If you were to read Deuteronomy 4:39 (here @ Bible Gateway), it seems to indicate that it is possible to engage in the Word of God, to read or study it and not take it to heart.
As cross references take a look at these passages as well:
The clear message is that hearing, knowing the Bible is not enough. We have – further, exposure is not enough – one has to take it to heart. To use the word that Jesus and Paul used, we have to abide, live in, continue in the Word. So we have to essentially, live by or apply the word to our lives. Romans 12:2 (here @ Bible Gateway) describes that as being transformed, having our minds renewed.
If I am reading my Bible correctly, our assignment, that for which we will be held accountable, does not stop there. We are to not only take the Word to heart, abide, we are to equip others to do the same.
More on that next…
- Psalm 27:14 (here @ Bible Gateway)
- Psalm 31:24 (here @ Bible Gateway)
- Malachi 2:2 (here @ Bible Gateway)
- James 1:21 – 25 (here @ Bible Gateway)
The clear message is that hearing, knowing the Bible is not enough. We have – further, exposure is not enough – one has to take it to heart. To use the word that Jesus and Paul used, we have to abide, live in, continue in the Word. So we have to essentially, live by or apply the word to our lives. Romans 12:2 (here @ Bible Gateway) describes that as being transformed, having our minds renewed.
If I am reading my Bible correctly, our assignment, that for which we will be held accountable, does not stop there. We are to not only take the Word to heart, abide, we are to equip others to do the same.
More on that next…
This is surely an all too true characteristic of my life as the Lord has made clear to me in the last few years, although I didn't admit it for a long time.
ReplyDeleteYears ago with an association of men we had what we called "the 2'x4' Illustration - meaning that a good wack up aside the head was often needed to get our attention.
After a few of these that I could identify (I recently listed seven significant recent "wacks") I find myself seeing the Bible many times in a whole new way, and none are "flattering" to me; everyone is painful."
I see in myself "reading over" the Bible and often missing the point God is trying to make in my life where I fall short or am in blatant disobedience. Repentance has become a rich discipline the last few years - much of the time in tears.
You give Psalm 31:24 in your list above. Sometime recently I read in another translation that puts it "Expect God to get here soon," and I noted in my Bible "It's always too soon to quit."
No matter how "dead" or irrelevant my Bible seems sometimes, or how painful my realizations become I must keep coming back and expecting God, in His time and way, to speak to my heart whether blessing or conviction, or in reality both at the same time.
I am intimately familiar with the 2x4. Unfortunately it seems sometimes it takes a 4x4 to get my attention.
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