The Word

Are you engaged in the Word?

200 years ago Charles Finney wrote: "What are our Bibles good for if we do not lay hold on their precious promises, and use them as the ground of our faith when we pray for the blessing of God? You had better send your Bibles to the heathen, where they will do some good, if you are not going to believe and use them"

We seem to have many different styles of Bible use in the faith.

There are the people who use it to prove their point but have no intention of living its commands. These people love to quote things like, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." They ignore the fact that in the same story Jesus also said, Go and leave your life of sin." Point provers have a weapon they have not been trained to use. A scalpel should not be used as a hammer.

There are the people who scrapbook the Bible. They want to dress up their favorite parts as they skim through the Word like they were looking for a photo of their favorite memory. They know how to avoid the photos they don't agree with or wish were never taken. They're looking for the parts that make them smile and feel good about being a "believer."

There are the people who doorstop the Bible. They would never use it for an actual doorstop, but it receives about the same amount of attention. It has a function and serves a purpose but largely remains an untouched reality. The fact that it could do something more and serve a much large purpose remains an uninvestigated truth.

There are the yo-yo people. These people go through extreme spurts. At one point the Word seems to be their very life blood… soon it is an unopened guilt dispenser. The intention to be in the Word is cut off by their priorities. What was a passion to hear from God turns into a mild interest and then morphs into a temporary distaste. The distaste is interrupted by a mini-revival that causes a new attempt at being an eager student. Yo-yo.

There are the toxic material people. They suit up when they look into the Word with the big yellow suit, gas mask and gloves. They will look into it but they will protect themselves from any real contact with their spirit. They know the danger of really listening to the Words of Christ. They know the stuff in their life that the Word will call them out on. They know the power – but they protect themselves from it.

Then, oh, thank God, let heaven rejoice and let all of nature be in awe- there are those who have found that the words are more than ink on a page. There are those who know that God's letter is somehow divinely empowered to crawl into the crevasses of their soul and bring conviction, cleansing, and healing. There are those know that it contains thoughts that will never be fully understood on this side of eternity, and it also contains simple missiles of truth that instantly find a place to explode the love of God. They want to read it, think on it, live it, hear it preached, sing songs to the Author, and feel its washing power over their mind.

If it is an addiction – it is one the builds what is eternal and tears down what is temporal.

If it is a crutch – it is for those who know they are lame and long to stop crawling.

If it is a hoax – it is only one that is eternal and the only one that is powerful enough to draw a dividing line through humanity. And, one that I will give my very life for because it is an account of One who gave his life for me.

May everything not contained in the Bible receive none of my attention and what is contained in the Bible receive every ounce of my being!

My friends, there is no revival, corporate or personal without the Word of God! This summer may we find its pages in front of us often, may we see its anointing changing our life, may we surrender to its Author without hesitation, and may it be obvious to others our diet includes manna from above!

And God's People Said…

Pastor Dave