Read the
Bible. This is the theme of my newsletter articles quite often
because the Bible is there and it doesn’t change. Styles of communication
change. Styles of dress and hair and cars all come and go. Ways of talking
evolve over time. Just read a novel from 1900, and then from 1945, and then 1995.
How politics function changes over time.
The
word God is constant, always true, and always relevant. Recently, we heard Erin
Stratton preach on Genesis 3 (July 30), and then Amy Brown preached on the same
passage (October 1). Go back and listen to both sermons. The links are at the
bottom. Amy’s message had some flaws in the video, but you can hear her entire
message. Both preachers delivered strong messages that will edify your soul.
Amy
invited us to ‘explore scripture.’ I echo this. In a sermon on Genesis 3, she succinctly
wove in references from 1 Kings, Proverbs, and 1 Peter. None of these allusions
were forced. They all fit her overall point that when we come to God with
honest questions and ask them, we grow closer to God’s heart. She did not
promise God will answer every question; God won’t. There are things we aren’t
ready to know. However, we are invited to seek.
Thus,
I return to my original point. Read the Bible. Make Bible-reading a
life-long pursuit and practice. Be in the word. At other times, I’ve explained
various approaches to Bible reading. Whether you read chunks of scripture,
entire books in one sitting, or spend considerable time meditating on just a
few lines of one or two verses, prayerfully, thoughtfully, attentively consume
scripture. Be so driven to meet God in the word that it might feel impossible
to live without it.
If
you do this prayerfully, if you read scripture in tandem with seeking God, you
won’t have deleterious outcomes. You will be blessed and you will grow in your
knowledge of God. I thank both our preachers who treated Genesis 3 for calling
us to this most Christian of activities; the motivated reading of scripture with
the motive of knowing God.
