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Sunday, September 4, 2011
Dedicated!
We all need an exciting cause to consume us. Everyone has an inner need to be “dedicated”. Could be to work. Maybe fishing. Might even be grandkids. (Not me!) You could be “dedicated to the one you love”. NO, I will not be playing this song today. Many of you are probably too young to remember this song anyway! I could go on naming things that we become dedicated to, but since this weekend is college football season “kickoff” maybe football is currently at top of list around here. Just check out Facebook posts. Regardless of you favorite team, a LOT of people were dedicated to this sport this weekend and will be until the championship game next year. And then it is, “wait until next year”! Oh, if only we were this dedicated to Jesus Christ. Another lesson for another time!
The word "dedication" is kin to our English words "declare" and "devote." It comes from a medieval term meaning "to pledge”. If you're dedicated to something, you're committed to it wholly and earnestly. You've found something that demands your life, your soul, your all.
For Christians, this should be Christ and His Word. The original version of the lesson had “is” instead of “should”. I changed it because I am not sure that we are as dedicated as we should be. Evangelist John Wesley said, "I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God Himself has condescended to teach me the way .... He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book."
In our lesson today let’s look at some things to help us be dedicated to The Word of God.
Read
If we're to be people of one Book, we have to read the Word. A recent article in a popular online magazine referred to "the rise and fall of the Bible" in our modern world, saying, "American Christians buy millions of Bibles they seldom read and don't understand." Referring to the Scriptures, the author said that people today buy "truckloads of the things" but never read them. The average Christian household has nine Bibles and purchases at least one new Bible a year. "But actually reading them is another matter," the author said with cynicism.
Now, I am sure that's not true of you or me; but it reminds us that we should really work to maintain our daily habit of reading the Bible.
Start reading today where you left off yesterday, consistently and systematically. Isaiah 34:16 says, "Search the book of the LORD, ... "
The apostle Paul writes to Timothy: “Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.” (1 Timothy 4: 13).
The book of Revelation promises, "God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church,…" (Revelation 1:3a). If you don't have a plan for reading the Bible, devise one for yourself today and start it at once. In an earlier lesson, I encouraged you to start by just reading 5 minutes a day, if you don’t already have a plan.
Study
Study the Bible. How marvelous that God gave us a book large enough to contain all we need to know from Him, yet small enough to fit in our hands. We need to search it out. The idea of studying the Bible overwhelms some people, but you can begin by simply reading a verse and thinking about what it says. Write it down and study the structure of the sentence. Track down cross-references. Look at the notes in a good study Bible. Read the passage in its context, and keep reading and studying it until it becomes clearer. The Bible says, "How amazing are the deeds of the LORD! All who delight in him should ponder them." (Psalm 111 :2).
Remember God’s Word
The original of this lesson says memorize, but since I am terrible at memorizing, I feel that “remembering” the concept of God’s Word is okay!
Job 22:22 says, "Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart.” By remembering a verse of Scripture, you're inscribing God's Word on your brain. It sinks into your subconscious and even into your unconscious thoughts. It makes the Bible portable and allows the Scripture to transform your life by the renewing of your thoughts. I see a lot of people posting their favorite verse or verses on Facebook. Do you have a verse that you like to remember or ponder?
Meditate (think about) on God's Word.
This is the forgotten habit of the church. Encircled by radios, televisions, computers, and portable entertainment devices (can you say “iPod” or maybe – cell phone?), we're seldom quiet long enough to meditate. But try mulling over a verse of Scripture during your morning shower, your daily commute, or before falling asleep at night. If you walk for exercise, turn off your cell phone and think about a specific passage, asking God to give you insight into its meaning. According to the Bible, this is the secret of success. Joshua 1:8 says this about God's Word, "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.”
Practice
But here's the important thing. We can read, study, memorize, meditate, and even pray the Scriptures; but unless we obey its words, it does no good. Jesus made this clear at the end of His Sermon on the Mount. He told of two men, each of whom built a beautiful home. One man built his on a solid foundation, while the other built his on the sand. The first house stood the force of a howling storm; the other house collapsed.
In explaining His analogy, Jesus said that both men had heard the Word of God. The difference was obedience. The first man heard our Lord's sayings and did them. "But," He went on to say, "anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand." (Matthew 7:26).
Whenever you read a verse, ask: Is there an action I need to take, a command I need to obey, a change I need to make, or an attitude I need to adopt? Learn to read the
Bible obediently.
Share
Finally, dedication to the Word of God means that we share it with others. This can be as simple as quoting a verse to a coworker, inviting someone to church, leading a Bible study, or passing this lesson along to a friend. If we're filling our hearts with God's Word, it will show up in our conversation, for Jesus told us that “What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Luke 6:45
How important is God's Word in your life? Which habit can you improve today? Be dedicated to read, study, remember, meditate, pray, practice, and share God's Word. Let's pray with John Wesley: Lord, make us people of one Book!
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