According to Your Word

Here is a great reading by Kay Arthur, from her devotional Lord, I Give You This Day...

After we’ve been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ from an evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22), how do we stay pure? How do we keep our hearts from being stained all over again?
Listen to the answer from Psalm 119:9: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.” We keep our hearts cleansed through the Word of God. When the Word cleanses us, it cleanses from wrong thinking, wrong doctrine, and wrong behaviour. This is why Jesus prayed to the Father on behalf of His followers, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
How often do you think such sanctification, such cleansing by the Word, is necessary? How much do you think it takes to make or keep you clean?
I’ve heard some people say, “Just spend three minutes a day alone with God.”
I can understand where they’re coming from. Some believers go through their days without spending any time with the Lord. And three minutes with God is better than none!
But the question is, are we selling God short? Are we selling God’s Word short? Is Deuteronomy 8:3 true when it says that “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD”? In three minutes a day can I really present myself “approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)?

Prayerfully evaluate how much time you are spending in God’s Word. If you’ve been short-changing God, ask Him to show you how to reprioritize your schedule.