Resetting to True North: Remember the Word of the LORD
🧭 Resetting to True North
Each Wednesday, we take a moment to pause midweek—to recalibrate our hearts,
refocus our direction, and realign with our True North: Christ. Whether the
week has brought distraction, discouragement, or drift, this is a space to slow
down and reset as we walk His Path, Daily.
Hello again, Church. I missed my usual Wednesday post this
week—been laid up with a bit of a cold, and still am—but I’ve really missed
getting my thoughts down on paper.
As many have said, writing sharpens your thoughts like
the tip of a pencil is refined. While I’m on a keyboard (though I’m a
pencil guy through and through), the point still stands.
Without journaling, my Bible reading tends to be good—but
not great. Writing helps me “look out” for the things that move me, convict me,
encourage me. And today, even if it’s a bit late, I want to invite you to pause
with me and reflect together—midweek or not.
This morning in Acts, a couple verses really stood
out to me: Acts 11:16 and Acts 13:10.
Let’s start with Acts 11:16:
“And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said,
‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”
— Acts 11:16 (ESV)
Now Peter is speaking here about the inclusion of the
Gentiles—but what I want to draw your attention to is simply this phrase:
“…and I remembered the word of the Lord.”
He’s using it in a very specific context, yes—but that
phrase hit me like a reset switch.
To remember the word of the Lord is, for all of us, one of the greatest course
corrections we can have.
It’s a compass reset.
It’s getting back on His Path.
So what does that look like for us today?
I think we can confidently say that the Holy Spirit still
uses the Word of the Lord to guide, comfort, and convict us. And we’re not
waiting on mysterious new revelations—that’s OK.
In fact, it’s better this way: the complete revealed Word of the LORD
is likely sitting next to you, on a shelf near you, or on an app in your pocket
right now.
But to remember the Word of the Lord…
we first have to know the Word of the Lord.
It’s a reminder and encouragement that we cannot afford to
drift from Scripture. As John Piper once said (paraphrasing here), we should
not assume a few quiet minutes with a devotional will prepare us for the
onslaught of sin and temptation in the hours ahead.
We need to be in the Word,
so we can know the Word,
so we can remember the Word.
And I have to constantly be intentional about this.
Because it’s so easy—when I’m sick, when I’m distracted, when I’m on vacation,
or just worn out—to get sucked back into the world instead of grounded
in His Word.
Even good things can pull my attention away.
But the more I’m in His Word, the more I recognize those moments when I start drifting—and that recognition is often what helps me reset before I wander too far.
Then I came across Acts 13:10, which says:
“You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness,
full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight
paths of the Lord?”
— Acts 13:10 (ESV)
Now Paul and Barnabas are speaking here to someone clearly
opposing the gospel—but even as followers of Christ, it struck me that we too
can sometimes be guilty of making crooked the straight paths of the Lord.
It might not be intentional rebellion.
Sometimes, it’s more subtle.
Sometimes we complicate what the Lord has made clear.
Sometimes we confuse what He’s made simple.
The way is narrow, yes—but not because it’s complex.
It’s narrow because it’s clear:
Repent. Believe. Love God. Love Others.
Christ did the work for us.
He gave His life so we wouldn’t have to.
He walked the perfect life so we wouldn’t have to.
Yes, we’re called to obedience—but it’s not to earn
anything.
It’s not about what we have in us.
The only good thing we do have in us is His righteousness,
and even that is not our own doing.
So this week—
May we know His Word,
so we can remember His Word,
so we can walk in His Word.
And in doing so, may we love more clearly, live more simply,
and stop making crooked what the LORD has made straight.
Be well, Church.
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