"Too Busy Not To Be In The Word!"
Chapters 3 and 4
As
I was browsing the comments from last week I spotted Trish’s mention of Hebrews
4:12. (I’ll pause while you go look it up, sister!) Then, lo and behold, what’s
on of the first verses Teri mentions in chapter 3? You guessed it!
Task/Comment #1
In chapter 3, one of the questions asked you
to make a list of the qualities of the Word of God as found in Hebrews
4:12. Take another look at that list, and
then look at 2 Timothy 3:16 for another list of things that the Word of God is
valuable for. Quickly, what is your
favorite one? Or maybe it isn’t your favorite (like an ice cream flavor would
be), but maybe it’s the one quality of the Word that stands out the most to
you. I’ll post my own answer in the
comment section, too.
Fun Fact:
Also in chapter 3 we read James 1:21 and answered
a couple questions about the “engrafted” Word (or your version might say “implanted”). Then she goes on to talk about
grafting/implanting the Word into our lives. Did you know that one of the first
steps of grafting (in the botanical world) is to actually CUT the branches you’re
going to be grafting together? Now, take that idea and re-read Hebrews 4:12.
Hmm…wonder what that double-edged Sword is good for?
That was a free Fun Fact for you. :-)
I especially appreciated the opening lines of chapter 4: “Everything
else we will cover in this book, you would eventually learn on your own simply
through your personal time reading your Bible each day.” But of course, the practical part of making
this happen is always tricky, isn’t it? Or is it?! In chapter 4 she really lays down some real-world,
every day guidelines for making sure you have time for daily reading.
The first: it must be non-optional. I’m not gonna lie – this
is the toughest part for me – spending time in the Word every day, no matter what. And I don’t have children or even pets! She goes on from there to talk about the “when”
and the “how long” parts of daily reading, but I think they’re all connected,
and I think her underlying point is the most important: we MUST make new
habits. And whether that means you read
every morning or every evening, or something in between, the important part is
DAILY reading of at least one full chapter of the Bible.
Task/Comment #2:
One
of Raquel’s comments last week was about reading out loud to the kids like
story time. I love that idea. I have fond memories of my own Grandmother (a
wonderful, godly woman) visiting us for long periods of time, and I remember
that she would read her Bible before she even got out of bed in the morning,
and then again before she turned off the light at night! This was her habit, and to my knowledge she
never strayed from it! So, who else has
an idea to share or a way to help us start to make new habits for reading EVERY
day? It doesn’t have to be a long
response, and it doesn’t have to be something YOU do personally – maybe it’s
just something you’ve heard of and want to share.
Later in chapter 4 she talks about the “how” part of
reading. I love the read-one-chapter a day routine, at least for starters. I think that once you get started you’ll find
it easier to add more chapters some days. :-)
HOWEVER, I do want to offer an alternative to her system of
finding a verse to apply to your life – or at least a word of caution when
doing that. I would like to see us move away from looking for “application”
every time we read Scripture. While it
is true that the whole Bible is applicable to us, I think that in this day and
age the questions “how does that apply to me?” or “how is that relevant to my
life?” have resulted in a lot of “me-centered” Christians. The truth is,
though, that we should be Christ-centered Christians first! So I would like to suggest that instead of
asking what the “application” of a verse is, ask what the “implication” of that
verse or passage is.
To see this in action, let’s look at a passage Teri
mentioned back in chapter 2 – it was a long section of 1 Corinthians 10, where
we are given examples of what to avoid and what to do. And then she told a story about how she had
applied these verses to her own life in learning not to murmur. Now, there is nothing wrong with that – we all
need to be reminded and admonished about our behavior. But I think a broader
IMPLICATION could’ve been made from these verses – one that reaches even to the
woman who says she never murmurs! ;-) Go back and read those verses (1 Corinthians
10:1-13), and instead of saying “how does this apply to me?” Ask this question:
“What is the implication of the truth of this passage?” I think you’ll find a slightly different
answer – at least I did.
My point is – it’s fine to look for verses that “apply” to
you, but please also consider the implication of the words of the Bible.
One more Fun Fact and then we’re finished for the week! She talks about how, “in Scripture, we are
likened to sheep, and sheep need to eat every day – multiple times a day, in
fact.” I recently read that sheep, if
left to their own devices, will simply graze in the same patch or path over and
over again until there is no more food, and then they’ll get sick and die! They
must be moved (by their shepherd – they won’t go on their own) to a new
location regularly. I like the spiritual connection for us – we need to resist
the urge to “graze” in the same spot in the Bible every time we read. ALL Scripture is profitable and worth feeding
on – so let the Shepherd take you to another location and see what fresh Food
is waiting for you there!
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