Reading like that was really great as it gave me a great overall view. Only reading a bit here and there in spurts you lose context, so the systematic reading was good. My enthusiasm was maintained as I was searching for specific answers to a particular topic.
However when reading like that one finds many other gems as well. So you see this is all beneficial, not just knowledge-wise, but it can reset your mind and set you thinking about those gems, and of greater import, can help build up your relationship with God, your Heavenly Father.How do we get to know Him better-to have that closer, intimate bond with God? By reading, reading, reading His words. Understanding His Words. Knowing them well. Knowledge of His Words.
Knowledge puffs up (oh yes, can make us proud). That, in turn, can then become ritual and legal. Instead of walking by the Spirit; we can become "lawyers"--making sure we and everyone else "follow the rules".
So it's not just a matter of knowing God's Word so well we can play Bible Quizzes and come out the champions. NO! It is so the Holy Spirit can then use God's Word in our lives; to build our character and to commune with God. God's Word speaks to us. We speak to God in prayer.
Growing up, I knew my Bible very well, and so did most of the brothers and sisters-in-Christ in the fellowship my family attended. We tended to become self-righteous and unbearably critical of each other. Are you following the rules? That's why I said, "knowledge puffs up".
So, I do encourage all of us to yes, KNOW the Scriptures but as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, know what the Scriptures are useful for. They are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (starting on ourselves first). This is so the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work that God has for him to do.
This ties in with a sermon we heard not so long ago about the Water Gate (one of the 12 Jerusalem city gates) which symbolized, we were told, God's Word. When we know God's Word well, we have sound doctrine (let's hope).
Examine yourselves against God's Word in His presence. This can be a real time of Holy Communion with God: just you and HIM.
So I'd like to emphasize the relationship with our Father, God. Seek time to commune with Him NOT in ritualistic, obligatory "thou shalt; thou must do so" ways but because you actually want to; you are eager to; you are hungry for God.
That hunger and eagerness, for example, in the same way some people get excited over watching the World Cup &/or Commonwealth games, getting up before the crack of dawn to watch (in SEA)! That is what we can pray for: for that appetite; desire to want God's Word and to want God, Himself in our world. Time to spend communing with Him. Having a relationship with Him.
Now is the time.
When we know God's Word and spend that time communing with Him we will pray according to His will. (1 John 5:14-15). More of our prayers will be answered in the way we want, because it is what He wants.
Eg. Our children know us quite well after a while. They will know what requests will be answered the way they wish and which will not. So too when we know God and His will well from knowing His Word well and having spent time communing with Him, our requests will be given as we have asked in Jesus' name.
When we are well-versed in Scripture, when we are on a "communing" level relationship with our Father, God, we will be better able to "correctly handle the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). That is, to be able to use God's Word rightly and to avoid senseless and useless talk; to avoid controversies and the asking of questions that a person who knows God's Word well, would not ask.
Being mature in the faith with knowledge and understanding of God and His Word we will be more able to detect false teachers and their teachings. When we know the truth it will set us free.
(Note: These are some of the points I came up with while doing all that reading. Imagine what you could do!)
When we know God's Word well and have that intimate relationship with Him, people will know and perhaps even seek God themselves because of it. But of greater importance, is so we can pass this faith on to the next generation be it to our own children, grandchildren &/or to others.
Eg. David in the Psalms...he is a great example of a mighty man of God who knew God and was intimate with Him. He even pleaded with God in Psalm 71:18 to give him time, to NOT let him die before he could pass on to the next generation about God's power, righteousness and marvelous deeds He was doing in his life (Psalm 71:17). All those that God Himself had taught him since his youth.
Don't be empty-handed. Give to your children and grandchildren what you have learned...not from empty ritual but from that intimate relationship of knowing God first hand and experiencing His goodness of doing life together.
May each of you be encouraged to have that daily time of communing with God through Jesus. To walk closely with Him. Let it be relationship, not ritual.
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Genesis 3:8--God "walking in the cool of the day" in the Garden of Eden
Genesis 18:33--God communing with Abraham
Psalm 4:4 and 77:6--commune with your own heart with God whether you have sin or not
KJV uses the word "commune" while the NIV uses the word "discussion"
Negative 'communes'--Judas with Jewish leaders on how to betray Jesus
~ERC 2016~
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