There are certain things in life we become intimately acquainted with.
I am well acquainted with the sound of my mother’s voice. I am sure that if I worked at a call center and dealt with a hundred customer queries per day, I could confidently identify the sound of my mother’s voice if she called.
I am well acquainted with the way my mother smells. I remember taking one of my mother’s t-shirts with me when I left for college – just to be able to breathe in her familiar scent when I felt homesick. No matter how many smells tickled my olfactory senses, one sniff at that t-shirt and I was back with my mother. Even today, when she comes to greet me at the airport once a year, I breathe in deep and hold my breath – savoring the smell that I have come to associate with home.
This isn’t unique to me. I am certain that this intimacy that stems from familiarity is present in all of our lives. We all have things and people we know the intricacies of because of the amount of time we spend with them. Over time, they become precious and irreplaceable to us.
Is your Bible on the list of things you are intensely familiar with?
In this day and age where the digital world is accessible to practically everyone, it is easy for us to satisfy anything that our mind wants. We no longer have to scratch our heads over things we wonder about. Today, it is incredibly easy to form an opinion based on what you hear and see online. When we come across the same opinion enough number of times, that slowly hardens into a belief.
However, if we end up believing in something untrue just because enough people seem to believe it, our happy ignorance will be our downfall.
My husband and I make time regularly to listen to sermons online. Although we have been truly blessed and nourished by the messages that come through various men of God, we have learned never to take their words at face value. As Christians, we would be wise to follow the example of the Bereans who “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). No matter how “famous” the preacher, how sound His doctrine seems to be, or how many people plaudit his teaching, the Bible is always the yardstick by which we measure every aspect of the “truths” that we are exposed to.
Lately, my husband and I have really been enjoying the television series “The Chosen”. Although it an absolutely clean show and is based on the Bible, I would be hesitant to let my children watch it until they’ve developed a comprehensive knowledge of the Gospels. This is because the stories are embellished with details that are not found in the Bible. So until my children know the Word thoroughly, I am unwilling to take the risk of allowing them to watch a series that depicts the life of Jesus. They ought to get to know the Jesus of the Bible first. Then, when the foundation is laid upon the rock, they can watch this series, examine it, and enjoy it.
Dear friend, is your life built upon the rock that is Christ Jesus? Do you read the Word of God and attempt to put them into practice every day? And when you fail, as we all do, do you cry out to the One who can help you to stand and not fall? Only then will we become like the wise man who built his house upon the rock. “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25) If we read the Bible only to appease our conscience, the seeds of the Word will not find good soil to fall upon. Such an attitude to the Word of God will not produce in us the righteousness that God desires. This is likened to “a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:27).
The world we live in is filled with half-truths – be it in politics, businesses, or classrooms. But nowhere is it more damning than in our churches. While others might accept half-truths and walk away seemingly unscathed, it is fatal to the serious Christian. Being almost right is often the same as being completely wrong when it comes to spiritual matters. This is why it is so important that we get intimately acquainted with the contents of the Bible. Only then can we discern between that which is right and almost right. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 exhorts us to “test them all and hold on to what is good“. No matter how many sermons you listen to or how many men of God capture your attention, if that does not lead you to the Word, how does it profit you?
You might think you can get away with being a Christian who reads only Psalms and Proverbs to appease your conscience and let your pastor feed you from the rest of the Book. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sad reality is that the majority of the churches deem it acceptable to follow only parts of scripture that they see fit. Many churches feed you with half-truths that fall like honey upon your ears. If you are not a student of the Bible, they will sound perfectly fine to you and you will not question the source because you assume the pastor is spending all his free time steeped in the Word.
On the other hand, when you meditate on the Word of God and when you make it your life’s goal to build your life on the rock of the Word, any distortion, fabrication, or fallacy of the Gospel will immediately ring alarm bells in your mind. The Holy Spirit will warn you when you are exposed to such teaching.
The times we live in is filled with deception, dear friend. The world is plunged into utter darkness. Only the Word of God can serve as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). Begin today. The Holy Spirit is the most wonderful teacher who leads us into all truth. He will reveal to you mysteries and wonders that are within the pages of The Book. Where He desires change, He convicts. Where there is pain, He comforts. Where there is confusion, He brings clarity. Where there is hunger, He satisfies. What a privilege it is to serve a God who speaks!
Let us desire to get intensely familiar with our Bibles, to be taught by the Holy Spirit, and grow in the knowledge of the Word. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church (Ephesians 4:14-15).
21 comments
I asked a Christian mentor friend the other day a question of faith. I had spoken with someone who saw things differently, and I was looking for answers or clarification. The first things she asked me “Have you prayed for the Holy Spirit to reveal answers to you?” and “Have you dug into the scripture.” My answer was, no. I turned to this friend first. That was a good lesson of how scripture and prayer need to be the first place I turn!
I completely agree with you and I love becoming more and more familiar with my Bible each day.
Last year I read through the whole thing for the first time and it was truly eye-opening. There were so many lessons I had been taught in church that were way off when I examined the scripture myself. This year, and for the foreseeable future, I am reading just one chapter a day so that I can go deep into the word. I love how much there is to learn. I would add one thing. That no matter what the Bible says, the words of Jesus Christ hold the most weight. If it ever seems like something contradicts its self, I let the words of Jesus be the final authority on the subject.
Yes! I agree. We need to meditate on God’s word and become familiar with it so we can recognize false teaching when it comes our way. Only when we are familiar with Scripture will we be able to see when we are being led astray.
This is a really great post! I totally agree it’s so important that we know God’s word, so we know when something is the truth or a lie! I also LOVE that quote about the danger of half-truths in church!
My parents laid a great foundation in my life, but alone that isn’t enough. I must constantly search and seek God’s words so l know Him for myself. And distinguish what is truth or deception. Thanks for your inspiring post!
Wonderful post! So many are as you put it “happily ignorant” of God’s truth. And yet still accountable to God for what He commands. May we each strive to be students of the Word!
This is such great wisdom! It is so easy to get tossed by every wind of teaching (as Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:14) if we don’t spend time studying God’s Word for ourselves. We need to take everything we hear and line it up with the truth of Scripture.
Nothing should take the place of reading and studying the bible for ourselves. This is really important, thanks for the reminder.
I love studying God’s word! Every single time I pick it up truth comes pouring out! Thanks for this beautiful reminder!
Amen to that. 🙂
Where He desires change, He convicts. Where there is pain, He comforts. Where there is confusion, He brings clarity. Where there is hunger, He satisfies.
We often pray about the word ‘familiarity with the word of God and our pastors’ in church, I pray it often myself, because I ought to know God personally beyond what people tell me.
Thank you so much for this, indeed we shouldn’t be satisfied with half-truth, that’s being ignorant
May God help us to embrace the totality of his word, undoctored.
Amen
Amen.
I love this kind of a message – find out for yourself! It is wonderful to learn from renowned teachers (if they’re teaching accurately), but I believe too many Christians are celebrity hounds and don’t pursue greater intimacy with God and understanding for themselves.
It is amazing that no matter how many times I read my Bible, I find new things or understand things a bit differently than I did before. Unlike a storybook or novel, you can re-read the Bible over and over again and because it is God’s word, you will find new meaning each and every time.
It’s truly remarkable, isn’t it?
I love my Bible. I like the way you described abut being familiar with God’s word. I find that I just have to reach for my Bible and joy wells up inside of me even if I am in a bad mood!
So many great truths here!! I love that statement about being intimately acquainted with God’s Word. What a great word picture and description of what we as Christians need to do!
Absolutely beautiful and convicting for so many of us who are on the journey to become intensely familiar with The Word daily. Thank you for sharing your heart and these scripture with us Evangeline 💕
I remember finding my great-grandmother’s Bible when I was much younger in my Christian walk. The pages were worn from use. I truly hope that at the end of my life, my Bible is just as worn and that it is a testimony to my children and grandchildren of a life well-lived.
Beautiful. What a legacy such women leave behind! I hope to be that way too. 🙂
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