Be Tender

“Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.” 2 Kings 22:18-19 (NIV)

Be tender.

At the age of twenty-six, Josiah encountered the reading of the Book of the Law. Though he was a king, Josiah allowed the Word of the Lord to impact his life. Instead of seeking to get God’s Word to conform to his life, Josiah conformed his life to the Word of God.

• “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:23 (NIV)
• “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)

Do you read the Bible? When you read the Bible, are you allowing God’s Word to take root in your life? Are you tender towards God and sensitive to what He speaks into your life? Jesus wants us to move from being hearers of the Word only, to being doers of the Word.

Is your heart responsive to God’s Word? How do you respond? Have you allowed God’s Word to affect you emotionally and intellectually? Strive to have a consistent daily intake of God’s Word. A healthy daily discipline is to read four chapters of the Bible each day. In one year, you will have read through the entire Bible.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell