Matthew 12:34-35 “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

his relates directly to the famous computer acronym, coined, I believe, by the legendary Grace Hopper: GIGO – Garbage In, Garbage Out. If you don’t give a computer accurate data, it isn’t going to give you accurate results. Likewise, it relates to the saying that “You are what you eat.” That saying is perfectly accurate on some levels and total nonsense on others, but Jesus’ statement is perfectly true: you express what is in you. That’s why the words of the Psalmist are so important: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11) To go back to the computer analogy, we change the output by changing the input. That’s why regular Bible reading and church attendance are so important. The world and the devil are constantly trying to pour junk into us, and the only practical, effective way to counter that is to fill ourselves with good stuff. Of course that includes being filled with the Holy Spirit, but we have to give Him plenty of material to work with, and that means taking in the Word of God on a regular, consistent basis. Someone was trying to claim that if you couldn’t remember what the sermon was about a couple of days after going to church, then you might as well not have gone to church in the first place. The appropriate counter to that is that not being able to remember what you had for a given meal a few days ago doesn’t mean you didn’t need to eat it in the first place! We need to fill our minds and thoughts, and consequently our hearts, with good stuff. This is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Nothing fits Paul’s description better than the Word of God!

I have the incredible blessing of having been steeped in the Bible from infancy, but there’s a difference between taking in the Word as knowledge and really digesting it and making it part of you. Over the years I have struggled with following through on the truth I have known. For that matter, I still have problems there! However, God is faithful, and He continues to guide and correct me. As a pastor, I have the difficulty of trying to encourage the believers to fill themselves with the Word without coming across as conceited and “holier than thou.” They haven’t had my advantage of growing up steeped in the Bible, so I’m not to put them down for where and how they are at the moment. However, I’m not to imply that they don’t need to keep taking in the Word and growing spiritually.

Father, thank You for Your amazing grace toward me. Help me be a good steward of all You have placed in me. Thank You for the privilege of blessing the people at the graduation party last night, and for the good response I had from several of them. I pray that the words You spoke through me would remain in them and bear rich fruit. May I not be stingy with what You have entrusted to me, but may I not overwhelm people either, rather feeding them the appropriate food at the appropriate time, so that they may grow as You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!