A call to His Word

Over the last few months, I have been feeling a great call to study His Word. In my life I've gone through seasons of "doing good" about reading my Bible regularly, but by and large, this was out of obligation and not hunger. It wasn't until my life changing weekend in Tennessee that I actually desired to read the Bible simply because I wanted to know what it said. After that weekend I started reading the Bible because I finally understood that these were Jesus words to me, not just to "all mankind" but to me, Carey. There are tons of things in there that He wants me to know about Him. So I started off on this journey to see what He had to say.

The speaker at this life changing retreat weekend, gave a great analogy that I will carry with me for the rest of my life...the Bible is kind of like a Super Wal-Mart. The first time you set foot in a Super Wal-Mart it can be incredibly overwhelming! I recognize that may be impossible to imagine for some of you younger ones, but go with me on this. Before you made multiple trips around town to the grocery store, then the fabric store, then the car repair shop, etc. But now, all of these things are here under one enormous roof. It would be irrational to expect a first time, Super Wal-Mart shopper to bust through the doors with a list a mile long and be in and out in 10 minutes. The first trip was likely more of a tourism adventure. You grabbed a buggy (or shopping cart, for you northerners) and slowly perused the isles to see what the store had to offer. Now, many years later you can zip in, go directly to the toilet paper isle, grab the urgent necessity and be on your way in a matter of minutes. Well, our study of the Bible can be the same way. There's a lot to take in on the first round, and it's unrealistic to expect to understand all of the Greek and Hebrew translations, symbolism, and prophetic fulfillment on your first trip through the pages.

Well, this is where I am. After growing up in the church, but only beginning to take the Bible seriously as a living being, I'm still on my first round through...18 months after my life changing weekend. A part of me is embarrassed that I'm not further than I am, but I know there is grace for the many days I have chosen to fold laundry or do dishes instead of spending my precious few minutes alone (aka Haley's nap time) with my Jesus. All I can do, well any of us really, is seek Him every day and soak in as much of His presence and His nature as we can during the hours He gives us.

My renewed call to the Word has two great motivations. The first being my precious Haley. It is clear to me that as her parents, Toby and I hold the greatest responsibility in teaching her about Jesus. A verse that has come across my path numerous times in the past few months serves as a constant motivator.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Now, I don't know if you caught that, but that's a lot of talking about God's Word to my Haley. I'm not sure I have that much to say. What am I going to teach her when we sit and when we walk and when we lie down and when we get up? If I'm suppose to talk about Jesus that much to her, then I need to be building my hard drive!

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." Joshua 1:8

So the key to having a "successful life" is to meditate on, speak of, and obey this book. But why? That sounds pretty legalistic, rule following and rigid.

"Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good." Deuteronomy 10:12-13

That's it! It's not about rule following. It's about loving Him because He loves me and He wants nothing but good for me! So even though I don't know all the details about the minor prophets and how their visions were fulfilled, I may not know the lineage of King Whoever and all the crazy offshoots on his family tree...I KNOW that my Jesus loves me. And I KNOW that He wants good for me and this is what I will teach Haley as we sit and as we walk, as we lie down and when we rise. I will remind her every day that I love her and Jesus loves her more. I will continue to study the Word, so that when she gets to an age to understand (which is not far away) I will be able to tell her about the minor prophets and the amazing visions God gave them and how He was so faithful to fulfill them. I will be able to tell her about generations of men and women who loved God and how they were blessed for their faithfulness.

My second motivation comes from visiting many churches. We are in a season of learning and seeing all of the "options" that are out there. Knowing that God has called us into full time ministry at some point in the future, we know that now may be the only chance we get to visit around and see how different groups worship, study and pray. This has been monumental to my understanding of "one body." We are all in this together...we are all (hopefully) loving Jesus and seeking to make His name known, regardless of the denomination that is posted on the street sign. In visiting these churches, I want to be able to decipher truth from truth that has been twisted without a moment's hesitation. I have heard things preached that just didn't quite sit right, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I call that my spiritual nose...I can sniff it out, but I want to go deeper and be able to crawl right to the root of it, point to scripture and say this is why that doctrine, statement, etc doesn't line up with truth. My goal, by no means, is to become self righteous or pompous, but rather to discern truth and avoid Satan's sneaky tricks. When he led Eve astray, he took truth and twisted it ever so slightly. I don't want to fall prey, I want to be able to sniff it out and squash it! You know, when bankers are taught to identify counterfeit money, they only study the real thing. That way when a fake comes across their path, they may not know exactly why it's counterfeit, but they know it's not authentic because they know what the real thing looks like.

So I am using you, my readers, as accountability to continue to study and to dig and learn and I can't wait to share with you what He teaches me. Will you study too? Just pick a book (I would suggest Matthew if you're new at this), read a few chapters, jot down your thoughts, questions and any sections that stand out. If there's something you don't understand or are curious about, ask the Holy Spirit to explain it (yes, He will hear you and He will answer you...you just have to be still and listen), read some other verses about it that may be noted in the margins or the footnotes. Let's dig together so we will have lots to share with our little ones so that they will always know the real thing.