06/12/2019
Do we read God’s Word, and how do we do so? There are many ways in which we go about reading the Bible; we hunt and peck for truth in specific scriptures , we read certain chapters repetitively, we lean on favorite bible stories, we look for signs of Jesus in the Old Testament, or seek Him out in the New Testament, however we read it is good, but it is meant to do more than just teach us, or entertain us.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”
Psalms 119:9 ESV
Scripture tells us about how we are to use God’s Word, it tells us that it is meant to teach us, it is the law, it is a lamp to our feet, it tells us to be true to it, and many other ways we are to employ it in our lives; and it also tells us that it will make us wise, will bless us, and it will bring us into relationship with God, and Jesus Christ. So How can we best put God’s Holy Word to use?
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
James 1:23-25 ESV
It is good to read the Bible as a means of understanding what it says, and equipping ourselves in this way, but any student, or Theologian, can do that. Unless we take what we have learned from it, and then apply what it teaches us in our lives as a means of seeking God, then it is useless to us... it becomes like action without love (as we discussed in yesterday’s devotional).
“If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV
So The Bible is to be read, and then applied. Sometimes we read God’s Word as an exercise, or for our own purposes... so that we can say that we have read the Bible every year for the last ten years. Sometimes we read it to memorize certain scriptures so that we can recite them to impress others with our knowledge. Then often we read to search for hidden treasure that has gone unnoticed and of which we can speak, or write, to appear scholarly. Reading the Bible is good for any reason... even these examples of vanity, because God’s Word is like water that seeps into the earth... it finds every little crack into which it can flow, so although it might be read for some poor reason, it will eventually make it into the heart.
“Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
Jeremiah 23:29 ESV
Here are a couple of gems I wanted to share in today’s message... first, try reading the Bible just as you are told to pray... in secret. Don’t be boastful about it, but make it a very personal, and private, walk with the Lord. Second, try reading the Bible as a means of testing yourself. Let’s take the 23rd Psalm as an example. When you read each verse ask yourself if that is really being applied in your life, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you...
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalms 23:1 ESV
Is the Lord really my Shepherd? What does that mean, and do I believe, and live like He is everything I need? Do I honestly want for nothing more?
“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
Psalms 23:2 ESV
Do I live in the knowledge that God provides for my needs, and does He give me serenity in my life? Am I living every day trusting in Him, and feeling His peace?
Are you getting the meaning of this way of reading the Bible? Try it with the next verse...
“He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
Psalms 23:3 ESV
Take time as you read each verse, or passage, and contemplate not only what it means, but if it is true in your life, and how you might better apply it. Look for ways you can you take action on it.
When we read the Bible in this way it becomes much more than a classroom exercise. It takes what we might typically be inclined to absorb in a rather superficial way, and lets it burn into us, and crushes every rock of resistance within us. It takes God’s Word, and brings it to life in us. It takes our aversion to the hard lessons in scripture, and allows the Holy Spirit the opportunity to help us through them. By doing this in secret... in that place occupied by just the Spirit, and you alone... we are able to break down those intensely personal ramparts within us, and reconstruct them.
Are you ready to read the Bible in this challenging, and possibly new way? Are you ready to take God’s Word into your secret place, and challenge your life, and faith, with it? Are you ready to open yourself up to the transformative power that God’s Word contains?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Holy Word, and the truth it speaks into our lives. Thank you Lord for not only teaching us by your Word, but for bringing that Word to life in our lives. Help us Father as we read, and then apply what you have taught us. Make your Word like a sword that pierces our heart, and convicts us, then heal that wound by your mercy and grace as we follow through it in the steps of your Holy Spirit. Thank you Father for your Son Jesus who asked you in prayer to sanctify us in your Word. Thank you for His teaching, and every example He gave us in how to live out your Word in our lives. Be with us Merciful Father as we take your Word into our hearts, and reconstruct our lives through its teaching. Transform us as your truth is poured into us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God whose Word meets us in the quiet places, and shouts to us from the mountaintops. Great are you who takes us into our secret place, and teaches, and disciplines, us like the Loving Father you are. Praised be your name always for the new person I am becoming, and all Glory is yours as I reflect your Holy light as witnessed, and brought forth in your Word.
“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
John 17:16-18 ESV
Rich Forbes