11-5-2015

Good Morning All!!

          Psalm 1:2; “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

       Proper use of God’s Word, what is it?  We often tell people to go to God’s Word for answers but what does that mean?  One national leader in Africa used to eat one page of the Bible each day when he was sick.  Of course there is the old story about the young farmer who consulted the Bible about what to do.  He opened the bible and read “the parable of the sower” so he planted a field to wheat and lost all his money.  The next year he opened the Bible and read “feed my sheep” so he bought a flock of sheep and promptly lost all his money.  Finally, the third year, he opened his Bible and read “John chapter 7” so he filed bankruptcy.
    Maybe you know someone like that.  They come to a crisis in their life so they opened their Bible after they find it, blow off the dust and open it up to look inside.  They are searching for answers but probably won’t find the answer to “should I change jobs?”  They want an instant answer right now and when they do not find it; they walk away in disgust proclaiming what a waste of time it was.

    If you read the Bible in this fashion, you will usually be disappointed.  The Bible wasn’t meant to be a place to look up the right answer like the answer guide to a test.  Rather the Bible is meant to be part of the conversation that we have with God.  There was a blurb on the internet the other day that said the Bible isn’t like instant coffee but rather like a coffee bean that needs to be roasted and slowly savored.  This goes with the way the Collect (or prayer) for the Word used to read.  It read that we should “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it.”  We should take God’s Word in daily and we should take it slowly, savoring every word, relishing in its richness. 

    The Bible is part of the holy conversation that we are to be in constantly with God.  We read his Word to hear what he has to say to us and we use prayer to answer back.  This is to be a constant back and forth.  We are to spend time continually in God’s Word keeping it to the forefront of our thoughts and confidently in our heart.  We need to keep it fresh in our heart so that it is what comes to mind when we face challenges and struggles.  God’s Word speaks to us to give us comfort, to give us hope, to give us peace in this world.  God’s Word exists for us to know God’s will and to know of his love for us.  Savor this truth, relish in this truth and take comfort in this blessing from God.

Gracious Father, lead me to meditate on your Word.  Guide me to long to hear your words of forgiveness, hope, peace and comfort.  Send your Spirit that I may always seek your wonderful voice and to hold it dear to my heart.  Lead me to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest your Word and to rest in its merciful promise.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret