In Word and Deed - Wegner

I doubt if there is one writer who is Christian who hasn’t made reference to Scriptures describing “the pen of a ready writer,” or “…he took up the pen and wrote” or “Moses wrote with his finger upon the tables of stone.” It’s in our blood to write and we revel in knowing that we have Holy Writ to back up our estimation of the value of words. And rightly so; after all, writing is ministry and we crave, above everything else, divine unction upon our service to Christ.

But not only are we writers, we are writers with an obligation to produce excellent work and to live credible lives. Based on interaction from The Word Guild members’ list serve, I find it a blessing to realize how extremely conscious we are of what we were designed to become and of the importance of the quality of what we are to produce. (I’m convinced someone will legitimately inform me of ways in which this blog could be improved. All constructive criticism welcomed).

When it comes to powerful wielding of words, we have the example of Jesus Himself: “…which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.”

Not to be ignored is the example of the aforementioned Moses, “…learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and … mighty in words and in deeds.”

The Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the Church at Colossea is as potent today as it was then: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

It was the blessing of God upon Daniel and his friends that caught my attention this week, though. While the story of his deliverance from the den of lions is well known by many, believers or not, and the pattern for faithful living is common fodder for sermons, I’d never paid much attention to a key word in Daniel 1:17.

”As to these four lads, God hath given to them knowledge and understanding in every [kind of] literature, and wisdom; and Daniel hath given instruction about every [kind of] vision and dreams.”

I’ve heard a fair amount of preaching about the Jewish boys’ physical fitness, mental alertness and godly commitment but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone expound on the topic of God’s blessing on literature. Might be something worthwhile exploring. In any case, I like that verse and I plan to post it as an encouragement and a spur. Interested in joining me?