I’m not sure why I’m relating this piece of my life here, but I’m pretty sure God will use it anyway. I found a memory today on Facebook, which I don’t frequent very often now, that pointed out to me that God is still there, still listening and still working in my life despite the fact that I let “life” move me away from True Life in Christ. I could hardly believe that the words I read today were my words, that I had so much of God In Me at that time in my life that it just spilled out of me. I want that again. It’s no wonder I’m feeling so sick and empty. I am not feasting on His word like I did then. I want to feast again. I want to be used for His Kingdom again. So I will read again. And God will give me all understanding I need.
Thank you Yama for being so honest and open. You can certainly be filled with God in your life again. He wants a close relationship with you. I encourage you to pray and be close to God again. The Bible says in James 4:8 (NKJV) "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." He can change your life for the better in more ways than you can count! I pray you will feel His presence with you.
I Know so many BrotHERs and Sisters IN Faith who are deterred from Devotionally DWELLINg IN The Word BEcause as you stated Here: "The Bible is too hard to understand".
The Bible, at its core, IS a Spiritual text, meant to speak to and resonate with our Spirits, rather than appealINg to our INtellect. ThIS IS by design and with good reason — All glory to God!
Our focus shouldn't BE on decipherINg and decodINg every sINgle Word of Scripture but on lettINg its Truths imprINt themSelves upon our HeARTs through the act of readINg. It’s IN this Spiritual commUNION with the text that WE fINd the Word of God BEcomes a LivINg part of us, guidINg us INtuitively and moldINg our character IN alignment and accordance with His Will.
The reluctance and resistance to engage daily and deeply with Scripture due to its perceived complexity actually reveals a lukewarm and half-HeARTed Faith. If God approached us with the same conditional effort based on His understanding of our actions and Choices, our Spirit would BE significantly malnourished and impoverished. God's example encourages us to persist IN our engagement with The Bible, IN good Faith that it Will Plant good Roots IN us and tHerefore allow us to BEar good Fruits IN His Name.
WE are called to approach The Word with our HeART's postured towards Him and His understandINg, KnowINg that it Will enrich our Faith and draw us closer to Him and His Law, even when full comprehension eludes us. Ultimately, our comprehension IS not a prerequisite for His guidance and Grace. WE WEre never meant to lean on our understandINg anyWays.
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝟯:𝟱
NavigatINg the complexities of Scripture IS ultimately a Spiritual Devotion and disciplINe that primes, prepares, and positions us to discern God's Will IN our own Lives. ThIS process of wrestlINg with and ultimately embracINg the enigmas of Scripture IS reflective of our broader Spiritual walk. It teaches us to lean not on our own understandINg but to Trust IN God's Plan. The very act of seekINg clarity IN The Bible, with patience and perseverance, cultivates a Spiritual resilience and a readiness to accept God's Will with Humility and Trust, even when it's veiled IN mystery.
Thank you for your response. This is the medium of our age, I suppose. As long as there are some of us engaging God and His Word, there is hope for the rest. I remember the miracle of the Jesus Movement of the last century. If God can wake up a whole generation of long-haired hippies like us, he can wake up anybody!
Given that the lack of biblical literacy can be pandemically applied to the North American Church, as revealed by every demographic study I have looked into, we are in deep trouble. If those studies are true, the percentage of Christians with a biblical worldview hovers around 6-7%. I think the problem goes far beyond the meaning being too difficult to understand.
You are correct, the problem is much deeper than I can get into in a 1-minute devotional. My 350 words is just meant to get people thinking and realizing, the Bible is not too hard for us to understand. Thanks for your wise comments, I am in agreement with you! Thanks for reading and commenting. I checked out your substack account too. :)
Great thoughts! I think another reason many don’t read the Word (and I know this from personal experience) is because the Word does not stand alone in some “religions”. It is the Bible + handed down doctrine or tradition -actually it’s more like handed down doctrine & traditions and then the Bible when it fits our preconceived ideas from the handed down traditions.
Good comments, I think you are correct. I hadn't thought about that. In my belief, the Bible contains no errors and it is the stand alone Word to live by. Thanks for reading and commenting!
The Bible is the great wise Book of all Books and contains massive wisdom for the walk of humans struggling in this chaotic world. It is a coded book and has to be ascertained via the Spirit, not just the intellect. I tend to get jammed up in even one or two verses, as my deep temperament gets stuck so easily. However, since God KNOWS things I do not, I can honorably trust Him to guide me step by step. Funny how many of us are convinced how smart we are and that we do not need any guidance or counsel in this world. The material world is hard enough...but the realm of the Spirit is indeed difficult and much much deeper than the surface things of this earth. God is our Father, our Guide and His Son willingly came down into this mess to experience what we all go through and is more than worth our time, as He took on all our troubles on His own dear Body and Spirit. If we look at the condition of this human world, we should know...we NEED help in how to live, as we apparently have made a small mess or two...you think? (myself INCLUDED!)
