The LINK: 7/22
Dear Church Family,
I have enjoyed the opportunity of preaching from the life of Abraham. Spending time in these stories of one man’s walk with God renews my spiritual life. As I have studied and thought about the ways of God as expressed in his relationship with Abraham, I am once again amazed at how true these ancient writings are to everyday Christian living.
One thing I have been working on this summer is to meditate on Scripture. I want these passages to speak to me personally before I begin to study them in preparation for crafting the Sunday sermon. The Bible Reading Plan that has been developed for our congregation is a wonderful tool for having a daily time with God in his word. If you have not begun using the plan, it’s not too late. Copies are available at the church, or you can download it from our church website: www.congopres.org.
The Bible itself witnesses to the importance of meditating on God’s word. When the Apostle Paul wrote: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16), he was talking about the value of going beyond simply knowing the word to spending time pondering its meaning and application to our daily lives.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a wonderful example of the benefits of meditating on Scripture. Having been given the word of God through the angel Gabriel, we are told in the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel that Mary “kept within herself all these things [that she had been told], weighing and pondering them in her heart.” Later in the same chapter we learn that she “treasured all these things in her heart.” The things of God had become treasures for Mary.
More than merely knowing what is in the Bible, I want that knowledge to transform me, to change me more and more into the person God calls me to be. As a friend of mine once said: “Who knows more about being in love: the person who can repeat what others have told him about being in love, or the person who has actually been in love?” Living the Christian life is about experiencing the things of God, not simply reading about them in the Bible.
How do you and I allow the Scriptures to become treasures in our lives? First, we need to open ourselves to what God wants to do in us and for us. By an act of our will, we invite God to change us. Second, we spend time reading and thinking about the word of God. For most of us this needs to be a step of discipline, making the daily study of the Bible a priority. Third, we begin to see that word come to life within us by making it personal and deeply relevant. That is, we begin to live our lives according to the Bible. Living the Christian life is about allowing the word of God to make a difference in us and, through us, in our world.
It has been my experience in ministry that those who are being enriched by the word of God enrich others. When we let it inhabit our lives, the blessings we receive flow out in blessings for others. May the word of God dwell in us richly, and may it overflow to everyone we encounter.
Yours in Christ,