Intimacy with God: Be Intentional Part 2

Our working definition of intimacy is a warm, personal, private friendship developed through a long association.  

The question we are working to answer in this blog series is this: What does intimacy with God look like?  

As I stated last week, while this is not an exhaustive list, I believe intimacy comes through our times in prayer, worship, reading the Word, meditating on God, and soaking in the Lord’s presence. 

Today I want to look at reading and studying the Word.  This morning the Lord spoke to me about this very topic.  

A little back story. Lucky our tiny kitten was abandoned under our house by her momma during a heavy Texas storm.  For the next couple of nights, we heard this kitten crying for her momma.  Finally, the rain stopped, and we could investigate.  Samuel was brave and crawled under the house to rescue her.  She smelled awful and had not eaten in days.  She was dehydrated and her eyes were not open yet, however, they were infected.  

Over the past three weeks I’ve been giving her round-the-clock care.  Hallelujah, she is using the litter box, but is still bottle feeding every three to four hours.  I’ve tried to introduce her to canned kitten food, but in the words of my friend Raquel, she looks at me as if to say, “I just a baby!” and turns up her nose at the food.   

During our 1 a.m. feeding I was observing how ferociously Lucky attacks the bottle to get the milk out.  She grabs it with her little front paws and holds it tightly so I cannot take it away from her.  She drinks like she hasn’t had anything to eat for days (a throwback to her under house days I assume). 

   

As I watched, the Lord spoke.  He told me that this is how His children need to be with our consumption of the Word. We need to dig into it daily like we’ve not eaten from it for days.  We need to have an insatiable hunger for the Word and not allow anything to take it away from us. 

We don’t need to feel pressure to go get the Word of God to feed ourselves.  The Bible was given to us to feast upon.  We eat it rather than read it.  The Rabbis in Israel will go to the kindergarten classes and give the children a taste of honey.  They tell them that the Word of God tastes like the honey they just ate.  They encourage them to “eat” the Word and allow it to do its perfect work in them.   

For the one who loves the Word, it really is sweet as honey.  We don’t have to strain or strive to partake.  We, as sons and daughters of God, can pull our chairs up to the banquet table of the Word and the Father is ready to provide us with a feast!i 

This doesn’t mean that we don’t need to be consistent in our reading and studying of the Word, rather, it invites us to banquet on the Word and to invite Holy Spirit to dine with us, bringing revelation, insight, and wisdom as we partake (read and study). This my friend is fine dining at its best! And the best thing is that this food builds our spirit man and doesn’t go to our physical waistline.  There is no calorie counting when feasting on the Word!  

Why do we read and study the Word? Ultimately, we study to know God! In gaining intimacy with Him we are given the tools we need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. (NLT) 

Tool #1, the Word helps us to keep from sinning. Psalm 119:11-16, Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Blessed and reverently praised are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts. And [thoughtfully] regard Your ways [the path of life established by Your precepts]. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. (AMP) 

Psalm 37:31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip. (NIV) 

Today, most Christian homes have multiple copies of the Bible.  We can even access the Word on our phones, computers, and tablets in multiple translations at one time.   

With so much access to the Word, one would think that we would see less sin in the World, however, just having access to the Word does not mean we know what it says. We must read it for ourselves and apply it to our lives.  Hosea 4:6, my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. (NIV)  

Tool #2, we study the Word so we can teach others. 2 Timothy 2:15, Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. (AMP) 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV) 

Tool #3, the Word is our sword to be wielded against the enemy’s attacks. Ephesians 6:17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (NLT) 

Jesus used the Word to shut down the attacks of the enemy when He was being tempted in the wilderness.  Matthew 4:3-4 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (NET)  

If Jesus needed to us the scriptures, so do we!! 1 Peter 1:8 The enemy prowls around “like” a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (to devour those who don’t know the Word!!! ) (Italics are my interpretation of this verse based on our study.) 

Tool #4, we must know the Word so we can distinguish between true and false teaching. Acts 17:11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (NIV) 

Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. (NLT) 

When people are being trained to identify counterfeit money, they are not given fake bills to study, rather, they are given the real bills to study.  They must know what the real thing looks like so well that all counterfeit bills will be easily identifiable.   

The same is true of the Word.  We must know the Word so well that we can identify even a subtle change which is meant to deceive.  In Genesis the enemy deceived Eve by using God’s own words with his own slight changes.  The words sounded like they could be true, however, a partial truth is a lie!  

  

Tool #5, the Word is our instruction manual. It guides our steps. Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope. (NET) 

Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. (NLT) 

Intimacy with God is found through reading and studying His Word.  He leads, guides, protects, and instructs us by His Word.  Through knowing His Word we know God!!!  John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Finally, I will close with a few quotes by men of God regarding the study of the Word.  

“I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible.” D. L. Moody 

“The Bible is the greatest of all books; to study it is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.” ― Charles C. Ryrie 

“Bible study is the most essential ingredient in the believer’s spiritual life, because it is only in study of the Bible as that is blessed by the Holy Spirit that Christians hear Christ and discover what it means to follow Him.” — James Montgomery Boice 

“He that would be conformed to Christ’s image, and become a Christlike man, must be constantly studying Christ Himself.” J.C. Ryle 

Works Cited;

1. https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/the-importance-of-studying-gods-word-contextually.html