Excellent comment, thank you for sharing that. Yes, I'd agree, we seem to make a lot of messes. It's so easy for us to make the same mistakes over and over again. Oh how we need a Savior. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I’m not sure why I’m relating this piece of my life here, but I’m pretty sure God will use it anyway. I found a memory today on Facebook, which I don’t frequent very often now, that pointed out to me that God is still there, still listening and still working in my life despite the fact that I let “life” move me away from True Life in Christ. I could hardly believe that the words I read today were my words, that I had so much of God In Me at that time in my life that it just spilled out of me. I want that again. It’s no wonder I’m feeling so sick and empty. I am not feasting on His word like I did then. I want to feast again. I want to be used for His Kingdom again. So I will read again. And God will give me all understanding I need.
Thank you Yama for being so honest and open. You can certainly be filled with God in your life again. He wants a close relationship with you. I encourage you to pray and be close to God again. The Bible says in James 4:8 (NKJV) "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." He can change your life for the better in more ways than you can count! I pray you will feel His presence with you.
Thank you.
I Know so many BrotHERs and Sisters IN Faith who are deterred from Devotionally DWELLINg IN The Word BEcause as you stated Here: "The Bible is too hard to understand".
The Bible, at its core, IS a Spiritual text, meant to speak to and resonate with our Spirits, rather than appealINg to our INtellect. ThIS IS by design and with good reason — All glory to God!
Our focus shouldn't BE on decipherINg and decodINg every sINgle Word of Scripture but on lettINg its Truths imprINt themSelves upon our HeARTs through the act of readINg. It’s IN this Spiritual commUNION with the text that WE fINd the Word of God BEcomes a LivINg part of us, guidINg us INtuitively and moldINg our character IN alignment and accordance with His Will.
The reluctance and resistance to engage daily and deeply with Scripture due to its perceived complexity actually reveals a lukewarm and half-HeARTed Faith. If God approached us with the same conditional effort based on His understanding of our actions and Choices, our Spirit would BE significantly malnourished and impoverished. God's example encourages us to persist IN our engagement with The Bible, IN good Faith that it Will Plant good Roots IN us and tHerefore allow us to BEar good Fruits IN His Name.
WE are called to approach The Word with our HeART's postured towards Him and His understandINg, KnowINg that it Will enrich our Faith and draw us closer to Him and His Law, even when full comprehension eludes us. Ultimately, our comprehension IS not a prerequisite for His guidance and Grace. WE WEre never meant to lean on our understandINg anyWays.
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝟯:𝟱
NavigatINg the complexities of Scripture IS ultimately a Spiritual Devotion and disciplINe that primes, prepares, and positions us to discern God's Will IN our own Lives. ThIS process of wrestlINg with and ultimately embracINg the enigmas of Scripture IS reflective of our broader Spiritual walk. It teaches us to lean not on our own understandINg but to Trust IN God's Plan. The very act of seekINg clarity IN The Bible, with patience and perseverance, cultivates a Spiritual resilience and a readiness to accept God's Will with Humility and Trust, even when it's veiled IN mystery.
AMEN.
Thank you for putting so much time and effort into giving us your thoughts on this subject. I appreciate your insight Anja!
Thank you for your response. This is the medium of our age, I suppose. As long as there are some of us engaging God and His Word, there is hope for the rest. I remember the miracle of the Jesus Movement of the last century. If God can wake up a whole generation of long-haired hippies like us, he can wake up anybody!
Given that the lack of biblical literacy can be pandemically applied to the North American Church, as revealed by every demographic study I have looked into, we are in deep trouble. If those studies are true, the percentage of Christians with a biblical worldview hovers around 6-7%. I think the problem goes far beyond the meaning being too difficult to understand.
You are correct, the problem is much deeper than I can get into in a 1-minute devotional. My 350 words is just meant to get people thinking and realizing, the Bible is not too hard for us to understand. Thanks for your wise comments, I am in agreement with you! Thanks for reading and commenting. I checked out your substack account too. :)
Great thoughts! I think another reason many don’t read the Word (and I know this from personal experience) is because the Word does not stand alone in some “religions”. It is the Bible + handed down doctrine or tradition -actually it’s more like handed down doctrine & traditions and then the Bible when it fits our preconceived ideas from the handed down traditions.
Good comments, I think you are correct. I hadn't thought about that. In my belief, the Bible contains no errors and it is the stand alone Word to live by. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Absolutely! I am thankful to have come to this knowledge of sola scriptura!
The Bible is the great wise Book of all Books and contains massive wisdom for the walk of humans struggling in this chaotic world. It is a coded book and has to be ascertained via the Spirit, not just the intellect. I tend to get jammed up in even one or two verses, as my deep temperament gets stuck so easily. However, since God KNOWS things I do not, I can honorably trust Him to guide me step by step. Funny how many of us are convinced how smart we are and that we do not need any guidance or counsel in this world. The material world is hard enough...but the realm of the Spirit is indeed difficult and much much deeper than the surface things of this earth. God is our Father, our Guide and His Son willingly came down into this mess to experience what we all go through and is more than worth our time, as He took on all our troubles on His own dear Body and Spirit. If we look at the condition of this human world, we should know...we NEED help in how to live, as we apparently have made a small mess or two...you think? (myself INCLUDED!)
Excellent comment, thank you for sharing that. Yes, I'd agree, we seem to make a lot of messes. It's so easy for us to make the same mistakes over and over again. Oh how we need a Savior. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I also think right behind this idea is that the Bible is a list of rules that’s going to tell people who to live their lives
You're right, many people think that.
Kate, thanks for helping us, through today's devotional, how to understand and apply God's Word to our daily lives.
Amen