I asked myself last week, “How
deep does my daily reading of God’s Word go?” I receive encouragement from my
reading, I’m challenged to be more like Jesus, and even feel God speak to me
through it. But, am I allowing the intensity of God’s Word to shape my thoughts
and attitudes?
Political
news shapes my knowledge of which candidate to vote for. Friends shape my views
on cosmetics, clothes, and reading material. Pastors shape my views about
spiritual understanding. But who shapes my
motives? What penetrates my thoughts and impacts my attitudes to make me most
like Jesus, the lover of my soul?
It is
through the beautiful Word of God that we are molded and shaped into God’s
likeness. Each of us must decide how we
read the Bible. Do we read it as a duty, something to be checked off our to-do
list? Or do we read it with intensity, asking God to let it penetrate through
our carelessness and lack of concentration?
“For the word of God
is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting
between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost
thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12).
When we give our concentration to Scripture, it follows us
around all day. And as we reflect on the precious words, the shaping of God
begins. When we memorize the words, they are waiting in our heart to guide our
attitudes. As we sing Scripture songs,
the joy of His Words fills our soul and our behaviors are directly
impacted.
John Stott said, “We must allow the Word of God to
confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to
overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.” Let the shaping begin.
3 comments:
We've been talking about this alot recently in my Bible study group - the idea of allowing our bible reading to travel from our minds to our hearts, so that it truly becomes written on our hearts.
I have this conversation with myself often when I feel like I am not letting God's Word saturate into my being.
I am reading a wonderful devotional this year, and a few weeks back it said something to this effect: "I will accept your demolition of my security." Ouch. Yes, the Word of God is a sword - and not just as an offensive weapon in our spiritual battles. It can also serve as the chisel, as the scalpel, as the sandpaper, as God does His intimate work of shaping us into the image of His Son.
GOD BLESS!
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