Evans Akpo

Life in the Word

Deuteronomy 8:3
And He humbled you and let you go hungry and fed you the manna, which you had never known nor your fathers had ever known, so that He might make you know that man lives not by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out from the mouth of Jehovah.

Job 23:12
As for the commandment of His lips, I have not turned back from it; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my apportioned food.

Psalm 119:103
How sweet are Your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Whenever we come to the Word, it would be good to pray, “Lord, grant me a sweet taste for Your Word. Make it so precious to me.” When we come to the Word, we come not only with our mind, with our eyes, but also with our heart. Taste is related to the heart. We need a heart which loves and appreciates the Lord’s precious Word.
Life Message 10, pg. 92, W.L.
Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found and I ate them, And Your word became to me The gladness and joy of my heart, For I am called by Your name, O Jehovah, God of hosts.

Ezekiel 2:8—3:3
But you, son of man, hear what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.
And I looked, and there was a hand, put forth toward me; and in it there was a scroll book.
And He spread it before me. And it was written on the front and back, and on it were written lamentations, mourning, and woe.
Then He said to me, Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth, and He gave me that scroll to eat.
And He said to me, Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your inward parts with this scroll that I am giving you. And I ate it, and it was like honey in my mouth in its sweetness.

inspirational Nugget= The word is life.

In my nutrition class, I was once told more sicknesses are traceable to what we eat. What we eat affects out lifestyle which arguably influences our longevity on earth.

CPP would put it clearly this way in regard to God’s word and the hunger for it.“Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Facing Satan’s temptation, the Lord Jesus quoted Moses’ word in Deuteronomy 8:3 saying, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). The man Jesus, as our pattern, took the word of God in the Scriptures as His bread and lived on it. Later, Peter exhorted the new believers to drink the word of God by saying, “As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation” (1 Pet 2:2). God’s word is milk to nourish the newborn ones so they may grow in the spiritual life.

The apostle Paul spoke of God’s word as milk or the spiritual infants and solid food for the mature believers saying, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it” (1 Cor. 3:2), and “Solid food is for the full-grown” (Heb. 5:14). These portions from the New Testament portray God’s word as milk, bread, and solid food. In giving us His word in the Scriptures, God intended not merely to teach us, but even more to feed us, to nourish our inner being, our spirit and our soul, so we may receive His divine element and grow in His divine life until we are “full-grown in Christ” (Col. 1:28).

Before his martyrdom, Paul admonished his young coworker Timothy to be “nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have closely followed” (1 Tim 4:6). To be nourished by God’s word, we should not merely read or study the Bible; we need to drink God’s word as milk, eat God’s word as bread, and feed on God’s word as solid food. We must be like Jeremiah, who found God’s words and “ate them” (Jer. 15:16). By receiving the word of God as our daily nourishment, we will experience an inward transformation, and we will grow in the life of Christ until we are “like Him” (1 John 3:2).

Inspirational Nugget= The word of God gives life, it is healthy nourishment to our soul.

For the word of the LORD is right, and all his works are done in truth.
Arthur Pink in “Spiritual Nourishment” said; “there must be a healthy appetite. One cannot eat to profit when he is sick; nay, at such times, food is usually repulsive. A good appetite is a mark of good health. Now it is true that we cannot bestow upon ourselves a hearty appetite—but we can do much to injure and destroy it. A child who is glutted with candy has little relish for more wholesome diet; and a child of God who absorbs newspapers and novels, no longer finds the Word sweet to his taste.”

“Nourished up in the Words of Faith” (1 Timothy 4:6). We are living in a day when more and more attention is being paid to nutrition; foods are scientifically analyzed, the various grades of vitamins classified, and a serious effort made to obtain a well-balanced diet. With many the feeding of the body has become a regular fad; alas that so few evidence any concern about the feeding of their souls—that which returns to the dust is pampered, whereas that which returns to God is utterly neglected. Multitudes are filling their minds with trash, while their spirits are being starved.

However, it is not to those who ignore their eternal interests that we now address ourselves; rather is it to the professing people of God we desire to offer a few words of instruction.
The Bible is truth. Like a flashlight, the Bible provides clarity in every area where it shines its light. It tells the truth about God, the truth about humanity and the truth about our redemption in Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

Inspirational Nugget = The word of God is healthy to our life.

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty.

Julia Bettencourt on “Soul Food On My Table” asked a common question which many people are probably used to, according to her it’s amazing how some folks react when you mention the words “soul food” to those people who really enjoy it. They get that longing in their eyes. Their mouths begin watering, and they begin to use wonderful descriptive words to describe the flavor, aroma, and taste of it. They get excited about the mere mention of “soul food”.
The question was asked by her this way, “do we get that way when we hear the mere mention of God’s Word, the Bible? It is our soul food and yet how many of us get as excited over that as some people do over cornbread, collard greens, or fried green tomatoes?”

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them;
and thy word was unto me the joy
and rejoicing of mine heart…” Jeremiah 15:16

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby:” 1 Peter 2:2

Inspirational Nugget = Crave for the word, it is more valuable and it has all the solutions we need.

John Bloom from John Piper ministries puts it more clearly this way, “God has given human beings one source of true soul food: his Son. Jesus Christ, the Word of God, God the Son, is the great Promise, for “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” He is the soul’s bread, and “whoever feeds on this bread will live forever” Jn 6:58.

Study the word.

Creflor Dollar puts it this way, “You have probably heard the phrase “You are what you eat” before, and it is usually a statement that is made in reference to food. However, it can also be applied to the things we “feed” our spirits on a daily basis. The foods we eat are responsible for sustaining our physical bodies and allowing us to maintain good health. Likewise, the prosperity of our souls depends on our spiritual food choices.”

The Bible was clear about what we take in. Based on Jesus temptation to turn stones to bread, he responded  differently because of the word he had fed himself with which was a healthy lifestyle. In other words, what we put in our minds by way of our eyes, our ears, and the things that come out of our mouths, have the potential to nourish or deplete us spiritually. As Believers, we must be sure we are constantly feeding our spirits the right things, which only come from God’s Word.

Junk food is the type of food that has virtually no nutritional value and is full of harmful substances that have both short-term and long-term negative effects on the body. Similarly, there are a lot of things we are exposed to every day that are spiritual junk food.

Inspirational Nugget = The word of God is the healthy lifestyle.

When he was asked to turn stones to bread, he responded with the words he knew, “man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matt. 4:4.

The words of Jesus is as relevant today to our world as it was then.  Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him (Prov. 30:5).  The book of Job amplifies it better when he said…… “I have esteem the words of his mouth more than my necessary food (Job 23:12).”

As time changes, some promises don’t count much, sometimes failures in some areas of life negatively affect people’s health.  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever (Isaiah 40:8).  The total security for a healthy lifestyle is dwelling on his word.

Inspirational Nugget =  The word of God dwelling and living in our live creates a healthy lifestyle.