Summer Classes Begin June 15

Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart:

Jeremiah 15:16, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”

Today, may I share a testimony I read that really enlightened my heart to the importance of my time in God’s Word?

Many years ago I began to learn the secret revealed in this verse.

After being a Christian for about nine years, I came to a point where I felt dry, discouraged, and defeated.

I tried to overcome my failing self in many areas, but found I lacked the necessary strength.

This went on for several weeks, and then somehow it occurred to me that I should begin reading my Bible three times a day in a regular way.

So I began reading the Old Testament in the morning, Psalms and Proverbs at noon, and the New Testament in the evening.

It was amazing to see what happened to me within one week.

I discovered that the Word of God was food!

At that time the Lord impressed me with Jeremiah 15:16.

Formerly, my time with the Lord in the Word was mainly an exercise of my eyes and my mind.

But when I discovered that the nature of God’s Word was food, I began to read the Word with a praying spirit.

The Bible became a new book in my hands.

It became a book of enjoyment, a book from which I could feed upon the living God.

I found myself reading and praying simultaneously and then taking up a verse or a phrase and beginning to fellowship with the Lord with the very words of Scripture.

I found I did not have to strive to find what to pray.

The Word of God itself became the content of my prayer.

While doing this I found a mysterious yet real supply spontaneously infusing my inner man.

No longer was I merely looking at black and white letters on a page or trying to mentally understand things, which had often left me spiritually deadened.

For the first time in my Christian life, I began to enjoy God Himself in the pages of the Bible.

Eating three square meals a day by feeding upon the Word taught me experientially that my inner man requires food just as my physical body does.

The reason for my defeated Christian life, I discovered, was simply lack of nourishment.

In studying the Bible for seven years, it had become to me a book of theology, sermons, and outlines, rather than a book of enjoyment and supply.

I realized that the mere knowledge of the Bible could not change me.

It was only when the Bible was translated into food by my praying with and over the verses that it turned into enjoyment rather than mere thought.

I realized then, as I do today, that one of the secrets of spending time with the Lord is to feed upon the Word.

Until Tomorrow 

With a Shepherd’s Love 

Pastor

TODAY’S PRAYER LIST

Amy Garner’s Dad

Brandon’s Dad

Charlene Palmer

Dr. Don Davis

Freddie May’s Mom

George Alexander

John McClain 

Kathi Mabe

Rose Fuller

Terrell Loyd

Tom Witcher                                                                                                                                      

Bentley Smith

James Garner’s Friend 

Kim McClain’s Mother

Lonzo Christian             

Ashley Burn’s Sisters

Bill Moody 

Charlie Sessom – Waiting  

Colby/Connor – Allison’s G’sons 

Greg Payne – Lisa’s Brother

Hanna Hall – Pray for Grace

Kenny & Nora Allison  

Kimberly – Dustin’s Sister  

Larry Barker  

Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah

Mary Sims  

Marynell Ford

Pastor & Mrs. Driskell 

Paula Ferus’ Missionary Friend 

Ricky Stubbs  

Rod Gustafson – Cancer

Roseleigh Osborn  

Scott Lanier – Linda’s Son 

Shaelyn – Jill’s Friend

Sheila Simmon’s Cousin

Tammy Shellnut’s Mother/Dad