Category: Habit of Scripture

Morning by Morning

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah, Habit of Scripture1 Comment

Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
– Isaiah 50:4b

This verse is found in the third Servant Song speaking of the coming Servant of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ. And morning by morning he listened to God. It was a regular habit – a daily habit – listening to God.

Now the verse gives us a description of the Servant. It is not a command. And yet it is a good example for us to follow, even more so because it is the example of our Lord whom we follow. Morning by morning, he listened to God.

I love to read Christians biographies of men who were close to God and did great things in the kingdom. And the recurring testimony of these men is that they spent time with God morning by morning. If we want to be close to God and be used by God in his kingdom, we ought to consider their testimony and follow their example.

Morning by morning – listen to God.

Full and Standing

On By BrianIn Book of Acts, Habit of Scripture

Stephen was preaching the gospel.  There arose opposition, and these men disputed with him, “but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (Acts 6:10).  He was full of the Spirit and wisdom, and it showed.  His opponents gathered false witnesses and brought him before the Sanhedrin.  The high priest asked if the charges were true, and Stephen begins to speak to them from the Scriptures.  He was full of the Word, and it showed.

We too must be full of the Spirit and wisdom and the Word so that we might use the Word in the face of persecution or even simple discussion of the gospel with others.  We must be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us (I Peter 3:15).  Are you ready like Stephen was?

We must be full of the Spirit and wisdom and the Word in our temptations so that we might follow the Spirit’s leading and wisely discern which verses to use against them.  Are you, like Jesus, well equipped with verses to throw in the devil’s face?

We must be full of the Spirit and wisdom and the Word in our trials so that we can follow the leading of the Spirit and wisely discern where we might find encouragement and strength from God’s Word.  Do you have an arsenal of verses at your disposal to use in times of trial?

If we are going to stand when the opposition comes against us – whether persecution, temptation, or trial – we must be full of the Spirit, wisdom, and the Word.  Are you?

Becoming Full

On By BrianIn Book of Acts, Habit of Prayer, Habit of Scripture

Last week we looked at three areas where we should be full.  We should be full of the Spirit, full of wisdom, and full of faith.  But how do we get full?  How can we be filled?  This is not something we can do on our own.  Each of these things comes from God, and so if we are going to be full we must look to God.

  • First, we must look to God in prayer.  In Acts 4, the early church prayed and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  James 1:5 tells us that if any lack wisdom, they should ask of God, and God will give wisdom.  In Mark 9:24, a man cries out to Jesus that he might overcome his unbelief.  If we want to be full, we must pray.  Do you pray to be full?
  • Second, we must look to God in His Word.  In Ephesians 5:18-20, we are told to be full of the Spirit.  In a parallel passage in Colossians 3:16, we are told to be full of the Word.  The Spirit and the Word work together.  The Word is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).  Psalm 19:7 tells us that God’s Word makes people wise.  Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing the Word.  If we want to be full, we must be in the Word.  Are you filling yourself with God’s Word?

Meditate on the Word

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture

Last week, we talked about delighting in the Word.  If we delight in the Word, we will want to spend time in it.  We will want to read it.  We will want to meditate on it.  I have added a new page to the site with a Bible Reading Plan.  You read from different portions of the Bible six days a week.  Day seven is to catch up on a day you missed or to review ways that God has challenged you during the last six days.

There are of course a lot of reading plans out there.  This one works for me, because the review/catch-up day helps keep me from falling behind.  But whatever approach you take, the important thing is to read and meditate on the Word.  With that in mind, here are a few ideas for meditating on the Word:

  1. Pray your way through the passage as you read it.
  2. Read slowly.  Ponder what God is saying to you.
  3. Record what you are learning in a journal.
  4. Look for repeated words or ideas.
  5. Ask: What is the main idea of this passage?
  6. Write down the main points of the passage.
  7. Ask: What does this mean? And How should I respond?
  8. Use a study Bible to explain things you don’t understand.
  9. Ask more questions:
  • What does this passage teach me about God?
  • What examples do I see of God’s grace?
  • What does this passage teach me about ____? (any theme)

10. Ask more application questions:

  • Is there a truth to believe?
  • Is there a promise to claim?
  • Is there an example to follow (or not follow)?
  • Is there a command to obey?
  • Is there a sin to confess?

