As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied,“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11: 27-28, NIV)

or like the Message version says it: “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!”

Happy are those who hear God’s word and put it in practice.
Blessed are those who hear God’s word and guard it with their lives.

They’re even more blessed than Mary the God-bearer!
Think about it!

There must be something really special about putting God’s word in practice if we need to guard it with our lives! Indeed, there is. Life flows from it. From here to eternity.

But how do we do it? How do we put God’s word in practice?

By praying.
By obeying.
By reading his Word.
By trusting.
By refusing to worry.
By serving.
By living simply.
By worshiping.
By loving.
By sharing grace.

Teresa of Avila has wisely said  “Let thy desire be the vision of God, thy fear the loss of Him, thy sorrow His absence, and thy joy in that which may take thee to Him; and thy life shall be in great peace.”

When God’s word enters our heart and permeates it, we experience peace.
When God’s word warms our heart and we apply it, we are blessed.
When God’s word changes us inside out, we are even more blessed.

Rest assured that no matter how blessed you can imagine to be, you are ever more blessed.
Rest assured that no matter how much you love God, he always loves you more.

Gracious God,
Thank you for always loving us more than we can imagine.
Thank you for blessings us more than we deserve.
Thank you for calling us to embrace you with everything we’ve got.
So you could lavish us with your gifts:
grace upon grace,
love upon love,
peace upon peace,
joy upon joy,
hope upon hope.
We want to receive!
Take our heart!
Show us how to apply your word in our lives.
Equip us to generously share your gifts with others.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How do you apply God’s word in your life? Do you feel blessed?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you put God’s word in practice!

Image courtesy of Chris Manfre. This post is refurbished from 2012. Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty, Small Wonders, and#InspireMeMonday.