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Like Paul expressed in 1 Corinthians 12:1, “Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.”

Have you ever studied what Scripture says about “spiritual gifts?”  The key passages are Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4.  From these passages we observe some overriding thoughts that should govern our study:

1.  The church is not merely a building or an agency, it is a living organism.  The church is the Body of Christ and Christ is the head of the body.

2.  The church cannot function properly without the operation of spiritual gifts among its members.

3.  The exercise of spiritual gifts within the church leads to unity, not division.

4.  Discovering our spiritual gifts involves offering ourselves up as living sacrifices to the Lord.  We yield, we present our bodies, we have no right to ourselves.

5.  There is a distribution of gifts in the body, so in a way we can say there is diversity in unity.

6.  Spiritual gifts are grace gifts and there is a measure of faith in exercising these gifts.

7.   When you exercise your spiritual gift, you will be fulfilled and others will be edified.  God will be glorified.

8.  The exercise of our spiritual gifts should make us less self-conscious and more others-conscious.

9.  We often have a central, motivating spiritual gift; however, more than one spiritual gift may be seen in one believer.

These are just a few points of emphasis as you begin a study of spiritual gifts.

Do you know your spiritual gift?  If not, begin by asking God to show you.

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Many times in life we are overcome by worries.  There are so many things to worry about.

Jesus talked about this to His followers.  He said that “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in” and make our lives unfruitful.

One thing that helps me overcome worry is to remind myself who my Heavenly Father is and how He takes care of His children.

A favorite hymn of mine is “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”  Listen to the words of this great hymn:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

God, our Heavenly Father, is faithful.  He has been faithful.  He will always be faithful because He loves us.

He has shown His love toward us through His Son.  Our Heavenly Father has redeemed us by the blood of the Lamb.

When I follow Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, I become a child of God.

He gives us the right to be adopted into His family by grace.  We are born again into His family.

And because we are in God’s family, He is now our Heavenly Father.

The Lord God tells us in Scripture, “I will live with you and walk among you, and I will be your God, and you will be my people.”   “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.”  2 Cor 6:16-18

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”  Eph 1:3

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  James 1:17

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1

“The Lord knows those who are His.”  2 Tim 2:19

Our Heavenly Father takes care of His family.  Our Heavenly Father protects His family.  Our Heavenly Father provides for His Family.  Our Heavenly Father is faithful and shows favor to His people.

“The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.”  1 Thess 5:24

“His love reaches to the heavens, His faithfulness reaches to the skies.” Psalm 36:5

“His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  Psalm 119:90

Our Heavenly Father has made a provision for our sins, why would He not continue to provide for us?

We can trust in our Heavenly Father because He is faithful to His people.

So why is it that we worry?

Why do we as children of God not experience peace?

Why is it that we are filled with doubts and with worries each day?

Let’s look at a passage together where the Lord Jesus instructed His followers not to worry.  Look at Matthew 6:25-34

Jesus had gathered his disciples around to teach them about their Heavenly Father and how to live their life on this earth.

In this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to “God the Father” many times.

He wanted his followers to know what it meant to be a child of the Heavenly Father.

Read Matt 6:25-34

What does this passage tell us about being a child of the Heavenly Father?

1.  First, if I am a child of the Heavenly Father I do not need to worry.

Jesus said it another way.  He told the disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  John 14

Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything.”  Phil 4:6-7.

What do we do if we are troubled?  Jesus told us to “Trust in God, trust also in Me.”  Trusting our heavenly Father takes away the troubles of our heart.  We must watch over our heart with care.  The best way to watch over our heart is to trust God.

Also, if we are anxious we should pray to our Heavenly Father.  We can cast all of our cares on Him because He cares for us.  When we pray to our Father, His peace guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.  Only He can take our worries away. We must trust Him, we must pray to Him.

Remember that your life is short.  The Bible tells us it is a vapor, it is short.  We are encouraged not to waste our life by worrying.

You cannot add to your life by worrying.

2.  If I am a child of the Heavenly Father, He will feed me and clothe me.

The Bible tells us “the eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time.”  Psalm 145:15

The Lord gives us the food we need for our bodies, but also the food for our Spirit.  He gives us His Word to feed us spiritually.

The Lord clothes us and covers us with His Righteousness.

The Lord feeds us and He clothes us, so do not worry.

Read the accounts of George Mueller and John Haggai.

3.  If I am a child of the Heavenly Father, He knows what my needs are.

The old song said, Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows my sorrow.

Jesus reminded us that our Heavenly Father knows.  He knows our needs and our troubles.

Scripture tells us that “God knows our hearts.”  Luke 16:15

Psalm 139 tells us, “Lord you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up.  You know my thoughts.  You know my ways Lord God.  You know the words I say before I say them.  You know the days of my life and they are written in your book.”

