On personal reading of the Bible
For part II of our series on personal disciplines, we must start with reading the Bible. The plain and simple reason is this; there must be objective truth in order for us to find stability and direction in our lives. If we must have objective truth to meet us where we are, then we ought to have the greatest source of objective truth there is: God’s holy and inspired Word. There are many resources that effectively show how the Bible is in fact inspired by God and is perfect in its meaning, so I will leave those arguments up to much wiser men. In short, feel free to reference 2 Timothy 3:16, as it applies directly to our current conversation. So how do you actually go about applying the Bible to your life in a meaningful way? Really the answer is twofold, only one of which we will deal with directly: corporately and individually. When the local church gathers together for the preaching and teaching of the Word, this must include real and personal applications of scripture to its hearers. This kind of Bible intake is deeply important, you must be participating in it to effectively grow safely. There are countless stories of people that have studied the Bible without the church and have strayed into false doctrine which leads to condemnation (see 2 Peter 3.) I do not mean that it is a requirement for salvation, but for sanctification. It is study as an individual here that most concerns us today. Unfortunately, many believers have poor or absent Bible study practices. Do you at least read your Bible by yourself several times a week? If not, let me encourage you here to do so. We have no problem eating several meals a day but we are willing to go days without spiritual nourishment, this leaves us vulnerable to sin and too weak to do what we are called to do spiritually. In reading the scriptures, there are two methods that we need to be aware of, as they both have their purpose. David Mathis details this greatly in his book “Habits of Grace.” Sometimes we need to read over a great distance of the Bible without going too deep, like raking leaves in a yard. Not very deep, but covers a lot. This method of scripture reading helps us to grasp the story of the Bible and to see the redemptive work of God in history. This requires reading chapters and sometime books in one sitting, not just a few verses. The second is just a few verses or even a few words and going to great depth to understand it. This is like digging a well, very deep but not very wide. By practicing both models, we gain a much deeper, richer, and more comprehensive understanding of the Bible. Here are several good practices you can begin to explore in your own study of the scriptures.
The Christmas season is one that has become somewhat muddled in our society. It is widely celebrated without regard to religion and unfortunately has become a talking point of political pundits and office holders. On a more personal level, it becomes an incredibly trying time for many because it simply reminds them of loved ones that have gone on before. While this paints a weary picture of what should be a joyful time of the year, I do want to propose something that ought to shed some light.
For believers, the Christmas holiday is one that should give us great hope. In the first coming of Jesus, we actually see a great signpost for the second coming of Jesus. If you are not savvy to these ideas, the short explanation is that God promised to send a savior to redeem his people from sin. His son Jesus came, taught, lived a real life as a real man, and died a death that has eternal implications. However, is atoning death was only half of the work. Jesus (and by extension Paul and John in the New Testament) taught that Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead points to our resurrection. Jesus promised numerous times that he will come back for his people, and that teaching alludes to the last days of the Earth. What does Jesus coming back mean? For the believer, it means eternity with God through the resurrection of the Son. For the unbeliever, it means eternal condemnation in Hell. How does one become a believer? Repent and believe in Jesus as the Son of God who has atoned for your sins as the Apostles exhorted people asking that very question. So, with that on the table what does this have to do with personal disciplines or sadness around the holidays? Simply this: we are able to go through seasons of sadness and lament because there is a greater hope for us in the future. How do we hold fast to this hope in a long term, sustaining way? Personal disciplines! By practicing daily praying what you’ve got and digging into the Word of God, we are then sustained on the hope of Jesus and the relationship between God and his people. Think of it in this way; this hope is the sun in the sky. When it is daylight out, we find it easier to see clearly by the light. But when the sun sets and it is dark, we find it quite difficult to see without some kind of aid, such as a flashlight. Imagine if we perpetually had the sun overhead, we would always be able to see! However, we need smaller sources of light for those seasons in our lives when things get dark. Personal disciplines are our flashlight in the darkness, by them we can see through the sin and sadness around us to know where we are going. Reading the Bible and prayer, while are not the fullness of God themselves, they are small portions of God in the darkness. We use them in the hope to enter into the daylight, the same way we read and pray hoping for the last days when we will be resurrected with the Son and made whole in his good works. So grab your Bible, get a notebook, and start studying the word and journaling your prayers. You will be amazed and what the light will show you. This begins a series on personal disciplines, each article following will focus on an individual practice to help us see by the Light of God as we go through dark times. |
Pastor MorganMorgan has been writing since middle school and worked for a year writing professionally as a news journalist for the Daily Tribune in Gallipolis. This blog is a chance for him to express his love for the Lord and all church related things through writing. Archives
December 2019
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