“But the Word of the Lord stands forever.” 1 Peter 1:25 NIV
“You need to build your life on God’s promises that have neither exception nor expiration.”
My thoughts today are about “no expiration date.”
It seems to happen all the time. The other day I was prepared to have my truck washed professionally, using a discount coupon from the car wash that I had received in the mail some weeks earlier. Guess what. The day I wanted to use it, it had expired a day earlier. Everything seems to have an expiration date attached to its promises. Gift cards, grocery items, and sale prices all have a limited time for which they are good.
A lot of life is like that, but not the Word of God. A person may promise you something at one time, yet be unwilling to do what they said later. Broken promises destroy marriages; broken promises damage business trust; broken promises strain friendships. The person is likely to have meant it when they spoke it, but time and circumstance change – but not the Word that God speaks. Peter contrasted perishable seed with the imperishable – “the living, enduring Word of God . . the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.” Read 1 Peter 1:23-25 NIV.
You need to build your life on God’s promises that have no small print of either exception or expiration. God’s Word daily must be no luxury of either time or convenience to you; it is an absolute and indispensable necessity for successful, everyday life and your eternal well being. “I have treasured the words of God’s mouth more than my daily bread.” Job 23:12 NIV. You will find the Bible’s truth to be timely as well as timeless. Consider King Solomon’s discovery, “There has not failed one word of all His good promise which God promised.” 1 Kings 8:56 NKJV. That is still as true today; God’s promises have no expiration date!
Here are five simple, practical things you must do for God’s Word to work in your life. Read Isaiah 55:8-11 NIV. You need to read God’s Word every day. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 NIV. You need to study God’s Word every day. “These (at Berea) . . received the Word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were true.” Acts 17:11 NKJV.
You need to obey God’s Word every day. “If you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” James 1:25 NLT. You need to learn God’s Word every day. “Be diligent to present yourself approved unto God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NAS.
You need to hear God’s Word at every opportunity. “Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 NIV. You need to commit yourself to a church where the Word of God is proclaimed with integrity and anointing, and be there to receive it at every opportunity. Your presence for the teaching of God’s Word is not your option nor at your pleasure. Too many have taken liberty of schedule to come and go at their leisure, to the harm of their soul. Read Hebrews 4:12-13 NLT/10:23-25 NIV.
My prayer for you today is that you will regard the Word of God as first priority.