What the Bible Contains: Pt. 14 Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully.
Good morning.....
This old railroad bridge no longer has trains rumbling across it's structure. Yet this bridge still stands strong and reminds me of the infinite gap between heaven and earth that was bridged by the cross of Jesus Christ.
There is no other way to heaven except through the cross of Christ. Have you turned to Christ in repentant faith? He will safely carry the believer across the river of death and into the glory of eternal life with the Father.
First, we need to "be still" and read our Bible slowly.
I think we need to heed this advice more than ever during the time that we live. The world is always clamoring for our attention and its noise is hard to ignore. Yet, we must find a quiet place to read God's Word and to allow Him to speak to us through His Word.
Psalm 46:10-11 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
The Psalmist says "Be still and know that I am God." The idea of being still is to stop whatever we are doing. It means to sink down into a comfortable chair in order to relax. This is the idea that we set all external distractions aside and that we cease from any internal agitation in our soul. When we stop to "be still" before the Lord in His Word then we can begin to "know" Him.
1 Kings 19:11-13 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
After Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal, wicked Jezebel sought to kill the prophet and he fled for his life. Elijah eventually sought shelter in a mountain cave where he poured out his complaint to Jehovah.
The Lord told Elijah to go and stand in the mouth of the cave. Then, as the LORD passed by a strong wind caused major damage to the mountain and stones were shattered. After the wind came a strong earthquake causing more destruction. This was followed by fire.
Essentially three of the most feared and uncontrollable forces in nature were unleashed before Elijah with great power, destruction and noise. Notice that the text says the LORD was not in those things.
When Jehovah spoke to His distraught prophet He used a still, small voice. This is the idea of a voice barely above a whisper producing quiet but articulate speech.
Psalm 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
The Psalmist tells us how great our God truly is and that when we reflect upon who God is we will be standing awe stricken and worshipful. When we go to bed to sleep the Psalmist reminds us to think about how vast and wonderful Jehovah is and to "be still" as we think on those things.
We need to "be still" and read God's Word every chance that we get.
Deuteronomy 17:18-19 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
When Moses gave the Law of God to Israel it included instructions for the time when Israel would have a king. Their king was to have a copy of the law before him and he was to read it as long as he lived.
Joshua 8:34-35 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.
Shortly after leading Israel to military victory over Jericho, Joshua read the entire law to the people so that they understood their responsibility before God. Twice in this text it mentions that Joshua read all the words of the law to the people. That would take a good amount of time to read through the details of God's holy standards.
In the days of revival under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah they read from the law for 4 hours at a time. That is how important scripture was to the people.
We are familiar with the text from 2 Timothy 2:15 where we are commanded to study God's Word. There are also many places where we are encouraged to read the scriptures. We simply need to slow down and be still before the Lord to read His Word while seeking His guidance.
We need to "be still" and pray to Jehovah for help before reading His Word.
Psalm 119:17-18 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. 18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
This prayer of the unknown author of Psalm 119 is a good pattern for us to follow as we seek to "be still" before the Lord as we open up the scriptures. The Psalmist asks for help to keep His Word and that Jehovah would open his eyes to see the marvelous truth contained in His Word.
John 16:13-14 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
We should "be still" and pray asking for the help of God's Spirit because He is our teacher and guide into the truth. The Spirit wants to open up our understanding of the scriptures The Spirit also wants to show us more about Jesus so that Christ is elevated in our hearts and minds.
Thoughts to Ponder....
The things that we have looked at today are sometimes a challenge for us. Many who were still working until recently have faced a relentless professional pressure to perform at high levels. The fast pace of life in general intrudes on our family life and all too often, is disruptive to our spiritual life.
The need to "be still" before Jehovah is a very real need in our lives and this is perhaps, one of the benefits of COVID-19. Our God knows that we have far too many distractions that pull us away from communing with Him in prayer and Bible study.
I think our Father in heaven is using the crisis to cause His worldwide family of believers to slow down, be still and seek Him more earnestly than we have prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.
I pray that each one of us will view this time of staying at home and sheltering in place as a time to draw closer to the Father and to learn more about our glorious Savior, Jesus Christ. May He be praised in our responses to His truth.
Bob
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