Last week our confirmation class started and I saw some of the youth walking around with the Bible we gave them and it reminded me of the Bible I got from my home church when I was in third grade, 1971. When I went to college and got involved in IV, I wanted a newer version of the Bible so my parents gave me an NIV Bible for Christmas. I used this Bible a lot and realized it was ok to write notes in it, so this one has some of my thoughts and reflections from those years, but then it started to fall apart and I wanted a paperback Bible so I got this one. Again, it’s well used.
When I started as a pastor, I needed a good study Bible so I got this one, but I didn’t want to carry this with me on Sunday mornings so I got this Bible to use on Sunday mornings. I used this until the cover came off and someone was tired of seeing me with a taped up Bible so got me a new one. The other Bible I have and use occasionally is called the Message, which is a paraphrased Bible in modern language. I find it helpful at times and you’ll hear more about that in a moment.
I still have all these Bibles because it feels wrong to throw a Bible away, although it really is just ink on paper. I also have them because I am a bit of a sentimentalist so when I see them, it reminds me of being a kid, or in college, or being a new pastor. But I also keep them because it’s interesting to go back and look at what I wrote or underlined. I looked at a few of those markings this week and asked myself, why did that speak to me? I don’t know, but it did. All of this reminds me that God’s word is living and active.
Let me share an example of how God’s word can be an active part of our lives. I am reading through the Bible this year and because of some traveling and time away, I got behind. I was catching up on some readings this week and on Tuesday, the day I started working on this message, I read this: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
So the day I begin to write a message about God’s word, I read in God’s word about how God’s word is living and active and can speak to our situations and lives. Some might say it was just a coincidence that I fell behind so I read that passage this week. I don’t. I say this is an example of God’s living word at work in our lives. When we read and reflect on God’s word as an ongoing part of our life, we give God the opportunity to speak to us.
We are in a series called The Walk and are looking at 5 spiritual practices that can help us grow in our faith. Last week we talked about the power of worship in our personal lives and the importance of worshiping together. Today we are going to talk about walking in God’s word.
You might ask, why is it important for us to read the Bible at all? Let me answer with a saying you may have heard. Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future. While the origin of the saying is obscure, it sounds very similar to Proverbs 13:20a. Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise. Or maybe you heard this: Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are. That comes from the great theologian and philosopher… Vanilla Ice.
The truth is that we become like those we walk with, so if we want to look more like Jesus, we need to spend time with Jesus, but how do we spend time with a man who lived more than 2,000 years ago? One way for us to walk with Jesus is to walk with Him in His word. We can read the gospels, or the stories about Jesus and His life, and we can hear His teaching. We can place ourselves in the story and picture ourselves in the crowds. The more we walk with Jesus in His word, the more we become like Him.
Jesus Himself shows us how important it is to know God’s word. At the beginning of His ministry, right after His baptism, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting and praying. At the end of those 40 days, Satan came and said to Him, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Matthew 4:3
At what might have been the most difficult moment of Jesus' life so far, being hungry and tired and alone in a desolate and difficult place, what Jesus may have wanted more than anything was bread. He didn’t want to give in to the temptation and follow Satan, so to help Him stand strong and remain faithful, He turned to God’s word. It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
And do you know where Jesus got that statement? It wasn’t from Vanilla Ice, it was written in God’s word. Deuteronomy 8:3. Jesus used God’s word to show us how important it is for us to feast on God’s word. Two more times in the wilderness, Jesus quoted from God’s word in response to temptations by Satan. When Satan tempted Jesus to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple and let God’s angels rescue Him, He replied, Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
When Satan said he would give Jesus all the wealth and power of this world if He would just worship him, Jesus replied, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Both of these responses are quotations from the book of Deuteronomy. Because Jesus knew the word of God so well, He was able to use it as a source of guidance and direction for His life. It helped Him remain faithful to God and gave Him strength when he needed it.
When we find ourselves going through a difficult time, God’s word can do the same for us. It can encourage us. It can help us. It can comfort us and it can give us clear direction. 16 years ago, during the second week of Advent, I got a call about being the pastor here at Faith Church. I came out and met some of the leaders of the church and I was then given the opportunity to either stay at my church in Lewisburg or move here.
I didn’t want to leave my church in Lewisburg. I loved the church and the people. We had some great ministry going on in the community and with Bucknell University. I had great friends and I really wasn’t interested in leaving, but several people told me I really need to consider this move. So I prayed about it. I asked God to speak to me clearly if I needed to go. I had just started a Lenten sermon series on the beatitudes, a specific section of Jesus’ teaching, and since I couldn’t focus on making a decision, I decided to prepare for the sermon. It was the second week so I read the second beatitude. I read it in several different translations and then read this from the Message:
You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. Matthew 5:4, The Message
As soon as I read that, I knew God was telling me I needed to take the appointment in Bellefonte. You see, what was most dear to me were my friends and the ministry I had in Lewisburg, and I didn’t want to let that go. I didn’t want to lose what was most dear to me, but if I didn’t, I would lose the One most dear to me - God. Was I going to trust God at this moment? Was I going to allow His word to give me guidance and direction at a difficult time in my life?
