The Word of God

God has been calling me back to the truth and beauty and purity of His Word. The last couple of years I’ve been on a feeding frenzy reading books and articles and blogs and websites ABOUT God’s Word. But now He’s placed a hunger in my heart for His Word alone, and I’m LOVING it!

Whenever I start to read the Bible, I do so realizing that the same Spirit that wrote the Book also resides in my heart, and is ready, willing and able to interpret it to my heart and life. My prayer is that He will use His Word more and more in every encounter, to deeply renew and regenerate my heart and mind so that love, righteousness, truth and beauty will flow through all of my life naturally. In every word, thought, attitude, action, reaction, decision, conversation, etc.

I’ve been feeling a bit of unrest lately in my Awana class, and asking God to show me the source of it. The other day I was standing in our kitchen having a conversation with my 6-year-old son, Stephen, and God opened my eyes to see what’s been bothering me. I asked Stephen a question, and in the lull between the question and answer, God showed me that Stephen wasn’t at all concerned with answering the question honestly. His whole focus was on finding the “right” answer, the answer he thought I wanted to hear.

It seems to be the same way with most of our church kids. They think all of this scripture memorization is so they can earn points for their teams and get a piece of candy at the end of the evening... When will they understand that these are the Words of the Living God? And that they are precious beyond comprehension and Something to be treasured and sought after? I know that only the Holy Spirit can do that in them, and I'm praying, praying, praying that He'll grab hold of their hearts and open their eyes.

Then the other day I was reading in Matthew and God opened my eyes to see something else. The Pharisees were scripture-soaked. Most of them had more of the Holy Scriptures memorized than any of us will ever even read. When Jesus asked them questions, they either didn’t answer at all, or they answered the question correctly. Most of the time, they answered the question correctly. They had so much of God’s Word committed to memory, and yet that Word had ever penetrated their hearts.

God used that reality to show me just how worthless a correct answer really is if it doesn’t flow from a heart that has been reborn into His kingdom.

For all of their head knowledge, the Pharisees were cold, wicked, heartless and prideful. Whenever Jesus told them a parable and they figured out that THEY were the bad guys in the story… Were they humbled? Were their eyes opened? Did they cry out “Oh my God, please help us for we are a wicked people desperately in need of your mercy and grace!” No... Far from it. Their attitude indignantly said, “He’s talking about US! Let’s KILL Him!” (What I find really scary about that, is the Pharisees truly believed they were on God’s side, and He was on theirs.)

Contrast their prideful reaction with the humble reaction of King David when Nathan told him the story of the rich man who took the one sheep of his poor neighbor and slaughtered it, instead of using one of the many sheep he owned already. (See II Samuel 12) When he found out that he was the bad guy in the story, David said, “I have sinned against the Lord,” and Psalm 51 was born by the Spirit out of a humble and God-glorifying heart.

Oh, Father God, I pray that You will give me (and my children, and any who hear Your heart in this message) humble hearts like King David. Hearts that are quick to receive your correction and quick to repent of wrongdoing. Hearts that acknowledge that You are our Source, and there is no righteousness, truth or beauty apart from You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.