God Speaks Through the Bible
INTRO: GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE BIBLE
By Sandy Warner
Stop, Take Time, Ponder, Listen
The Lord speaks His Word and reveals Himself in many ways.
The best way to know the Lord is to read the Bible, His Holy Word.
“I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure….Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…” (Psalm 119:162 and 105 NKJV)
What a wonderful gift He has placed in our hands – His Words written so long ago. It is amazing to me that it has bypassed language and cultural barriers, geographical location, and decades of time. Someday we will know the story of how the Lord preserved His Words throughout such a long history!
The Bible is the first and easiest way to hear from the Lord, and is to be our guideline. When we launch out and begin to hear Him in various ways, they must always conform to it. (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
Some go through spiritually dry seasons when they lose their love for reading His Word. This is similar to what the Bible calls a season of famine of hearing His Word. (Amos 8:11) Quickened Words from Him become few and scattered, and finally far between. Intimacy with the Lord seems so far away. Weariness of life settles in, and one falls into a long winter’s nap. When in spiritual slumber the appetite shuts down; the hunger pangs fade away. Without notice, the mouth becomes dry. However when awakening, thirst for Him becomes unquenchable and the appetite roars to be fed. Thus comes the strength, will and tenacity to find water and food, and reading His Word becomes a joy and a delight.
If you have been experiencing a famine and want to break out of it and become excited about reading His Word, just ask Him for help. Living the life He desires for us is impossible without His help. We simply cannot do it on our own. The Lord never intended us to live independently from Him; in understanding, hearing, pleasing, and knowing HIM.
Another way to get excited about reading the Bible is to apply a formula throughout this course: STOP. TAKE TIME. PONDER. LISTEN. Without using our will and deciding to make these four choices, we become like a locomotive with no brakes. We build up steam, stay in one gear, and propel forward without taking time to view the scenery. Each rail zooms by as we become lost in our goal of reading and forget to look where we are going. Instead, we should try riding a children’s train that has no particular destination in mind other than to look and be a part of the fun!
What is the fun? The fun is HEARING HIM! The love, the zeal, the joy in life is RELATIONSHIP with HIM. Finding the fun, is removing the locomotive race in our minds, and reading with the intent of listening to what He has to say. Yet without the decision to stop, and the desire to hear Him, reading the Bible becomes just another pursuit of knowledge. The key to doing anything in life is to do it WITH HIM.
INTRO: GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE BIBLE
By Sandy Warner
Stop, Take Time, Ponder, Listen
The Lord speaks His Word and reveals Himself in many ways.
The best way to know the Lord is to read the Bible, His Holy Word.
“I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure….Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…” (Psalm 119:162 and 105 NKJV)
What a wonderful gift He has placed in our hands – His Words written so long ago. It is amazing to me that it has bypassed language and cultural barriers, geographical location, and decades of time. Someday we will know the story of how the Lord preserved His Words throughout such a long history!
The Bible is the first and easiest way to hear from the Lord, and is to be our guideline. When we launch out and begin to hear Him in various ways, they must always conform to it. (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
Some go through spiritually dry seasons when they lose their love for reading His Word. This is similar to what the Bible calls a season of famine of hearing His Word. (Amos 8:11) Quickened Words from Him become few and scattered, and finally far between. Intimacy with the Lord seems so far away. Weariness of life settles in, and one falls into a long winter’s nap. When in spiritual slumber the appetite shuts down; the hunger pangs fade away. Without notice, the mouth becomes dry. However when awakening, thirst for Him becomes unquenchable and the appetite roars to be fed. Thus comes the strength, will and tenacity to find water and food, and reading His Word becomes a joy and a delight.
If you have been experiencing a famine and want to break out of it and become excited about reading His Word, just ask Him for help. Living the life He desires for us is impossible without His help. We simply cannot do it on our own. The Lord never intended us to live independently from Him; in understanding, hearing, pleasing, and knowing HIM.
Another way to get excited about reading the Bible is to apply a formula throughout this course: STOP. TAKE TIME. PONDER. LISTEN. Without using our will and deciding to make these four choices, we become like a locomotive with no brakes. We build up steam, stay in one gear, and propel forward without taking time to view the scenery. Each rail zooms by as we become lost in our goal of reading and forget to look where we are going. Instead, we should try riding a children’s train that has no particular destination in mind other than to look and be a part of the fun!
What is the fun? The fun is HEARING HIM! The love, the zeal, the joy in life is RELATIONSHIP with HIM. Finding the fun, is removing the locomotive race in our minds, and reading with the intent of listening to what He has to say. Yet without the decision to stop, and the desire to hear Him, reading the Bible becomes just another pursuit of knowledge. The key to doing anything in life is to do it WITH HIM.