Well, I did because I’m here today. But more importantly, it was God’s word that gave me direction. God’s word spoke to me and I didn’t have to do an open and point method of Bible reading because I went back to where I was in God’s word. I went to God’s word right where God had me, and God spoke to me. This week I went to God’s word right where God had me and He spoke. God’s word is living and active.
As we make reading God’s word an ongoing part of our lives, as we read and reflect on it regularly, we give God the opportunity to speak to us. When I needed to know that there was a God who had rescued me and saved me, I came across this verse as I was reading the psalms before a class when I was in college.
God reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:16-19
When I read those words, it was as if the psalmist had read my life and spoken on my behalf. This was my life and yes, God had rescued me and saved me because He delighted in me. He loves me. God’s word has the ability to speak to us and for us if we give it a chance. It doesn’t happen every day, it may not happen often, but if we make reading and reflecting on God’s word an ongoing part of our life, we will hear God speak.
In a few weeks, we are going to hold a workshop on reading the Bible that we held last year called Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is a very unique way of reading the Bible because we specifically ask God to speak to us as we read. Bonnie Harr will do an amazing job of not only teaching how we do this, but giving you the opportunity to read and listen to God’s word as part of the workshop. If you are open and willing to listen on that day, God will speak to you. The date for the workshop is March 10 at 2pm.
The one thing Lectio Divina needs, and really any personal Bible reading needs, is time and space. We can’t read the Bible like we might read the news. We have to allow time for God to speak and we need to quiet our hearts and minds so we can hear God's voice. Lectio Divina requires us to take time because prayer and intentional questions and reflections are part of the process. I encourage you to take part in the workshop. Even if you took it before, you might want to take it again - you will learn something and hear something from God.
Walking with God in His word is important. It needs to be an ongoing part of our personal lives. I invite you to read the Scriptures in some way from now until Easter. Read one of the gospels and walk with Jesus. Read a psalm a day. Or maybe you want to start today and read through the Bible. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t start 7 weeks ago. A few weeks ago Pastor David said that the best time to start may have been weeks ago, but the second best time to start is today. So start today and open yourself up to hearing the voice of God.
The personal reading and reflecting on God’s word is important, but all of the spiritual disciplines and practices we are looking at during Lent also challenge us to walk in them together. Reading and studying God’s word with others is equally important and Jesus shows us this.
Last week we saw that at the beginning of every gospel, Jesus called some fishermen to follow Him. Jesus then called some others to follow Him and soon He had 12 disciples. What did these disciples do as they walked with Jesus? They listened to Him teach. They watched Him perform miracles. When they didn’t understand what He said or did, they asked Him questions and He answered.
As a small group, they were not only learning scripture, they were actually living it out. As a small group they were asking questions about who Jesus was and what He was doing and how they could have a relationship with God like they saw in Jesus. The first thing Jesus did was form a small group to live and learn the scriptures together.
We will also learn new and valuable things when we study God’s word with others. Hearing how God’s word speaks to other people, or how others have applied it to their lives, helps us see how it can become part of our lives. The first small group Bible study I took part in was during my freshman year of college and I was very intimidated because I thought everyone knew more than I did. I asked all kinds of questions and you know what? No one laughed. No one put me down. In fact, I realized others had the same questions and no question was silly or insignificant.
The one comment we hear most often from people about joining a small group or Bible Study is that they don’t know enough. Well, there are times I feel like I don't know enough either. But I will tell you that most of what I have learned about Jesus and having a relationship with God through Jesus, I learned by being in a small group.
I needed those guys in my college Bible study to help me come face to face with Jesus. When I was in seminary, I needed a Bible study to keep me grounded when I was struggling with concepts and ideas that I didn’t agree with. I needed the Bible studies and small groups I’ve been a part of in each church I’ve served because I will hear something new, see a new perspective, or be filled with joy and hope when I hear someone else coming alive through God’s word.
Everyone feels somewhat intimidated when they join a new group, but being part of reading God’s word with others will change your life. We have several groups that are open and available for you to join and you can find this information in the lobby or online.
God’s word is living and active. It can speak to us and give us hope, comfort, guidance, encouragement and sometimes a good swift kick in the butt. God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, and when we meditate on it day and night, it will give us life and life abundant. When we walk with Jesus in the light of His word, and when we walk in God’s word together, we become more like Jesus.
Next Steps
The Walk - The Word of God
When has God’s word spoken directly to you?
Go back and read that passage. What does it say to you today? Give thanks for God’s word being living and active.
Read what God’s word says about the power of God’s word and why it is important for us to read it. Make note of all the ways reading God’s word can help you.
● Psalm 119:105
● Isaiah 40:8
● Matthew 4:4
● Luke 11:28
● Ephesians 6:17
● 2 Timothy 3:16-17
● Hebrews 4:12
● James 1:22
Commit to reading God’s word every day from now until Easter. Read a Psalm a day, or read through one of the gospels. As you read, ask God to speak to you.
Sign up for the Lectio Divina Workshop on March 10 at 2 pm. You can sign up in the lobby or online.
Join a small group, Bible study, or Sunday School class to read God’s word with others. A list of available groups can be found at the connection table or online.
Start a new small group centered on reading God’s word. For more information on this, contact Pastor David at david.carter@bellefontefaith.com.
