BIBLE PASSAGE:
Look in the scroll of the Lord and read: None of these will be missing,
not one will lack her mate. For it is His mouth that has given the order,
and His Spirit will gather them together.
(Isaiah 34:16)
MEDITATION:
In the days of Isaiah, he referred the people to the scrolls. In the days
we live in, we are referred to the Bible. There are some things in the
Bible that can be hard to understand. However, there is one thing we
can understand from Isaiah’s message in the scripture above; he told
the people to read the scrolls (the Bible of his day).
Knowledge of the Bible is essential to a rich and meaningful life. The
information in God’s Word has a way of filling in the missing pieces.
It can bridge gaps and inject new meaning into our lives. We should
learn to take every problem we have to the Bible. Within its pages we
can find answers, however we need to be familiar enough with it to
know where to look for answers.
The Bible is a revelation of the nature of God. Throughout the centuries
philosophers have struggled with the concept of an existing Supreme
Being. Who is He? What is He? Where is He? If there is such a Being,
is He interested in me? If so, how can I know Him?
These and a thousand other questions about God are answered in this Holy
Book we call the Bible. In addition, God’s Word can help us understand the
things we experience in life. As an example:
We might consider ourselves as followers of Jesus, but we are having
some overwhelming issues in our lives. This could be a part of God’s
process of making us more righteous. It is called ‘sanctification’ and
it begins when we receive God’s salvation into our lives.
We aren’t told to ‘clean up’ our life before we receive salvation, and
so, many of us come to Him ‘dirty’ with sin and unrighteousness in
our lives. But when we have received salvation from the Lord, He
starts ‘washing away’ the unrighteousness and ‘filling’ us with more
righteousness.
Why would He do that? He does it because, as followers of His Son,
Jesus, we need to become more righteous (similar to the One we
have chosen to follow). It’s not a process of ‘earning’ our salvation;
it is a process of ‘being transformed’ by God Himself to make us
‘usable’ for serving Him where He has called us to serve.
And the beauty of God calling us to serve Him is, He equips us with
what we need to be effective servants. At the time we receive His gift
of salvation, He also gives us the Holy Spirit and at least one spiritual
gift.
Equipped with these gifts from God, and being transformed by Him,
we can enjoy being a part of His mission of pointing others toward
Jesus, so they can also become a part of God’s family. We develop a
desire to see others come to the Lord for His gift of salvation, and
we develop a better understanding of things that happen to us in life.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My
name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I
have said to you.
(John 14:26)
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s
glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
(2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you
to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or
other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore, I
want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says,
“Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the
Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are
different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is
the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:1-7)
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand
slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(2 Peter 3:9)
ACTION:
Questions to consider:
– How are my Bible reading habits?
– Do I set aside a specific amount of time each day for reading God’s Word?
– Do I read with a goal of volume or understanding? In other words,
do I want to see how much I can read, or do I meditate on what I
read so I can better understand how God is speaking to me?
If we expect to know God better and understand what He expects
of us, we need to spend time reading His Word. We shouldn’t be
concerned so much about the number of scriptures we read during
our ‘quiet time’, but our focus should be on meditation of what we
read, so we can determine the message God has for us personally.
Five people may read the same scripture, and each could get a different
meaning about what is says. Why? Because our Heavenly Father is the
God of ‘dispensation’ and He gives us the capacity to understand what
He is ‘saying’ to us; God can speak to different individuals in different
ways using the same scriptures. How awesome is that?
Sometimes Christians can get into heavy (and occasionally heated)
debates about what God is saying in His Word. Two or more people
can vehemently explain why their understanding is correct. But when
we understand how God speaks to us, we realize that we both can be
correct (if our understanding doesn’t conflict with God’s commands,
His plans, or His purposes).
If we are looking for a place to ‘jump start’ our reading, we can begin
with 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. They are small in size, but jam packed
with valuable information. If we could all live within the principles and
guidelines in these books of the Bible, the world we live in would be
dramatically changed for the better.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the Bible. Forgive me if
I have failed to set aside time to read Your Word so I can learn more
about You and how You want me to live. Help me to start spending
time each day reading Your Word and guide me in developing a better
understanding of Your messages as I meditate on what I read. I want
to know You better and follow the guidelines You have established for
me personally. I want to become so familiar with the Bible that when
I need to read a specific book, I can easily find it.”
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