Washed through the Word
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you (John 15:3, KJV)
Jesus made the remarkable statement above that the disciples were clean through the word He had spoken to them. In other words, the words they heard from Jesus had washed them from uncleanliness and made them clean. Remember He was speaking to Jewish people who had a very clear religious understanding of being “clean.” For Jesus to tell them that they were clean through the word without the numerous rituals of washing and sprinkling was certainly a strange thought to them.
God’s Word washes like water. This is mind-blowing. I remember how it washed my mind clean from impure thoughts as a teenager. But this is a very important question I want you to answer. How does the word of God wash our lives? How does it penetrate a man’s heart to wash his life? Did they get washed because they were merely in the environment where they could hear Jesus’s voice? No! God’s Word penetrates a person’s life through understanding. I already wrote about in previous devotionals and it is crucial you understand this. God’s words spoken to you enter your life through your understanding. If you do not understand what is being said, those words will be wasted. So even if someone was sitting under Jesus’s ministry and hearing the words, if he or she did not understand what was being said, no washing would have taken place. Once the Word enters a person’s life, it gets activated to work when that person believes or accepts what is being said. God will clean our lives by speaking to us, but those words will do nothing until a we understand what He is saying and believe or accept it.
The capacity to understand and accept something as truth are crucial abilities in us that allows us to receive God’s words. The Wordwill wash your mind, emotions, desires, motivations, etc. from the numerous filthiness we still pick from the world around us. It will wash lust from your heart. It sanctifies. It will wash that fear, depression, anxieties, sinful desire, etc. However, for it to sanctify you, it has to be received as described above. You see where many of us are still struggling. The are scores of believers hearing or reading God’s Word daily, but it has NO EFFECT on them. Brethren you have to actively pay attention to the Word and train your heart to understand and accept or believe it to ensure you are RECEIVING.
MEDITATE
Is it possible to hear God’s Word and not understand what you are hearing?
APPLY THE WORD
Do you need something to be washed from your heart? Lust? Fear? Greed? Jealousy? Or maybe something to be washed spiritually from your body, that is, an infirmity? God’s Word washes. The key is to receive the heavenly water into your heart. Do not just hear or read it. Receive it. This will require you to start paying attention to make sure you understand the words you are reading. It is that simple. I did not say trying to get some “strange revelation” from the words. I mean a simple literal understanding of the words you are reading or hearing. It starts from there. Attend to the Word of God!
PRAY
Ask the Lord to help you understand and believe the words in the scriptures for you.
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