Starving at the Banquet

In April I wrote about the famine that we may experience in the Word of God.  This morning I was reminded during a conversation that we have people starving for the Word of God while sitting at the banquet table.  Why?  They do not know how to use their eating utensils.

We have messages on the internet, bookstores full of books, commentaries, study Bibles, magazines, journals, cable channels, radio stations.  We have a population in the Church that immerses themselves in these things.  These things are good.  But these things are not the Word of God.  What someone has written, shares in a message, sings in a song, can be inspiring, but it is not the Word of God.  The notes in your study bible or what is written in your commentary can help, but it is not the Word of God.

When our diet consists of those things, it is like we are sitting at the banquet, but just eating the leftovers, cleaning off of their plates, or eating what our neighbors dropped on the floor.  We have to eat from the Book ourselves.  We have to learn to dig in.  To study with just the help of the Holy Spirit.  That is what our Churches need to be about, equipping the saints to dig.  Otherwise, people will continue to starve at the banquet.

As Francis Chan asks, “Have you studied this book yourself?”  I ask, “Do you know how?”  Do you want some help to learn?  If so let me know.  I will be glad to give you a knife, fork, and spoon, and show you how to use them.