[Note: The following is a devotional that was written by my mom. It was taken from her blog.]

Psalm 119:14 - "I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as [much as] in all riches"

Psalm 119:16 - "I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word"

Psalm 119:18 - "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

Psalm 119:20 - "My soul breaketh for the longing [that it hath] unto thy judgments at all times."

1 John 2:5 - "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."

Do you long for an intimate relationship with God?

You cannot have an intimate relationship with God without having an intimate relationship with the Word of God. I have heard Christians who treat the Word as though reading it were only an intellectual thing, and if you really want intimacy with God then you find that in worshipping Him. They base their relationship with Him on the feelings they have and emotional experience while in a time of worship. But what is worship?

I truly believe that you cannot know true worship without an intimacy with the Living Word, through His written Word. As we come to know His Word, interacting with Him there, and it touches our heart, our response is a true worship of heart back to God, adoring Him, surrendering to Him, being cleansed by Him. Our heart joins His heart. All barriers are removed.

For anyone who has the Holy Spirit living in them, the Word of God, the Bible, is not a dead letter. It is not something we study with our minds apart from the Holy Spirit. It becomes alive as we read it. It speaks to our hearts, drawing us closer to the very heart of God, enabling us to understand the heart of the one we love, as we choose to believe and surrender to that Word. True worship comes as we are able to interact with that Word.

If you were in love, how would you act if you got a letter in the mail from the one you loved and longed to be with? You'd sit down with that letter as if nothing else mattered, and read it, and read it over again, and again, cherishing the words that were spoken to you by your loved one. The Bible is the love letter from the lover of our soul, revealing His very heart and mind to His children. As we sit down and read it, His Spirit begins to interact with us, making it a personal Word to our hearts. We respond to it, out of love, surrendering our own hearts back to that Word, becoming more acquainted and intimate with the one we love.

We cannot ever divide the Word and the Holy Spirit. They are one. Some think themselves more spiritual for their spiritual experiences or gifts. But they hardly know the Word. They don't think it important when the Word is misused, abused, or twisted, just as long as there is some spiritual high they are having. But if spiritual experience doesn't come from a fresh revelation from the Word of God to our hearts, making a love for that truth that has given us life, a love we cling to, then what is our experience? What has it taught us? His Spirit and His Word are one, and will never contradict the other. His Spirit will never work outside of His Word. He has given us that Word so that we can know Him. We can know His very heart and mind through His Word, by His Spirit. Without the one you cannot have the other. Without the Word, you cannot really know the Spirit, and without the Spirit, you cannot really know the Word.

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23

One very sure mark of one who loves God, is a deep love for God's Word. A deep desire to become more and more acquainted with and surrendered to all He desires will grow in your heart. The more you set yourself down in front of it, the more that desire will grow. His Word will be like the richest food at a great banquet. Some Christians treat it as though it were the brussel sprouts their mother made them eat, that they learned to eat for their health but found to be very distasteful. They'd rather go on to the desert. But -

"More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." (Psalm 19:10) How sweet His Word is to those who have His Spirit!

The Lord gives us a rich balanced meal. More satisfying to the soul than anything else could be. As we study the whole counsel of God, we have all that our soul needs to be nourished and strengthened and delight in. Then our fellowship with other believers is enriched, our corporate worship is enriched and meaningful, and pure, and our walk with the Lord is strengthened.

Abba, I pray for that richness and intimacy in our relationships with Your living Word, that we may be daily engaging in, and not neglecting, that we may truly know You, our Living Savior.