Just a Thought! - 19 November 2012

"Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You." (Psalm 119:11)

How highly do you value the Bible and its message for you? Your answer may depend on how much you practice what it tells you. Or it might depend on how often you read or study it. It may simply depend on how thick the dust is that has settled on it since you last read it. Too often we tend to put the Bible aside for other things in life as if reading it is optional.

Busyness and Sin

There are two things in our lives that tend to keep us from the Bible - busyness and sin. Too many people allow their lives to become so filled with activities that they have little time to read the Bible. As a result, they depend on what other people have studied about the Bible than actually studying it themselves. When this happens, then we begin to sin more and maybe even justify our sin if someone points it out to us. We ignore what the Bible actually says because we have not studied it for ourselves.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). Although in this context He was not speaking about the Bible directly, the principle is true none the less. If you value things that are not of God; such as possessions, idols, self, sin, etc. then that is where your heart will be. Those things will consume you and you will do anything for them. Even neglect God and his Word.

However, if you value the things of God, including God's Word, over everything else, then you will become so passionate about the Word that you will want to study it as often as you can, and you will want it to change you. And when it does, the things in life that seemed absolutely important previously, will seem less so. The truly important things will then be provided, for as Jesus promised later in the Sermon on the Mount, "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

There is a saying that is so true in this regard: The Bible will keep you from sinning, but sin will keep you from the Bible.

Hide the Word in Your Heart

So many claim that they cannot memorise the Bible. However I can almost guarantee you that you can quote 10 arbitrary facts off the top of your head? You probably know the words to a number of TV commercials by heart. You could probably also sing along to a number of well-known contemporary songs on the radio without even thinking about it. Men, I bet you remember a whole host of sports or car facts.

Yet for some reason we believe that we cannot memorise the Bible. Did you know that in the time of the Bible, a young Jewish boy could quote the entire first five books of the Bible (Genesis - Deuteronomy) by heart by the time he had his bar mitzvah at age thirteen? What a challenge for us!

So what is our excuse? I suggest two: laziness and a low value of Scripture.

David in our verse above treasured the Scriptures in his heart. Also in Psalm 119 we read that David meditated on the Word, that he delighted in God's statutes, and that he loved God's law. How many of us can say that?

How much do you study the Word of God? How much do you treasure it and delight in what it has to teach you? Do you consider it to be essential to life, or is it merely a book you take to church on Sunday or a weekly Bible study? How much dust does it gather on the shelf?

The challenge to all of us today is to value God's Word far greater than any other worldly possession, and to hide it in our hearts as much as possible. Allow God's Word to change you from the inside out.

Just a Thought!

© 2012