“Give me the Bible, star of gladness gleaming to cheer the wanderer, lone and tempest-tossed!” Noting that we were both feeling particularly “tempest-tossed,” Paul and I recently decided to seek that star of gleaming gladness with greater resolve. For the past week, we’ve each devoted two hours of study to the Bible each day. Our schedules are just as busy, if not busier, than they’ve always been. Yet somehow, the Lord has answered our prayers by providing us with the desired amount of time in His word daily. And what results! I can’t speak for Paul, but I can say that for myself, I’ve been ignited with a stronger desire to read even more of God’s book. Two hours a day is simply not enough! No longer do I look at my daily readings as religious drudgery that must be performed out of duty to God, but rather, as an exceptional honor and blessing from His hand. Every passage I read makes me want to read more. The Bible is such an amazing book. The more we’re exposed to it, the more we understand, and the more we are astounded by its profundity! Each line and chapter and book and testament reveal themselves to be more tightly woven together than we ever imagined. God’s face shines through the message in greater clarity. But at the same time, it attains a level of beautiful complexity that is beyond our ability to fathom. What a wonderful book. What a wonderful God! I encourage you to give your Bible a solid chunk of time out of your day today. You’ll find yourself agreeing with the hymnist that the "precept and promise," the combination of "law and love," won't vanish until eternal day.
8 comments:
Amen! Studying the Bible for two hours per day organizes daily activites and puts them in proper perspective.
Friendships grow though shared experience. There's no better way to grow relationships than shared Bible reading and prayer. God's end time Church is supposed to be united. We should come together through the study of God's Word.
As I read the Bible, I find much that I do not understand. EGW said that our understanding of truth should be continually advancing. The SDA church hasn't found anything new since EGW died. Let's change that!
Bible study can be rather addictive--as it should be. We're getting ready to transition from this world into the next, and the Bible is our roadmap.
I'd like to say amen to that too!! I was reading in Gospel Workers last night, and I absolutely love this statement: "If God's word were studied as it should be, men would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of character, and a stability of purpose that are rarely seen in these times." Wow!! It just makes me want to read, read, and read!
Paul - Listen to this (also from GW): "But as long as we are content with a limited knowledge, we shall be disqualified to obtain clearer views of truth." Loving status quo wont do us much good.
Amen Petra. I find that I learn more about stories I've read and heard a thousand times when I spend thoughtful and purposeful time in the Bible.
Amen! Let's dig into the Source. My first reaction was: Two hours... How would I get time for that!? Though: By seeking first the kingdom of God - He will help you with being much more effective in your other duties. Praise God for His Word!
"Only those who have fortified their minds with the truths of scripture will be able to stand through the last conflict". I'm glad to hear the sure steady sound of sturdy structures rising and am encouraged to do abit more myself, Thanks.
Petra--hi! I hope you don't mind me posting on your blog. Your blog and Paul's blog have helped encourage me in something that I've been working on lately. I read this devotional from an EGW devotional book and felt that it encapsulated what I have been aspiring to in the last few weeks. Isn't is awesome how God moves? Deep, concentrated Bible study is so so important, and I'm trying to focus on that in my personal devotions. Anyway, I'm copying and pasting a few quotes from the devotional from the EGW Estate webpage from January 3.
"When there begins to be a little unfolding of the divine purposes to the mind, and we begin to obtain a slight knowledge of the character of God, we become satisfied and think that we have received about all the light that there is for us in the Word of God. But the truth of God is infinite. With painstaking effort we should work in the mines of truth, discovering the precious jewels that have been hidden. . . . Jesus meant just what He said when He directed His disciples to 'search the Scriptures' (John 5:39). Searching means to compare scripture with scripture, and spiritual things with spiritual. We should not be satisfied with a superficial knowledge. . . . Says the Saviour, 'Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled' (Matt. 5:6)."
Thank you all so much for the comments. I particularly appreciated the inspiring quotes from Ellen G. White. As soon as Satan discovers that we have increased our interest and time in God's scriptures, he immediately throws discouraging roadblocks across our path. We find our eyelids drooping uncontrolably. We are distracted by the smallest noises. Someone knocks at our door with an interuption, or the room suddenly feels uncomfortably cold. It is experiences like these that make me so thankful for encouragement from fellow searchers like yourselves, and for prompts of perseverence from God's own word and Ellen White. Reading the Bible is not a walk in the park. It's like waving a big red flag in the enemy's face, calling for immediate attention. Praise the Lord that we can ask for His presence and help during our moments of struggle.
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