11. Try Luther’s contemplative method by asking three questions:

  • How does this show me something about God to praise?
  • How does this show me something about myself to confess?
  • How does this show me something I need to ask God for?

(Adoration, Confession, Supplication)

Applying Our Delight in the Word

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture, Virtue of Joy

In the last post we looked at three reasons from Psalm 119 regarding why we should delight in the Word.  Today, I want to consider three ways we should apply our delight in the Word:

  • Meditate on the Word.  If we delight in the Word, we will want to meditate on it, or fix our eyes on it (v14-15).  To meditate is to think about the passage, to ponder it, to chew on it.  If we delight in the Word, we will regularly read it, meditating on its meaning, and its application in our lives.  Do you regularly meditate on God’s Word?
  • Memorize the Word.  The Psalmist says he delights in God’s Word and will not forget it (v16).  Rather he has stored up the Word in his heart (v11).  We too need to regularly memorize the Word, so that we might always have it available in times of need or temptation.  Are you memorizing God’s Word?
  • Live the Word.  It is not enough to merely meditate on and memorize the Word.  We must also walk in it; we must keep it (v1-2).  You can’t tell me you delight in God’s Word if you are not following it.  Are you seeking to live out the Word?

If we delight in the Word, we will mediate on it, memorize it, and live it.  As the New Year approaches, this is a good time to reconfirm your commitment to God’s Word.  And if God’s Word has not been a commitment in your life, now is a great time to commit yourself to the Word for 2013.

Delight in the Word

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture, Virtue of Joy

Psalm 119 is a psalm of delight in the Word.  Again and again the Psalmist declares his delight in God’s Word (v14, 16, 24, 70, 77, 92, 111, 143, 162, 174).  He also gives us at least three reasons why we should find joy in God’s Word.  God’s Word is:

  • A Guide to Life.  We should delight in God’s Word because it gives us counsel (v24).  The Word gives light for our paths (v105).  It shows us how to live a pure right life (v9).  It teaches us to lives as we were created to live.  How many messes in our lives could have been avoided if we had simply followed the Word?  We should find joy in God’s Word because it is a guide for our lives.
  • A Help In Trials.  In the midst of his affliction, the Word of God gave him life; it kept him from perishing.  In our trials, the Word gives us something to hold onto, to cling to.  It gives us hope, peace, comfort, strength, encouragement, joy.  It gives us life.  Even in our afflictions, we can find joy in God’s Word.  We should delight in God’s Word because it is a help in our trials.
  • A Word from the Lord.  The law is not just any law.  It is the law of the Lord (v1).  It comes from God.  He has written us a letter.  God speaks to us in his Word.  If we love God, we will love his Word – we will delight in it as we delight in Him.  We should delight in God’s Word because it is from God.

As we ponder these three reasons, and use the Word as our guide and help and word from God, may God cause our delight in His Word to grow!

Growing in the Truth

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” – John 17:17

We live in a world of opinions, lies, half-truths, and competing truths.  But Jesus reminds us where to find truth – in the Word of God.  The Bible is truth.  It is our standard.  It is the measure by which we determine what is true and false in our world.  The question for us is always: does this idea or thought that I am hearing or thinking line up with the Bible?  The truth of the Bible gives us direction in the confusion of opinions around us, a star to follow that cuts through the smog of false ideas and pretend truths.  Biblical truth also shows us how to grow up in Jesus, how to be mature Christians.

Jesus says that we are sanctified by the truth.  “Sanctify” conveys the idea of being set apart.  We are to be set apart in the truth of the Bible.  We are to live according to the truth.  Sanctify also means to make holy.  Sanctification is the process of God making us holy, of growing up in Jesus to be mature Christians.  And this happens as our lives line up with the truth.  Which leads to three responses:

  • First, we need to learn the truth.  We can’t line our lives up with the truth if we don’t know it.  As such we must be committed to digging into the Word.  We are to meditate on God’s Word day and night (Psalm 1:2).  We are to store up portions of God’s Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11).  We should gather regularly with God’s people to hear the word taught and preached.  We must immerse ourselves in God’s Word that we might learn the truth.
  • Second, we must believe the truth.  We must join the Psalmist who says, “I trust in your word” (Psalm 119:42).  We must believe what we learn, conforming our thinking to the Book.  We simply can’t say, “This is what the Bible says, but I think….”  What we think is simply wrong if it doesn’t match the Bible.  We must submit ourselves completely to the truth revealed by God in his Word.  We must believe the truth.
  • Third, we must live the truth.  As we learn it and believe it, we must conform not only our thinking but also our lives to the truth.  James 1:22-25 speaks of the foolishness of hearing the Word but not doing it.  We live in a world of information overload, and we hear so much that we never do anything about.  But our approach to the Bible must be different.  As we read it, mediate on it, memorize it, study it, and hear it preached, we must make every effort to do what it says.  We must live the truth.

