Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 7:2-3)
I used to travel too and from work by bus. It was a 50 minute or so journey from my home to the city. Often I would read and sometimes I would listen to my Walkman (remember those!) Other times I would pull out some palm cards with verses of scripture written on them in my almost indecipherable scrawl and read them over and over again, seeking to memorize them. I can still recall and state a lot of those 50 or so verses 20 years later. They have served me well along the way.
The psalmist says that God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. It follows then to acquaint ourselves with that lamp and its light so that we use it wisely and well. Melissa recently returned from Willow Creek where she learned that surveys prove without any shadow of doubt that the most effective spiritual discipline towards growth is regular bible reading. It is not rocket science; as we immerse ourselves in the word of God it offers us, together with the Holy Spirit, the promise of being transformed into the likeness of Christ.
I am so thankful for the way in which the scriptures have fed, challenged, encouraged, changed and transformed me. After 30 years reading them, I am still amazed by the capacity of these ancient words to become a living word in season for me. Again, the psalmist says, 'Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it fruit in season.' (Psalm 1:2-3a)
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