Getting the most out of God’s Word begins with a mindset of submission. We must be prepared to respond to the Word like the Israelites of old: “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.” Today’s excerpt from The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart is found on pages 156 and 157:
“Every Christian understands that the Bible is central to the life of faith. The Bible is God’s Word, His revelation of Himself and His will, to guide and empower us so that we may know, enjoy, serve, and glorify Him. Every Christian understands this.
“But it’s not enough merely to understand what the Bible is. To gain the benefit God intends for us from His Word, we need to learn how to get the most out of Scripture, how to handle the Bible through reading, meditation, and study so that we may apprehend and internalize God’s Word. This is what the apostle Paul refers to as “rightly dividing the word of truth” – interpreting Scripture so that the glory of God we encounter there can do its transforming work in our lives.
“As we might suppose, not just any old approach to the Bible will suffice for us to get the most out of it. As we’ve seen, it’s quite possible to twist the Scriptures from their proper meaning and so lose all the benefit God intends. The Bible is God’s Word, and if we are to gain what God intends for us from it, we shall have to approach that Word on God’s terms. We shall have to discover the protocols, postures, procedures, and practices He prescribes for the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly.
“The place to begin – and in which to camp out throughout this process – is in submitting to the Word of God as such, as the inspired and authoritative Word of our Creator, Redeemer, Lord, and King. This involves four kinds of submission.”
For reflection or discussion
1. How do you know whether you are truly submitted to God’s Word?
2. How can believers help one another in submitting to God’s Word? Whom will you help today?
It probably seems like a “Duh!” that we must talk about submitting to God’s Word. But we don’t want to bypass the importance of this. If we’re reading and meditating, or even studying, the Word but have not submitted ourselves to it, all that effort will avail nothing. We must come under the Word’s authority and seek ways to live out the Word in our daily lives. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to talk about it. Your copy of The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart is waiting for you at The Ailbe Bookstore, either in book form or a free PDF download.
