WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JUNE 24, Â 2021
TOPIC: TREASURE THE WORD OF GOD
BY T. O. BANSOÂ
“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12 New King James Version).
When you treasure something, you cherish, prize, value, or adore it. Some people have possessions that they treasure so much that they would not allow just anyone access to them. It could also be a relationship like someone treasures his spouse, children, or parents.
Jesus said in Luke 12:34 that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We could adapt this scripture to our discussion. Whatever you treasure, there your heart would be – whether it’s your spouse, children, parents, friends, or material possession.
In Matthew 13:44, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy, over it, he went to sell all that he had and bought the field. In other words, that treasure had more value than any other possession the man had. Therefore, joyfully, he sold everything he had and used the money to buy the field because of the treasure hidden in it which he had seen.
I imagine that many people would think the man was stupid. They would have queried his wisdom for selling everything he had just to buy a field. They probably would have asked him what he wanted to do with a field. But the man knew it wasn’t the field he was buying but the treasure hidden in it. But he wouldn’t have ownership of the treasure unless he first bought the field.
The psalmist says, “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure” (Psalm 119:162 New King James Version). The Word of God is not just like a great treasure, it’s a great treasure. Wise people set aside or sacrifice everything to access, receive, or read it. But many people who are wise in their own eyes don’t treasure it. They think they don’t need it. They don’t have time for it. Other things are of more interest to them.
It could be their video or computer games that they treasure more than the Word of God. It could be their recreational activities. It could even be some religious activities that crowd their lives and make it impossible or difficult for them to have time for the Word of God.
In some cases, some people are in the church when the Word of God is being preached and they are distracted by their phones. They are busy chatting while the message is on. Because they didn’t go to church with their Bible but with their phones that had the Bible downloaded on it and several other things. They could pretend they are opening the Bible but they’re busy doing other irrelevant things. Such people don’t treasure the Word of God.
The Bible is the Word of God and there are no other documents inside that can distract you. The opposite is the case with your phone. There are plenty of distractions on your phone that, if you are not disciplined, will keep you from accessing the Word of God you hope to access. Don’t let your phone become a substitute for your Bible – the printed copy of the Bible. Discipline yourself to, more often than not, read the printed copy of the Bible. Use the Bible versions on your phone occasionally and for further studies. Avoid distractions. Nevertheless, understand that this is not a message against the use of the phone.
Do you cherish, prize, value, or adore the Word of God? How important is your Bible to you? What value do you attach to anything the Lord tells you in the Bible, through the preacher, or by the Holy Spirit? How much time do you spend with the Word of God daily? How attentive are you when the Word of God is being preached? Do you spend ample time meditating on the Word of God?
Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (New King James Version).
Do you study your Bible at home or it’s only when you are in church? The Bible says the people of Berea were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether the things they were taught were so (Acts 17:11).
Do you behave like those in Berea? Do you search the Scriptures daily to find out whether what you have been taught are so? Do you do further studies on what you have been taught in church?  Some Christians don’t do this and this, unfortunately, is one of the reasons that some preachers feed them with errors. They are Bible illiterate.
Matthew 12:35 says a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. The Word of God is a good treasure. Verse 34 says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If there is an abundance of the Word of God in your heart, that’s what you will speak. But if your heart is filled with junk from social media, unedifying information from books and magazines, and foolish talking and jesting with friends and neighbours, you will also speak from this abundance of your heart.
The writer of Psalm 119 says, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:9-11 New King James Version). This is one of the things the Word of God can do for you. D. L. Moody said, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”
Job says, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12 New King James Version). You can’t know and understand the Word of God unless you read your Bible, listen to messages, and meditate upon the Word of God with the intent to do it.  God wants to guide you but if you have no time for His Word, how will you receive direction and guidance?
If you treasure the Word of God, it will become a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path (Psalm 119:105). Study and meditate on the Word. Studying and meditating on the Word of God helps you to renew your mind from worldly influence past, present, and future. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 New King James Version).
Meditating on the Word of God and obeying it is a sure way to be blessed in your walk with God. Psalm 119:1 says, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD!” (New King James Version). The Bible says if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). The opposite is also stated in the next verse.
Don’t let Satan deceive you that you don’t need the Word of God; treasure the Word of God. If you think you don’t need it now, you will soon need it. Some people who despised the Word of God in the past later needed it desperately. They can’t do without it now. Indeed, they are alive today because of the Word of God. Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63 New King James Version).
Treasure the Word of God. Cherish the Bible. Everything you need in life is there. Romans 15:4 says whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. The Bible will impart patience on you and give you hope and comfort in this broken, fallen world.
Treasure the Word of God. Job says, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12 New King James Version).  Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3b, Jesus says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4). I pray that your heart will be a good ground that will receive the seed of the word. You will hear the word, understand it, and bear bountiful fruits (Matthew 13:23).
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16). Meditate on it day and night and obey it. Jesus says in John 15:7 that if you abide in Him and His words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. The Word of God is the will of God. You can be confident that if you ask anything according to His will, He will listen to you (1 John 5:14).
Let the Word of God become the most important thing to you. Treasure the Word of God.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I receive love for Your Word. Holy Spirit, help me to treasure the Word of God more than my necessary food. I shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I shall hide Your Word in my heart, that I may not sin against You in Jesus’ name.
(For over 600 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
  
  
  
  
