i went for BS yesterday and i realized how hungry i was! And no, it wasn't physical hunger i am talking about, i had a good portion of fried hokkien mee, i was so hungry for the solid teaching of the word! i stopped going for BS for about 3 months because i was so busy with placement and prep for my EA trip and yesterday when i went, i was just so excited. like REALLY excited. you can ask liang. and i trust that although it took a while to adjust to the long period of sitting, with quite occasional popping of sweets into my mouth, (you see,i havent sat down to listen to lessons in a long time) i dare say i was fed. i loved it! every bit of it. it was sound teaching and it really rekindled my love for the word! i left convvted that what i knew was so so little. i left feeling like i really wanted more. i left wanting to read more of the word. i left looking forward to going back for more. and you know what, it wasnt the teacher, sure- she was gd. it wasnt the company- although i love hanging out with this group. it wasnt the location- goodness, its more than an hour from my place. it was the POWER in the word of God. phoar. it is awesome.
let me tell you that the bible is not just a book. neither is it a fairy tale. it is not a dusty stack of papers. it is not a paper weight. and no, it certainly does not have power on its own because it cant do anything being just left on the shelf or on the table. the power comes when you make a choice to live it out. it is powerful when God uses it to convict. it cuts into our hearts when you allow it to. it transforms lives, it is THAT powerful. i was talking to joseph on the way back home today, and we both agreed that there is no other better way to know God then through His word. everything you do- prayer, worship, serving etc hinges on the word of God. the basis of all that we do comes from the word. the infallible truth. you say you have eternal life? eternal life is this: "that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."- John 17:3. And how else will you know the Lord? im sure experiences are essential, but our experiences got to be backed up with the word or else they are just like any other experience that any other religions offer.
the church needs to go back to the word. back to the truths that will transform lives and compel you to live a life that reflects Christ. having said all of that, one thing still stands: the knowledge MUST transform your life. if not, its all words and well, (to put it crudely) trash for that matter. this is how serious i am this time about the word- and i dont think i have to apologize about what i truly believe in. love God? love His word.
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4 comments:
I love what you last said, that transformation follows when we understand the Word for what God meant it to be... lest it becomes nothing more than pride in mindful understanding of what it means, with a lack of genuine change and belief that the Word is LIVING!
i think along thw way,we have forgotten that the word is indeed living.lets take baby steps towards God in this aspect.we are all learning :)
Sometimes there can be no compromise and we have to take a stand. It hurt me to my bones when what we believed in is seen as being too "judgemental" or "holier-than-thou" attitudes. Yet when we are really humbled by the Lord, he reminds us about our personal journeys too. Just like Paul or Peter, they didn't become great Apostles overnight. They had their struggles and the Lord kept rebuking and correcting them in love. It's this love that broke thru our hearts that causes the change in our lives. So now that we are older and bolder, we ought to become wiser too. For the Grace the the Lord has showered upon us, is for us to show grace to those that are with us.
Continue to persue the Lord thru His word. John MacArthur said this in his book "The Keys to spiritual growth":
"Each day we can progress in our spiritual life towards a further, higher, personal, experiential knowledge of God and Christ. We can go past His Word to the God who wrote it and know Him more personally."
I was surprised when I read "go past His word". He was not advocating that we neglect the Word. The objective of the book was to encourage believers to grow in their faith by obtaining the keys to spiritual growth thru knowing what God has revealed in His Word. After we know God thru His word, then can we go past His Word to the God who wrote it and know Him more personally.
I love that! It's a really balanced view that encourages an experiential encounter with God after we know Him more personally thru His Word.
To that I say "WOAH"!!!
WOAH. well written,really well written. i love that quote! WOAH.
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