GROWTH BY SCRIPTURE
“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby."
—1 Peter 2:2
God guides His people by the light of His Holy Spirit, who enables them to understand, believe, and love the Scriptures. The Word of God supplies us with just and holy principles to direct our affections and actions. Those who study the Scriptures in humble dependence upon the Holy Spirit are taught to make true judgments of everything around them and are gradually conformed into a humble spirit of submission to the will of God. The Word of God dwelling richly in the believer is a preservative from error and a light to our feet (Psalm 119:105).
The Word of God dwelling in us keeps us from being “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…” (Ephesians 4:14). By treasuring up in our minds (Col. 3:16) the doctrines, precepts, promises, and principles of Scripture, believers grow in spiritual wisdom and maturity, which enables them to judge right from wrong and truth from error with certainty. Through His Word and Spirit, the Lord leads believers in the right way, preserves them from the snares of the Devil, and satisfies them that He is and will be their guide even unto death.
Are the Scriptures treasured in your heart? Do you take delight in feasting on God’s Word? As Jeremiah said, "Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts" (Jeremiah 15:16).
Tuesday Encouragement: June 9, 2026
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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A CHRISTIAN'S SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER
My Father and My God,
You are God, my God, the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are awesome in holiness, sovereign and majestic in power, and wondrous in majesty! You are all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful, and everywhere present. You uphold and sustain the universe that You created with the Word of Your power! You are awesome! Nothing and no one can be compared to You. As You have declared in Your Word, "To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy One." "To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal and compare Me, that we should be alike?" (Isaiah 40:25; 46:5). You, O Lord, are incomparable! You are wondrous and awesome, and You dwell above the circle of the earth, as Isaiah declared, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless" (Isaiah 40:21-23).
Lord Jesus, You are wondrous in truth, goodness, and mercy! You are amazing in grace, love, and redemption! O Lord, You alone can save sinners from depths of sin, death, Satan, and Hell. You alone can regenerate the soul and create faith within the heart and cause a person to believe the good news of the Gospel. You alone can impart everlasting life. Thank You, dear Lord, for salvation! Thank You for saving me out of the muck and mire of sin! Of myself, I deserve damnation! Thank You, Lord Jesus, for rescuing me from the power of Satan and sin, and bringing me into Your sheepfold. Thank You for granting me, and all Your elect, mercy and grace! And thank You for continually being gracious, merciful, kind, and long-suffering to me since I sin daily in thought, word, and deed. Conform me into Your image. Use me for Your glory! "Here am I, send me!" I love You, Lord Jesus!
Heavenly Father, You are infinitely holy, just, wise, merciful, kind, loving, gracious, and long-suffering with Your people. You forgive the sins of those who love You, and You punish the evil doer who will not repent! O Father, I love You! Sadly and ashamedly, my love for You is not what it ought to be but I do have love for You in my heart! This is evidence of my salvation since I could not love You apart from You shedding Your love abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit. I could not love You apart from the Holy Spirit regenerating my soul! I love You because You first loved me! Increase my love for You. I feel the pull of sin in my life every moment of every day! Cause me to walk in Your truth and righteousness!
Holy Spirit, grant me greater and more consistent obedience! Give me a greater understanding of Your Word! Help me for I am a sinful, weak, fragile, frail, ignorant, and vulnerable Christian! I daily fall short of glorifying You in my thoughts, my words, and my deeds! Please forgive me and cleanse me from all my unrighteousness! Cleanse my mouth, cleanse my thoughts, cleanse my actions so that I might please my Lord Jesus! Holy Spirit, I need You every moment to uphold me! I need Your conviction! I need Your abiding presence to give me assurance that I am a child of God! I need You, Holy Spirit, to guide me, guard me, strengthen me, teach me, lead me, and fill me! I need You to keep me from sin and the broad road of sinful pleasures, and keep me on the narrow road that leads to life. I need Your constant forgiveness as I have not reflected Your glory as I ought! "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Rom. 7:15). "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin" (Rom. 7:24-25). Holy Spirit, I love You!
O God, I need Your continual abiding power and presence and Your face shining upon me lest I slip into anxiety, despair, depression, or discouragement! I need You every hour! As the hymn writer wrote, "I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Ev'ry hour I need Thee; Oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee." Revive me again, O Lord, to serve You with zeal, vigor, and diligence! For "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).
I ask all these things in Jesus' name!
Amen!
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