What will you do with the truth today?

Acts Articles – Church 02

On By BrianIn Book of Acts, Church Life, Habit of Scripture

In Acts 2:42, we find the early church devoted to coming together for the apostles’ teaching.  The apostles of course were teaching about Jesus from our Old Testament and eventually wrote the New Testament about Jesus, so we devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching when we devote ourselves to God’s Word, and especially to the teaching about Jesus from the Bible. 

Like the early church, we should be devoted to coming together to study God’s Word, so we can learn and know more, and ultimately grow.  We should gather to listen attentively and respond appropriately.  We should have a real commitment and a real hunger.  Our attitude should be that we can’t wait to meet together with God’s people to study the Word. 

Is that your attitude?  Are you devoted?  How might you grow in your devotion to gathering together with God’s people to study His Word?

Acts Article – Word 01

On By BrianIn Book of Acts, Church Life, Habit of Scripture

Jesus ascended into heaven where he still acts and still speaks through his followers, through his church.  But how do we know what he wants us to do?  How do we know what he wants us to say?  In part, the answer is through his Word.

In Acts 1:15-26, Peter recognizes that Judas abandoned his role as an apostle, as was predicted in Psalm 69:25.  He then finds guidance in the Word.  Psalm 109:8 instructs them to replace Judas. 

The main point I want to make is that they found guidance in the Word.  The Word told them what Jesus wanted them to do.  And so the Word tells us what Jesus wants us to do. 

As we gather together as local churches to study the Word together, Jesus is speaking to us, telling us what he wants us to do and say.  As we hear the Word taught and preached, Jesus is giving us our marching orders.  And as we faithfully respond to what his Word tells us, Jesus is acting and speaking through us. 

As we gather together around the Word, let us then be careful to listen attentively and respond appropriately so that we might be the hands and tongue of Jesus.

Be Hearers Not Doers?

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture1 Comment

In the last Passion Points I recommended a post on irritability.  As I was first reading the post, I was irritable.  It had been a long day.  My family wanted to go for a walk.  I wanted to crash.  I was irritable.  As I read, I recognized the obvious immediate application, but resisted.  I was being a hearer and not a doer.

Of course, James calls us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).  Hearing or reading is not enough.  We must respond.  We must apply.  We must obey.  We must do what the Word says.

As we spend personal time in the Word, we must seek to respond to what God is saying to us.  As we hear a sermon, we must strive to apply the message to our lives.  But what about when we read blogs?

The danger it seems to me is that we can surf through numerous posts at one sitting, taking in the Biblical teaching but never responding to any of it.  That is what happened as I read the post on irritability.  And I have caught myself surfing blogs looking for posts to feature in Passion Points but never grappling with the manifold teachings myself. 

The nature of a blog is that posts tend to be short (or no one will read them).  And the nature of the web is that people tend to surf.  Rapidly taking in numerous posts simply doesn’t encourage response.  There is simply too much information to really process.  And so we read but never apply; we hear but never do.

And this may be a deeper problem than just reading blogs.  I wonder if the way we read blogs affects the way we read Scripture and hear sermons.  Are we learning from our blog reading not to respond, and then taking that learned failure to our Bible reading and sermon listening?

These are serious issues.  We dare not ignore God when he speaks to us.  So I encourage you to examine yourself.  Do you surf blogs without ever grappling with and applying the Biblical teachings?  If you are like me, what might we do?  Two suggestions that I want to apply to my life:

  1. As we read numerous posts, let’s look for one post that we can wrestle with and seek to apply to our lives. 
  2. If we come to a post in which God seems to be really speaking to us, let’s just stop surfing (even if you haven’t come to my blog yet!) and just camp on that post – pondering and responding as God would lead.

Let’s strive to not only be hearers but doers also!