(Psa) 119:36-37, 57, 72 CJB “Bend my heart toward your instructions and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; with your ways, give me life. ADONAI, I say that my task is to observe your words. The Torah you have spoken means more to me than a fortune in gold and silver.”

Do you love God’s Word more than your possessions?

That’s a challenging question, men, because what we treasure determines how we live.

The psalmist understood something we desperately need to recover.

To love God, we must love God’s Word!

Jesus identified the greatest commandment as loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second is loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29–31).

But how do we know what loving God and our neighbor actually requires?

God tells us in His Word!

Love God’s Word Because It Reveals God’s Will

Scripture doesn’t merely tell us what God expects. It reveals who He is!

His character. His holiness. His justice. His mercy. His love.

And because God is holy, His instructions teach us how to live holy lives.

Notice the psalmist’s prayer:

“Bend my heart toward your instructions and not toward selfish gain.”

He understood that obedience begins with the heart.

Our natural inclination is toward ourselves. Our comfort. Our possessions. Our priorities.

That’s why we need God’s Word continually correcting our thinking and redirecting our desires.

We cannot love God faithfully while ignoring what He has told us!

Knowing God’s Word Must Lead to Obedience

The psalmist makes a remarkable declaration:

“ADONAI, I say that my task is to observe your words.”

His task wasn’t simply knowing God’s instructions.

It was obeying them!

Men, Bible knowledge without obedience isn’t the Christian life Jesus calls us to live.

Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.”

Our obedience doesn’t earn God’s love or purchase our salvation.

Rather, obedience demonstrates our love for the Savior who purchased us with His blood.

Jesus perfectly obeyed His Father, even to death on the cross (Philippians 2:8).

Through His sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection, He accomplished the salvation we could never accomplish ourselves.

Now, those who belong to Him are being conformed to His image (Romans 8:29).

We are saved by grace, but we are saved for a life of obedience!

God’s Word Shapes Our Character, Commitment, and Commission

God’s Word must do more than inform our minds.

It must transform our lives!

Our character increasingly reflects God’s character as we learn His ways.

Our commitment is demonstrated through obedience to His commands.

Our commission is fulfilled as we make disciples, teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19–20).

These aren’t three disconnected responsibilities.

They’re the natural progression of a life surrendered to Jesus.

And all three require knowing God’s Word!

That’s why daily Bible reading is so important.

Not because checking off another chapter makes us holy.

But because the Holy Spirit uses God’s truth to renew our minds, expose our sin, strengthen our faith, and guide our obedience.

The goal isn’t merely to finish reading the Bible. It’s to let God’s Word change how we live!

Treasure God’s Word More Than Gold

The psalmist declared that God’s instruction was worth more than a fortune in gold and silver.

Think about that!

More valuable than your home?

Your investments?

Your business?

Your retirement account?

Men, everything we accumulate in this world is temporary.

But God’s Word reveals the way of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Peter reminds us that God’s Word endures forever (1 Peter 1:24–25).

Why would we devote so much attention to accumulating temporary possessions while neglecting the eternal truth that teaches us how to live?

If we truly treasure God, we’ll increasingly treasure what He has said!

Run Today’s Play

Ask yourself: Does the time I spend in God’s Word demonstrate that I treasure His instructions more than the things of this world?

Make God’s Word your daily priority. Establish a consistent time to read Scripture. Don’t have a plan? Get your FREE One-Year Bible Reading Plan from Know God Coach! This simple, printable, foldable plan gives you daily readings from three portions of Scripture to help you read through the Bible in one year. Begin developing a daily habit of knowing God better.

Put God’s Word into practice. Identify one command or principle from today’s reading and intentionally obey it. Then share what you’ve learned with another man.

Men, our ultimate purpose is to love God with everything we are.

And we demonstrate that love by obeying His Word and loving others.

Don’t just read the Bible to know more about God. Read it to know God better so you can love and obey Him more!