People perish without the word of God. The word is truly life-giving not only to individual persons but also to nations and people groups.

When Russia was under the communist regime, it went through all kinds of atrocities and evil. Millions died of starvation and interrogations. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Russian novelist and historian who lived through the gulag and concentration camps wrote, “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”

Some may think that the word of God is restricting and produce prudish and close-minded people. But it’s quite the opposite. The word of God protects, frees, and flourishes human beings.

A king of Judah, Josiah, discovers the Book of the Law in the temple of God while reorganizing the temple. And after he reads it, he tears his clothes and repents even though he was a good king because he wasn’t aware of all the sin his nation, Judah, was committing unknowingly against the Lord. And what kind of sins were they committing? They were sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols, temple prostitution was rampant, and they were constantly oppressed by foreign powers. In other words, the people lived in fear, bondage, and oppression.

Today, I look at America and I see people living in fear, bondage and oppression. Fear of tomorrow, bondage of drugs and alcohol, and oppression of conformity and competition. We are literally perishing without the word of God! And how do they treat the word of God? By the rolling of their eyes and snickering either openly or under their breath.

Do not let the world drown out the word of God. It is our life-blood. Do not let your family grow up without it. The world will kill you and your children without the protection from the word.

PH