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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Cross Squat devotional. We're glad

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Speaker 1: to have you listening with us. Today's topic is how

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Speaker 1: reading God's words will enlighten you. We'll return with the

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Speaker 1: devotional after a brief message from our sponsors. God's Words

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Speaker 1: will Enlighten You, Written and read by Whitby Hoppler. The

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Speaker 1: unfolding of your words gives light. It gives understanding to

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Speaker 1: the simple Psalm one nineteen one thirty Mivy. When I

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Speaker 1: was a child, I loved reading so much that bedtime

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Speaker 1: felt like an interruption. Once the lights were off and

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Speaker 1: the door was closed, I'd pull out a flash light

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Speaker 1: and keep reading under the covers. I knew I was

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Speaker 1: supposed to be sleeping, but the story always felt more important.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to know what happened next. I wanted to

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Speaker 1: learn that little beam of light made the pages come

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Speaker 1: alive even in the dark. Those memories come back to

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Speaker 1: me when I read Psalm one nineteen one thirty, which

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Speaker 1: describes how God's words shine a light that gives us understanding.

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Speaker 1: When we read God's words in the Bible, God's light

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Speaker 1: shines into the darkness of our lives in this fallen world,

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Speaker 1: and that helps us see what we couldn't see before.

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Speaker 1: God's words do this for us, even if we're not

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Speaker 1: experts or scholars. The verse says it gives understanding to

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Speaker 1: the simple. That's good news for all of us. Psalm

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Speaker 1: one nineteen is all about loving God's words to us,

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Speaker 1: which Hebrews four to twelve points out are alive and

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Speaker 1: active over and over. Psalm one nineteen ribes longing for scripture,

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Speaker 1: meditating on it, and finding life in it. This particular

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Speaker 1: verse reminds us that God's words in the Bible work

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Speaker 1: gradually yet powerfully in our lives. God's words unfold, they

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Speaker 1: open up over time. God's light comes into the darkness

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Speaker 1: of our lives in this fallen world as we read them,

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Speaker 1: reflect on them, and apply them. That's important because many

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Speaker 1: people feel discouraged when they open the Bible and don't

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Speaker 1: immediately understand everything. They may worry that they're not smart

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Speaker 1: enough to understand God's messages, or that they're approaching the

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Speaker 1: Bible in the wrong ways. But the Bible was never

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Speaker 1: meant to be mastered in just one reading. It was

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Speaker 1: meant to be read gradually and returned to regularly. Bible

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Speaker 1: reading is an important spiritual discipline that God intends for

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Speaker 1: us to practice every day, just like prayer and meditation.

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Speaker 1: As we allow God's words in the Bible to sink

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Speaker 1: into our souls day by day, will unfold in our

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Speaker 1: lives so that we become more enlightened. When we come

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Speaker 1: to the Bible with a desire for God to enlighten us,

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Speaker 1: God's Holy Spirit will help us understand what we need

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Speaker 1: when we need it. But learning doesn't stop with the

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Speaker 1: Bible alone. God also uses other good books and articles

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Speaker 1: to help us grow spiritually. Reading widely can deepen our

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Speaker 1: understanding of God and this world he has created. The

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Speaker 1: key is reading prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to guide us.

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Speaker 1: The Spirit will show us what's true and what's helpful

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Speaker 1: for growing closer to God. God loves to teach us

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Speaker 1: through what we read, both through the Bible's words and

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Speaker 1: through other words that can point us toward Him. Reading

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Speaker 1: is an important part of lifelong learning and being lifelong

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Speaker 1: learners keeps our faith growing by reminding us that God

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Speaker 1: is always bigger than our current understanding. If we stop learning,

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Speaker 1: our faith can become weak. But when we stay curious,

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Speaker 1: focused on God's words in the Bible, and open to growth.

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Speaker 1: As the Holy Spirit leads us, we stay teachable. Psalm

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Speaker 1: one nineteen one point thirty also reminds us that blight

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Speaker 1: comes from God's words, not just information. God wants us

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Speaker 1: to do much more than just collect facts. God wants

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Speaker 1: us to change for the better. So the words God

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Speaker 1: uses to enlighten us go beyond information to also bring

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Speaker 1: inspiration into our lives. God's words can inspire us by

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Speaker 1: motivating us to move closer to Him as we keep learning.

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Speaker 1: More so, if you're seeing the darkness of confusion or discouragement,

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Speaker 1: let God's words shine a light into your life. Open

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Speaker 1: the Bible and read something, then ask the Holy Spirit

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Speaker 1: to use that to enlighten you and bring you the

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Speaker 1: wisdom and encouragement you need. When you experience the blessing

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Speaker 1: of God reading you there, you'll get inspired to keep

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Speaker 1: reading Like a child with a flashlight under the covers.

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Speaker 1: You'll be excited to read and learn from God's words

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Speaker 1: as much as you can, intersecting faith in life as

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Speaker 1: you consider how God's words will enlighten you, reflect on

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Speaker 1: these questions. What world is reading the Bible and other

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Speaker 1: books and articles play in your daily life? Right now?

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Speaker 1: When have you recently experienced a Bible verse or passage

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Speaker 1: enlightening you with wisdom or encouragement. What keeps you from

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Speaker 1: reading the Bible more regularly? And how can you try

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Speaker 1: to start reading the Bible more? How can you approach

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Speaker 1: other books or articles as learning opportunities, inviting the Holy

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Speaker 1: Spirit to guide you. What would it look like for

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Speaker 1: you to become a lifelong learner who's focused on God's

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Speaker 1: truth while continuing to seek out fresh information and inspiration

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Speaker 1: further reading Two Timothy three sixteen through seventeen, Joasha will one,

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Speaker 1: eight Proverbs two, six Colossians three sixteen James one, Scythe

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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Speaker 1: you heard today, we want to make sure you know

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