10-16-2015

Good Morning All!!

       Hebrews 4:12; “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”   

    How do you read the Bible?  It is one of the most printed books ever.  It has had thousands of books written about it.  Some try to explain it; some try to interpret it.  Some read it for advice about how to live or how to eat.  Some use it as an historical reference book.  Some read it for the poetry; some read it for the majesty prose, some for the bits of wisdom and proverbs.  Some read it to know what it says about God.  How do you read the Bible?

    There is nothing wrong with reading the Bible for these reasons.  We all can use good advice on how to act or read beautiful poetry.  We all need some words of wisdom when it comes to our action to others or comfort or common sense.  We can read it this way but when we do we are missing the main reason for Scripture.

     The Bible isn’t just about God; it is God speaking to you.  It is God drawing you into His story.  It is active in your salvation.  God’s Word is creative; it was through His spoken word that everything came into existence and it is through this Word that it is sustained.  God’s Word is redemptive; it is what brings you the forgiveness of sins.  It is how God brings you into his family.  It is how God brings you into Christ drowning the old Adam through the gift of Baptism and bringing you to live eternal through being joined to his resurrection.  It is how God works to keep you in the family by constantly bringing you back to the family through its message of absolution.  It is how we are nourished by its speaking to us the power of God’s sacraments.  Even though they start as ordinary items; God’s Word gives them the power forgive sins and to bless us with the benefits we receive.

    The Bible is what draws us into the community of believers.  It is what leads us, moves us to be children of God.  The Word of God leads you into being a son or a daughter of God, one that lives through the Spirit within the community of the faithful.  This is our community.  It is how God moves in our lives.  It is how God chooses to comfort us, console us or to cajole us into action.  He uses his Word, alive and active, through the community of the faithful to touch our lives; to really change our lives.  The Word of God, alive and active, changes our lives when we grasp hold of it with the faith that God gives to us.  We have the desire because of His grace.  So when you read the Bible, listen to how God brings you into the story of his love, his grace and the promise of the gift of hope which we have.

Dear Lord, your Word is alive in our lives, changing us forever with its power and grace.  Give us the certainty of its majesty as it moves us to you.  Direct our paths and lead us to life eternal with you.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret