Reading Around
May 31, 2010 at 12:54 PMSometimes it is as simple as “just read it.”
In Acts 17:11 we are told about a group of Christ-followers who “studied the Scriptures carefully every day. They wanted to see if what Paul said was true.” (NIrV). The writer has already informed the reader that this is a noble thing to Christians to do.As we were moving from passage to passage in church this morning, I started to glance around at the verses around the verses we were reading. Let me work through just one reference, Psalm 34.
Ps. 34:7, “The angel of the Lord guards all who fear him, and he rescues them.” I seem to remember words about God as a “refuge” in the clip we saw from The Passion of the Christ.
We read Psalm 34:9, “Let the Lord’s people show him reverence, for those who honor him will have all they need.” Good enough! It gets even better as we see the threads woven in the neighbouring verses.
Ps 34:4, “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me, freeing me from all my fears.” We have spent a good portion of our Sunday morning time this year considering trust vs. fear. On trust see Ps 34:8.
Ps 34:6, “I cried out to the Lord in my suffering and he heard me. He set me free from all my fears.” God may in his grace not release us from our suffering or hardship, but he will take away our fear in the midst of those trials.
Ps 34:11, “Come my children and listen to me and I will teach you to fear the Lord.” As it turns out the fear of the Lord is downright practical: “watch your tongue” (34:13) and “work hard at living in peace with others” (34:14).
Similar experiences happened when I read around the Psalm 31 and Psalm 103 references.
God is weaving his sovereign threads of truth through his word. All I need to do is read it. And read it again. And read around it. Echoes of fears that we have already talked about. Reminders of promises we have heard before. God gives an opportunity to hear them again. So we can let them sink in.
Like anything else it comes down to choices: To read or not to read. To believe or not to believe. To trust or not to trust.
What do you think?
As Brad said to me before the service yesterday, we could spend a week on each of these points and come nowhere near to exhausting the treasure contained therein.
Larry
Larry, I have often wondered about myself reading God's Word every day if I was caught up in ritualism etc. But you know what, there is nothing, absolutely nothing that I can see around me, in the sky (space - I love it), the earth or the sea that teaches me about my God like His own word. I can read and reread, underline, look at commentaries, talk to others and yet nothing speaks to me as much as just curling up somewhere and reading my bible. My memory is the pits (Old age is a-coming) and yet my spirit responds - this has to be a God thing. In my own life from I was a little girl living in a very troubled home, it was the "Fear of God" which I knew about from reading my little bible every day which brought me to my knees, kept me sane and taught me He was powerful enough to get me through it all. God kept a little girl reading what she couldn't understand, and allowed her to be "fearful" of Him which ultimately kept her safe from rebellion. These sermons and scriptures are deep powerful, wonderful weapons. All we have to do is read and believe, God Himself will teach our spirits.
By Lynda Beggs on May 31, 2010 12:54 PM
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