The Word Becomes Life

I've been in church my entire life. I grew up in Pentecost and was able to sleep 1) through the loudest of services and 2) under a pew without dancing folks stepping on my head. I have seen and heard it all. One thing I'd heard over and over again was that you could read the Bible and each time you read a passage, something new would speak to you. Candidly, I thought this was a fair amount of hype. How can you read the same words over and over again and get anything but the same result? It turns out you can.

This past Sunday evening, we watched Pastor Glenn Massey's sermon from Because of The Times. If you haven't heard it, you really must. It's incredible to hear his personal story and the application in real life. The gist of his message was that radical faith produces radical results. Oddly, in my Bible reading yesterday, I had this particular passage from Luke 11.

5Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story:“Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

I love the term "shameless persistence". It projects a radical desire to see something accomplished. I fear I am guilty often of "mildly requesting" which may be polite but doesn't move heaven. Though I had had read that passage multiple times, this time, it came alive to me. It was as though I had seen the words with fresh set of eyes. The Word did indeed become life.

Let me add one more note before I end this post. Over the last year or so, Bible reading has become a radical habit with me. I'm active and travel a fair amount but the advent of many apps for my phone and tablet make it possible to read the scriptures anywhere. My personal favorite is YouVersion but I encourage you to find something that works for you and stick with it. Make personal Bible reading a habit and it will bring life to your day. 

Why Read?

If you're like me, you just finished or are in the process of finishing a Bible reading plan. Also if you're like me, you just started reading it again. To the natural mind, this makes no sense at all. Who in the world reads a book and, the day after they finish it, starts reading it again?

The Psalmist wrote, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path". We have about one storm every year where the power goes out. I hate it. No power means no cooking, no television and worst of all, no lights. Reading the Bible keeps the lights on. It illuminates our path and gives us vision for the journey.

Growing up in church, I heard people say they got something new every time they read the Bible. To my young mind, this was nonsense. But I have come to find that these sweet people were exactly right. There are nuggets and new perspectives I find each and every time I read a passage that I have read many times. Line upon line, precept upon precept- this is the way we grown in the Lord. Reading the scripture is an essential part of that.

If you haven't started reading for this year, I encourage you to get after it. I'm a big fan of YouVerson.com. There are multiple reading plans and translations of the Bible to fit what you're looking for.

Go turn the lights on.