Posted by Devotional for Today, November 17, 2025
Topic: He Lived By the Word
Verse: But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. – Matthew 4:4 (AMPC)
Still on our “We Owe a Personal Debt” series, today’s devotional is on how Jesus who is the Word lived by the Word.
If we are to pay this debt that we owe God, we have to purpose in our hearts to live by His word.
Bible study should be a culture in our hearts and lives. What is a christian without the study of the word?
Apostle Peter urged us to “… desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” – 1 Peter 2:2 (KJV).
He likened us to newly born babes and says that the way babies crave for breast milk from their mothers, that is how we must desire to study the word of God.
Why is this important?
It is because the Word of God contains the manual for our lives. You see, every profession has something called a code of conduct or rules of practice. In the medical profession, it goes by names like The Hippocratic Oath, The WMA International Code of Medical Ethics, or in generality, the Medical Code of Ethics.
For engineers, Code of Ethics and COREN Code. For lawyers, there are the Rules of Professional Conduct, Code of Legal Ethics, Bar Association Ethical Rules, etc.
These are rules for how people in this profession should carry about their duties.
In the same vein, as believers, our code of conduct is in the word of God. The Holy Scriptures are where we find the rules that coordinate how we must live.
What I love the most about the word of God is how complete it is on matters of life and spirituality. Even the Bible asserts that “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” – 2 Peter 1:3 (KJV)
So in the Bible we have how we are to live our lives. This is therefore a call to study the word of God.
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15.
Knowing how to live begins from studying the word of God. you cannot know it except you pick the word to read.
From studying, it moves to meditating.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” – Joshua 1:8 (KJV).
Meditating on the word of God is you thinking about what the word of God says. It is trying to dialogue with the word – to have the word speak to you by staying on it. Asking things like how does this scripture affect me? What should be my response? What is this scripture asking me to do?
This is meditation in its simplest form.
Then to complete the lifecycle, we obey the word. Joshua 1:8 says that “…that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.”
You must decide to do what the word says. Obedience to God’s word is where you end the cycle.
This is how Jesus lived and it is the way we must live.
Prayer for the Day
Father, I ask that you help me to fall in love with Your word – to value the study of Your word, to spend time in meditation, and to obey Your word. I do not want to be a reader and listener of Your word alone but a doer. Help me O Lord, in Jesus name, Amen.