to quote the King of
Rohan, "….so it begins."
tonight marks the
beginning of Year 9 of working in the Cubbies' classroom. we're trying something new, and splitting the
class into 2 slightly more manageable-sized groups this year, so good luck to
us.
a whole new school
year of impressing upon young minds the incredible worth of the Bible. of telling them stories from that Bible. of teaching them lessons from it. of encouraging them to imitate those who
follow it.
basically, a year of
trying to not be a giant hypocrite.
this Bible is one of
the most under-appreciated things ever, and i am being extremely foolish every
time i neglect it.
our guest speakers
for LifeGroups this past week were missionaries with Wycliffe Bible
Translators, and it took about 7 seconds to convict the entire
congregation. it went something like
this:
"who's got a
Bible in their house?" *almost
every hand goes up*
"who's got
three or more Bibles in their house?" *a fraction of those hands goes
down*
"…. who's read
any of those Bibles this week?"
*cricket cricket*
woah. i'm still reeling 3 days later. yes, i'd read
my Bible, but it was honestly more out of guilt than anything else.
this Bible? this book is what John Hus was burned at the
stake for translating and then smuggling out the English texts, so that it
could be printed and distributed.
this book
transformed Martin Luther's life and inspired him to accidentally trigger the
Protestant Reformation. he spent his
long months hiding by translating the New Testament from the original Greek and
Hebrew into German, because it was worth his life to put the Scriptures into
the hands of the people.
this book is what
can get you arrested in China. it'll get
you shot in a number of countries.
this book is
carefully ripped into sections and passed around to believers in underground
house churches, so that each member can have even just a bit of it, and then
trade. even the believer that winds up
with the Leviticus section weeps with joy and holds it close to their heart as
they treasure each word, knowing what will happen if they are caught with those
torn pages.
this book is…. it's
costing lives.
this book is what i
walk past and ignore on days when i feel "too busy." it's what i have
3 cop-no, wait, 4 copies of…hold on- 5!, and can pull off a shelf and read with
as little effort as any other book. it's
what i remember a few key pieces of, and ignore the parts that i don't like.
you can't possibly
judge me more than i'm judging myself right now.
but here are a few
more facts:
the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division
of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and
intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4
the word of God is
the sword of the Spirit- the only offensive weapon included in Paul's list of
spiritual armor. Ephesians 6
the word of God is
Truth- not *a* truth, not just true, but The Truth. John 17
the word of God is
what Jesus embodied when He came to rescue us hopeless sinners. John 1
the word of God is
life-giving. Deuteronomy 8
the word of God is
what "makes us wise unto salvation"- how we discover the way back to
a saving relationship with Jesus. 2 Timothy 3
the word of God is
the primary way the LORD of hosts chose to reveal Himself to humans, making the
word of God worth more than an obligatory 10 minute read every day.
can't read or don't
read? no problem: get an audio version, download an app, and get through the
whole Bible in 72 hours.
don't understand it
or hate it? … please know you are not alone.
you are experiencing what every human experiences when they read Numbers
and ask, "why on earth did God think i needed to read this?!?" but also please remember. remember these facts that we know. the Bible is the very word of GOD
ALMIGHTY. it was breathed out by the
Holy Spirit, and it is ALIVE. instead of turning away from the Bible, these
feelings and frustrations should instead drive us into it more, as we plead and
pray with God to reveal to us what He wants us to get out of those verses that
make you mad/sad/happy/confused/excited/nervous/etc.
a friend told me
once that she had heard a spiritual leader say that he was going to take a
break from reading the Bible, so that he could focus more on living it
out. it seems rote Bible readings had
become dull for him, and he was seeking a way to make it more… exciting? real?
special? i don't know.
but i do know that
that is the WORST idea i've heard, like, ever. how do i know that? because i read the Bible, and found these
examples, among many, many others:
-Moses tells the
Israelites to read and meditate on the Scriptures day and night and here and
there and everywhere (and in a box, and with a fox and in a house and with a
mouse….)
- after they rebuilt
the temple, Ezra and Nehemiah have a dedication service where they… read the
Law from beginning to end while the people stand in reverence for the entirety.
-when Jesus was
tempted by Satan himself, the only things to come out of His mouth are Bible
verses. how did they get there? by His studying and reading and meditating. if we are called to live like Jesus, then
this is absolutely part of it.
-Peter, Paul and
John (and also John) all write repeatedly to their fellow Christians to
remember God's words and guard them and preach them and know them.
it's really hard to
do (like, impossible) if you never read it.
you'd never know if your pastor is preaching the truth or drifting if
you never read it. you'll be knocked to
your feet next time Satan comes around if you never read it. you'll never, never, ever be able to live out
your faith if you quit reading.
anybody or anything
that encourages you to stop reading the Bible (for any period of time) is under
evil influence, pure and simple.
if it's dry and
dull, you don't quit.
you get a different
translation and KEEP GOING.
so my encouragement
- mostly to myself- this school year is to do just that: keep going.
as i ask the Cubbies
each wednesday if they learned their weekly Bible verse, i should ask myself,
"what verses am i memorizing or meditating on?"
as i try to bring
Bible stories alive, do i remember that my reading in the middle of Ezekiel is
also living and active, written for me and preserved for me, so that i could
know and love God?
as i live out my
faith so that when they imitate me i'm not totally embarrassed, do i also tell
them that it's because the Bible has changed me?
on days when i just
feel like i can't keep going and Satan won't leave my proverbial doorbell
alone, do i pick up my sword or do i let it lay (lie?) there?
if i were on a
deserted island for 40 days, and could have a Bible OR a double bacon
cheeseburger every day, which would i choose?
Jesus chose the Bible. that's how
good it is.
if you need a
partner, either for accountability or just company, as you continue/renew/begin
Bible reading, talk to me. the first
verse we're doing is in John- great place to start. let me know how far you've
gotten next week. my conviction came in
the form of a cartoon teddy bear with an obnoxiously blue vest; what does yours
look like? ha ha- whatever it takes to get us into these Bibles is a blessing.
and if you memorize
one of the verses, i might even give you a Cubby sticker ;)
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