cYour Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Think of life as you traveling at 100 mph in the middle of the night with no street lamps or external lights. Under your own power, you can put up parking breaks, and that\u2019s it. Imagine how scary it would be to travel at 100 mph in the middle of the night with only parking breaks. No wonder people\u2019s lives crash and burn so often. When we consume the Word, it\u2019s like we\u2019re switching on the high beams. We can see what\u2019s in front of us, we can adjust our course before danger comes, and we know which way to turn. When you consume the Word, you receive guidance. Your path is illuminated.<\/p>\n

A second reward is what I call spiritual food, or maybe spiritual vitality. I experience this often. When I consume the Word, something inside of me comes alive. It\u2019s my spirit. Some of us have been spiritually dead for so long that we can\u2019t remember what\u2019s it\u2019s like to feel alive on the inside. When Jesus says that \u201cMan shall live on every word that comes from the mouth of God,\u201d he\u2019s talking about feeding the soul. When you consume the Word, it\u2019s like you\u2019re feeding your soul, and as your soul is fed, it becomes stronger and becomes alive. And I don\u2019t know how to describe it in words, but when I consume the Word, I feel spiritually alive. That\u2019s an incredible reason to consume the Word.<\/p>\n

Your life can change when you consume the Word. And on top of that, there\u2019s one incredible long-term reward that happens when you make a habit of consuming the Word: your mind is renewed. Don\u2019t underestimate the power of this reward. Look at what Romans 12:2 says,\u00a0Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.<\/em><\/p>\n

When we consume God\u2019s Word in a regular basis, we change the way we think. And when we change the way think, we change the way we live.\u00a0Imagine it. Imagine a life where you weren\u2019t weighed down by stress and worry because you were so confident in God that you just knew he would take care of you so you didn\u2019t have to worry.<\/p>\n

Imagine a life without shame or guilt over past mistakes because you are so overwhelmed with God\u2019s grace that God\u2019s forgiveness constantly washed over you like a flood. Imagine a life where you woke up every single day knowing that today mattered, that your life had purpose, and that God created you for this moment, for this time, to do something of eternal significance.<\/p>\n

Imagine a life where joy and love welled up inside of you so deep that it overflowed to everyone around you because you were so rooted in the joy of the Lord.\u00a0Do you think that would change you at all? That\u2019s what a renewed mind is. That\u2019s a mind that\u2019s been transformed because you\u2019ve chosen to allow God\u2019s Word to shape your reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I\u2019ve talked to people who regularly consume the Word, they speak often about how the Word guides them, how it illuminates their path, how it helps them know which way to go. I think of the verse in Psalm 119 that says \u201cYour Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[31,86],"class_list":["post-160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-next-steps","tag-bible","tag-word"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Incredible Rewards of Consuming the Word - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When you consume the Word, here are three incredible rewards that you can look forward to.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Incredible Rewards of Consuming the Word - Next Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When you consume the Word, here are three incredible rewards that you can look forward to.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2017\/01\/3-incredible-rewards-consuming-word.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"facebook.com\/drjoshdaffern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-06T13:04:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/newwineskins\/files\/2016\/07\/Bible-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Josh Daffern\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@joshdaffern\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 Incredible Rewards of Consuming the Word - 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Josh graduated from New Orleans Seminary with a Masters of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry. Josh has been involved in full-time ministry for over twenty years. He enjoys hiking, beach volleyball, reading, playing anything competitive, and rough-housing with his kids. Josh, his gorgeous wife Robin, his outrageously handsome boys Zeke, Shepherd and Lincoln and his princess Elle, live in northern Virginia. Josh also blogs on Patheos as New Wineskins: an Apologist for the Modern Church and you can find links to all his content on joshdaffern.com. 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