There's nothing like starting your morning with quality time spent in the Word of God. This precious gift makes my head spin and my heart leap all at the same time! I'm always astonished at how much more there is to learn about passages that I have already learned about. I am completely convinced that the Holy Bible is alive and active, and holds the answers to the deepest questions in our hearts.
One of my very favorite pictures of myself (that I really wish I could find) was taken when I was about 7 years old. My mom had searched the house trying to find me and finally decided to look in my room. She opened the door to find me sitting in the middle of the floor reading my Precious Moments Bible. I had been in my room for hours looking at all the pictures and reading the amazing stories that went along with them.
As a young child, there was nothing quite like my Bible. Even though thousands of other kids had one just like it, somehow I felt like the Bible was something different to me than to everyone else. When I felt sad it gave me words to make me happy, and when I when I was lonely it told me that Jesus was with me. It was almost like it knew the secret thoughts of my heart and wanted me to know that everything would be okay. I cherished my Bible more than anything else that was mine and I carried it with me everywhere I went.
As I think back on these precious times in my life, I can't help but recall Christ's words in Matthew 18:3-4: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
One thing I learned last Summer from serving at an orphanage in Haiti was that children have far more to teach us than we have to teach them. They have such a refreshingly honest view of life... one that hasn't been tainted or corrupted by the outside world. There's an incredible purity and trust that comes with youth, and I believe that these attributes were precisely what Christ was referencing in Matthew 18.
As I continue to spend time in the Word, I find it incredible how much my view of God has changed. It's as though I am seeing Him through the eyes of a child and not through the imperfection of my own.
There has been such a huge transformation lately in the way I look at life. I find myself praying for my enemies, showing kindness to the heartless, and loving the unlovable. It's a gift to know such such joy and peace... to trust and to have learned to "Be still and know that (He) is God." (Psalm 46:10)
This week at The Truth Project Bible study, they posed the question: "Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?" The question took me aback and made me really consider what I truly believe reality to be. What is the basis of my beliefs in life and what do I consider to be the Absolute Truth? Christ says in John 14:6 that He is "the way, the Truth, and the life." If God is "Truth" and all Scripture is "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), then the Word of God is the Source of Truth.
What would it be like to live in a world without Truth?
To live in a world void of Truth is to live without purpose, direction, or boundaries. Insignificance overwhelms us and all we are left with is the eerie feeling that we are hopelessly lost. Like a child separated from their parent is what we are without Truth. Fear is our master and we live our life, our entire life, never knowing the safety of belonging. We feel worthless... utterly and completely alone.
Do you consistently turn to the Source of Truth for the answers to your questions or do you keep searching the world hoping you'll find the answers there?
The Word of God, the precious Source of Truth, is far more to me than merely an answer to my questions. It's a source of comfort, joy, knowledge, and conviction. To turn and search for the Truth elsewhere is to return empty-handed. Christ used Scripture alone to defeat temptation from Satan in the desert. If the Source of Truth was powerful enough to defend Christ from Satan himself, surely it holds the key to our simple-minded questions. There is true power in the Word of God, and if we are going to defeat the darkness of this world, we best remember to bring our Sword. If it's a gift to be simple, how much more of a gift is it to be free?
"Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."
~ John 8:32
-Kelley
Another great one, Kel!
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer that starting your day in the Word and with Jesus is a sure fire way to have a blessed day.
xoxo, Veronica