Restart: Compassion and JusticeSample

BIBLE While fasting for 40 days in the desert, Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread. He countered the temptation with a quotation from Scripture (Deuteronomy 8.3). His fasting proved that humans can indeed live without food for a time. But we cannot live without the Word of God. Only God’s Word can sustain us when we are in need. Throughout the world, there are people who are hungry for the Word of God — a hunger resulting from not having Scriptures in their language, not having affordable Bibles, or because the Bible is banned in their country. People in such places treasure each scrap of the Bible they can get their hands on. They know what Jesus knew: “What God has said isn’t only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4.12). Many of us in the U.S. have more than one Bible. They’re easy to obtain. Bibles weren’t meant to gather dust on a bookshelf. They’re meant to be used to bring life to the hopeless and the weary. How has the Word of God helped you when you’re tempted or facing some other pressing need? How do you show that you treasure the Word of God? One of the services we can offer people is to feed them with the Word of God, providing them with the spiritual nourishment they need. People need both bread and Bibles. How will you “feed” someone with God’s Word this week? Pray: Lord, thank you for revealing yourself through your Word. Your law is in my heart. I am happy and willing to listen and obey.