2016 World Mission Report Testimony

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
-Deuteronomy 8:3
      I attended my church's world mission report in Korea and wrote a testimony based on what I learned. I hope you are blessed by reading it.
At this conference, one theme that seems to keep coming back to me is the importance of the Word of God. The first message by Ron Ward talked about the command to read the Word all the days of your life. His message spoke to me because I often don’t read the Word in the way I should be reading it. I often read the Word hurriedly, without taking much time to meditate on what I have just read. Ron Ward told us to read the Word deliberately and patiently. Only through careful meditation can the Word of God penetrate my heart.
     The first Deuteronomy lecture by James Kang stressed the importance of obeying the commands of God. It wasn’t enough for the Israelites to know God’s commands, they had to follow them. Only then could they truly live. When they disobeyed God’s commands, they suffered terrible defeats from their enemies. When they obeyed God, they became conquerors. In the same way, I must learn to obey the Word of God by applying it to my life. The Bible is called the Sword of the Spirit. A sword is only useful if it is held. Similarly, the Bible is only useful if I hold it in my heart and apply it.
     Finally, today’s message by Joseph Kim focused on the value of the Word. One quote that stuck out to me was this (paraphrased)- “Physical bread cannot give you life. Only the Word of God has life.” The Word of God is life itself. I almost never think about the Bible in this way. I often downplay the importance of the Word. Everyday I eat food without exception. I know that food is necessary for life. Yet, I don’t treat the Word of God with the same importance. Today I learned that I cannot live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
     At the conference I’ve learned to read the Word, obey the Word, and value the Word. How can I put these lessons into practice? Right now I use a Bible reading plan, but I haven’t been the most faithful to it. I want to follow this plan more faithfully. Furthermore, I want to approach the Word through prayer. Prayer opens my heart the Word, and invites the Holy Spirit to work. I want to read the Word patiently instead of trying to just check off the Bible reading plan. I think the best way to do this is to set apart a good amount of time just for Bible reading and prayer. I want to start with 30 minutes, and adjust the time if necessary. Please pray for me to read, obey, and value the Word of God.
One Word- Read the Word, obey the Word, and value the Word.