On Mouthing the Word of God

CONSECRATE Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you.  Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.  HEAR Joshua 1:7–9 (NIV) “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” CONSIDER Have you noticed how the Bible never leaves behind the fundamentals of the faith? It’s right there in plain view again today. “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Translation: Keep your eye on the ball. I am coming to realize who and what I am in the kingdom of God. I am an awakening coach. I have come to realize this is how many of you see me and relate to me. Either way, I can tell you, this is how I relate to you. I am here to encourage you to get off of the bleachers of passive faith and get onto the field of active awakening. This journey from the bleachers to the field goes by a few different names: training, conditioning, disciple-making. The Christian faith has become more about practicing at practicing, staying stuck in ruts of mindless motions, doing the things of faithfulness without really growing in the strength of faith, and otherwise slowly slipping into a state of sleep. We’ve got to wake up, people. I love how the Word of God urges Joshua today to Core Conditioning #1A. “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” Always. Now here’s a fascinating thing about that word. You know what it really means? Always. It means at all times and in all your ways. I am challenged by this. On your lips. This Book of the Law is the Word of God. It is an audible word. From a quiet whisper to a piercing shout, the Word of God is meant to be mouthed, or spoken aloud. And as it is spoken aloud from your lips, at whatever decibel, it is as though it is coming from the mouth of God—through your lips. Let’s remember Isaiah 55. Speak it aloud now: As the rain and the snow     come down from heaven, and do not return to it     without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,     so that it yields seed for the sower and     bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:     It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire     and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (vv. 10–11) As the Word of God comes forth from your mouth, it is going forth from God’s mouth. It then comes into your hearing. Remember, faith comes by hearing. From your ears it makes its way to your heart and from your heart to your mind, spirit, soul, and strength. It is no accident that the bold admonition to “be strong and very courageous” is immediately followed by the urgent exhortation to anchor down deep into the Word of God. It begins with mouthing. “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips.” So will you do it today? Let’s just start with the first five words from God—from Joshua 1:7. “Be strong and very courageous.” All day long I want you to speak these words, aloud, from whisper to shout (you pick based on context). And look for opportunities to speak them to someone else. Remember, they are the words of God and they are powerful and effective. The Word of God accomplishes the work of God . . . every . . . single . . . time. PRAY Father, thank you for your Word. Where would we be without your Word? If we are honest, we can go hours, even days, without it. We are fooling ourselves because we are not really going anywhere without your Word. Would you help us keep this Word of God always on our lips? Come, Holy Spirit, this is who you are and what you do. You cause the Word of God to become flesh, to be like a fire in our bones, to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In Jesus’s name, amen.