Wednesday May 25, 2011

Read Psalm 119 - or as much of it as you can!

How can I know God? How can I grow closer to God? How can I be more intimate with God? Yesterday I hinted that one modern day writer was totally against planned meeting times with God. No one would argue that we should, as brother Lawrence suggested in his 17th Century writings, practice the presence of God and commune with God second by second throughout the day. Der! But if that’s all we have, I would suggest that we will soon become shallow, self absorbed Christians. We need time with God that is uninterrupted and long enough to allow us to pour our hearts out to God and to listen intently to Him through His Word.

To accomplish this, set aside time each day where you can have uninterrupted time with your Lord and Saviour. I find an hour is an appropriate time to set aside. If this seems inordinately long, remember that no one runs a marathon straight up. Training will increase your stamina. Aim high. During this time, I work through the prayer journal on page 6. The Reading time is a time for me to reflect deeply on God’s Word. It’s a time to study the Word and to seek to really understand the Lord through His Word. Often I’ll use others reflections, commentaries, other sermons and so on to help me. Then I’ll seek to bring it all home by asking God to show me what it means for me in my life, throughout my days!

When I share this I get the most amazing objections - knee jerk reactions really. ‘But I can learn about God through His creation!’ Of course you can. But read Romans 1:20 and you’ll quickly learn that your learning is limited to realising that you are without excuse for your sinfulness and neglect of God. The problem arises because of the nature of interpretation. As three people stand at the edge of the cliff and stare at the vast valley in front of them one praises God and is awed by His power. The other marvels at evolution and the billions of years taken to form the canyon. The third wonders what alien creatures visited this planet and made this vast crater. Without God’s Word you are really open to any interpretation you like. As a believer, you are leaving yourself open to any weird and wonderful teaching, any erroneous belief, any heresy if the Word of God is not open before you as you interpret things

you see.

‘But I can learn about God through experience!’ Of course you can. But we have the same problem above. I can learn about my wife through her family and friends and the dresses she has sown and the craft she has made but nothing compares to sitting and talking to her! God’s Word is His own revelation about Himself to us. We would be foolish to forgo such a great blessing. We would be even more foolish to rely on things other than the Word to realise what the Word has already told us. It’s a quick read through the annals of  history to see many Christians have gone off the rails because they refused to read the Word!

As you grow in knowledge of God, you will grow in realising the resources and blessings He’s given us. You’ll grow in your ability to use them and access them. You’ll grow in reflecting His beauty to those around you.

Prayer:-

V Pray for our children and teens to know God deeper and more intimately. Pray that these teens and children will be regular readers of the Word and that prayer would be a priority for them. Pray that they will be world changers in their own environments.

V Pray this for 5 other people in your congregation.

V Pray that our monthly Extreme will reach more people for the Lord’s Kingdom and that we’d see the church grow through this venture.