How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes.
With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.
I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
"He is himself the eternal Word, and could have produced the mind of God without having recourse to the writings of Moses; but he put honour upon the scripture, and, to set us an example, he appealed to what was written in the law;"
Paul's epistles are peppered with scriptural references. Considering the mighty model set forth for the Church, our current state of biblical familiarity is downright deplorable. We can regurgitate inane bits of the latest pop offering, or recite Jordan's shooting line his first game back from baseball (the Bulls played the Pacers, I'm ashamed to say I'm pretty sure he shot 7 for 28). But as far as relaying the Truth in the Word to our daily circumstances, the best most of us can do is John 3:16, or maybe Psalm 23. Pathetic.
Jesus can to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. But how much of the vast bounty of Christ are we forsaking because we don't even know the law fulfilled or unfulfilled? The Jews of Christ's time knew the scriptures well; indeed, they are a fine example of how one can robotically memorize the Word and not worship the True God. But our Lord's mission was to complete the Law, to add on the spiritual foundation poured as recorded in the Old Testament. In order to partake in God's supreme glory, it would seem we need to know the Word better than the Israelites, not worse.
We need pastors who reveal the majesty of the Bible, not pulling verses from various chapters to reinforce their feelings. We need music leaders who sing songs echoing the timeless beauty of the Scriptures in creative ways, not repeating uninpired phrases to artificially promote emotion. But first, we need a crowd of Bible-adoring disciples, who love to meditate on the precious words of the Living God.
I am starting a new spiritual discipline, as of yesterday. By the grace of God, I will memorize a fresh verse every morning, and dwell on it when I feel the disdain rise in my gut, when laziness causes me to swoon, when the allure of the wide road to hell catches my roving eye.
"But He answered and said, "It is written, `MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.' "
(Matthew 4:4, Jesus quoting Deutoronomy 8:3)
3 comments:
very challenging stuff, oneway.
i'm amazed at how much time i can spend in a given week watching sports and how few minutes i spend in God's Word.
the_dude,
Next time you feel that urge, go ahead and testify, man. Then you will be my hero, and I will have the courage to do the same.
Thanks for the list, I definitely need a stockpile of verses. Ain't nuthin to it but to do it.
bensheets,
Thanks, man. I stayed up til 1:30 last night hoping the Sox would lose, but as I crawled into bed I thought, "Would I have stayed up to pray or read the Word?" No. It doesn't seem right.
We need pastors who reveal the majesty of the Bible, not pulling verses from various chapters to reinforce their feelings.
Excellent thoughts. I dig your position because it's up-front, honest, and at the same time...humbling. You don't exempt yourself from the problem, and I can't either.
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