"At midnight I rise to give you thanks for all the good things that you do.
I am a friend to all who worship you in Spirit and in Truth" ...a Keith Green Song
It's actually midnight as I write this. I woke up from what I thought was a good sound sleep and suddenly my heart and eyes blinked wide awake with thoughts of a family that recently moved on from our church body to another church. We were all sad to see them go. Wish it could've worked out differently. But I understood since I had kinda/sorta left my last church because I desperately, achingly wanted to be where we are now and if someone had told me I couldn't go, for whatever reason, I would have been miserable to the core of my being. And I would not wish that on any one. So in the wake of the departure of this family, we settle back with mixed emotions. A mix of regret and sadness but overwhelmingly a sense of peace and assurance from God that all things will work together for our good...for everyone. Wishing peace and blessings to the ones departing and knowing that we will eventually be reunited forever when our Shepherd comes to gather his flock from our many self-designed folds. In general, I think it's good that we have all sorts of different churches meeting all sort of different needs, ministering to all sorts of hearts and situations. And I pray for above all for unity and love between us all. We sang one particular song at church today that says, "everyone is welcome here". And I hope that song resonates with this particular family especially--they are always, always welcome here, sending a message of love and acceptance, no matter what. We worship the same God, after all.
Pastor spoke today about the importance of spending time with God through praise and prayer and reading the Word. I was so excited by what he was talking about that half way through his message I wished I could've stood up and shared my testimony about the subject! The focus was what we do with our mornings, the beginnings of our days, weather it be 4 AM or 10 AM. I thought it was awesome that he was talking about our mornings since I had just blogged about mornings and how much I love them. My writing wasn't focused on the super spiritual part of it totally, but of course that was there too. Connecting with God, telling him we love him, hearing him say he loves us back, and spending some time reading the Bible. Pastor mentioned how so many people say they have "no time" to read the Bible and he echoed what I have thought so many times before, that we seem to have time for those things that we really want to do. And he's right. Not to make a daily habit of Bible reading sound easy or to put aside genuine concerns of those who have incredibly busy lives. But it's amazing what happens when we decide to do something that's important, truly important to us.
At one point, I had heard this phrase that I had agreed completely described me. I was not a Christian with say for example 12 years of Christian experience. I was a Christian with 1 year of experience, 12 times. (Okay, for me it's not the 12 years...could have been more, but that's not the point.) The essence was that I was not moving forward, living deeply or fully growing or developing in my walk with God. I was treading water and getting nowhere. I loved God, I was born-again. But I really wasn't walking in the promises of God. I had bought myself a Bible in a translation that I liked. It was a pretty little Bible, covered in burgundy leather in a good size that I could carry to and from church. It would sit on my bedside table in it's pretty burgundy leather cover and get dusty from lack of use! Burgundy leather shows dust very well, I learned. And that dust was quite a testimony to me. See, I had purchased that Bible as a gift to myself to celebrate the fact that I had been baptized in the Holy Spirit and I knew that things were going to change in my life from that point on. But first, I had to dust off that book and see what God had to say to me.
It is not super critical how much you read the Word and you don't have to get all legalistic with yourself about following any sort of check-list. In fact, our Pastor reminded us to read for depth not length. To read and soak in and meditate on even a small part of God's Word each day. For different folks, we can do this in different ways that I believe are all good. For me, it was putting to use the monthly Bible reading guide that our church puts in our bulletins each month. That's just what worked for me. And I will admit, that there have been days when I have read that day's reading and have closed the book with a more than blank stare on my face because I have had no clue what I just read. But I did it anyway because I knew that it was from there that my life got its sustenance. I trust God and know what He put his word together in such a way for a very great purpose and that it is a privilege to get to peer into it.
But I tell you what, over the years, I have cultivated a daily habit of meeting with Jesus. Sitting down at the beginning of my day with my Bible in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. Meeting with Him and seeing what he has to say to me each day, and it has formed over time a foundation, a bedrock that I have been able to build my life upon. I have gazed at God's Word and it has transformed me. The Holy Spirit has opened my eyes each day in new ways, helping me understand things I had never understood before. God has confirmed his message to my heart in so many ways throughout my days and weeks. It's sometimes as if He's teaching me in "unit lessons" like a good teacher with a lesson plan. "Alright class, this weeks' lesson is Humility..." God has helped me to remain faithful to this habit in ways I never dreamed possible before. I have packed that little burgundy Bible on vacations and actually taken it out and read it on trips. I brought it along to the hospital when I had both of my babies. And I read it there too. Lately, I have even kept that Bible in my car and read it while waiting for my kids to get out of school.
At one point over the years, I had purchased a zip up cover for my Bible and I realized one day that it was a very good thing that I had because the binding had given way and the book was now worn out and had basically fallen apart, the cover being the one thing that was keeping my precious book together. I'm sad to see it in such shape but on the other hand I REJOICE FOR WORN OUT BIBLES!!! Oh Holy God, how I rejoice for wearing out a physical copy of your Word!!! The Bread of Life that has sustained me. The Word that had changed my life. No more dusty Bible. No more dusty heart.
I share this all not as a "wow, gee, look at me" sort of thing. Not to hold myself up as some super-spiritual extra special A student who wants a good report card....but as an honestly flawed person who knows the transforming power of taking quality time, over time, to read and meditate on God's Word for us. I know from experience that it IS possible to take that time and to read the Bible. I know it is possible to learn something new from it every single day. It's living and alive and reads me as surely as I read it. There is so much in there that I will never fully understand, even if I think I already do!, this side of heaven, but I know the heart of the author. And it's so, so incredibly good. Oh, how He loves us!
I really encourage every believer to be in the Word every single day. You will be so glad you did.
It's one o'clock in the morning now. I guess I'd better go back to bed and try to get some sleep.
Blessings.
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