Isaiah said the “God tends His flock like a shepherd.”  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

“The Lord gives strength to the weary, He increases the power of the weak.”

“When we hope in the Lord, our strength is renewed.”

We have both physical and spiritual needs.

They are both important, but sometimes we neglect our spiritual needs to focus more on our physical needs.

Some of us spend more time working out, rather than working in.

Example:  runners on Sunday morning

4.  If I am a child of the Heavenly Father, I must learn to go to Him first when I have needs.

The Bible says that the Lord is near to all who call on Him.  Psalm 145:18

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.   Heb 4:16

We are told to “come near to God, and He will come near to you.”  James 4:8

He never leaves us nor forsakes us.

Learn to go to our Heavenly Father first with our needs and cares.

Jesus encouraged the disciples to pray, “Our Father who art in Heaven.”  He said that our Father knows what we need before we ask Him.

I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who feeds me, who clothes me, who takes care of me, and knows all of my needs.

Are you part of God’s family today?

If not, you can be.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by me.”

Are you having doubts today, are you worried about your life?  Come to Jesus and come to the Father.

The Bible says if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Come to Jesus today and become part of God’s family.

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The situation in Northern Africa this week prompted thoughts on the common traits of corrupt leaders.  Typically these traits center on control.  Their leadership is coercive.  They rely on oppression and force to stay in power.

Along these lines and perhaps timely, Mitch Horowitz provided a short essay for the Wall Street Journal this week entitled, “When Does a Religion Become a Cult?”  Horowitz is editor in chief of Tarcher / Penguin in New York and the author of Occult America.  Through his studies and observations, Horowitz sees common threads among various religious groups that give them the stamp of a “cult.”  These criteria include:  behavior control, information control, thought control, emotional control, financial control, and extreme leadership.

Christians should learn much from these observations.  It should prompt us to “be on our guard.”  How do we guard ourselves?  What does Scripture teach?

Surely this is an important concept because our Lord Jesus instructed His followers often to be alert, take heed, be on your guard.  Paul uses this concept as well when writing the epistles.  For example, Jesus said in Luke 12:1, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees.”  Paul’s closing comments to the church at Corinth include the admonition to “be on your guard” (1 Cor. 16:13).

Take time to study a few more verses that deal with the concept.  I would suggest that Proverbs 22:5 be the basis for your study:  “In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares, but he who guards his soul stays far from them.”

Review passages surrounding these verses as well:  Acts 20:31 and I Timothy 6:20-21.  Also, Paul’s letter to the Colossian church provides a good study on this topic.

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Proverbs 11:30  “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

God desires his children to be wise in the way they live.  It pleases God when we ask Him for wisdom.  When God told Solomon to ask for anything he wished, Solomon asked for wisdom and it pleased God.  We know that God wants us to ask Him for wisdom.  James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

So when I ask God for wisdom, I must look in Scripture to see what the Lord is telling me.

In Proverbs 11:30, God is telling me “he who wins souls is wise.”

Have we forgotten today that God is pleased with us and with the church when we are involved in “soul-winning?”

It is His desire that we be a witness for Jesus Christ and that we share the Gospel, which is the Good News that Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and that through Jesus we are saved.  We are given eternal life through Him.  We are reconciled to God through the blood of the Lamb.

This is one of the purposes of the church, to be involved in bringing others to Christ.  To be involved in winning souls for the Lord is of supreme importance.

But we have to question whether the church is an effective witness for Christ today.  We see the church placing importance on so many other things than on sharing the Gospel and winning souls for Christ.

Why is the church not effective in winning souls for Christ?  Why are we not seeing many come to Christ for salvation?  What makes our witness for Christ weak today?  Why should we be concerned?

First, I might ask whose responsibility is it to share the Gospel?

Some of us may say, “The pastor is responsible, let him share the Gospel.”

Another may say, “Oh, the missionary is responsible to share the Gospel.”

The Bible tells us plainly that it is the Christian who has the responsibility to share the Gospel.  We are to be a witness for Christ to those who are lost.  Sharing the gospel is God’s method of saving souls, and we need to do our best in carrying this out.

Let’s look at 1 Peter to learn more about our witness for Christ, to learn more about winning souls for the kingdom.  Peter was concerned that believers understand who they were in Christ.  The Gospel message is a central theme in this letter from Peter.  Here are some of the basic thoughts in the Gospel message as expressed in 1 Peter:

1 Peter 1:3-5  ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:18-19  ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

1 Peter 1:23  ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

So we have this great hope, but why is it that the church is weak in our witness for Christ?

Why are we weak in sharing the Gospel?  Let’s look at some possible reasons:

1.  We get discouraged by the trials we face.  1 Peter 1:6 says that the Christians suffered grief in all kinds of trails.  We need to remember the purpose of trials.  1 Peter 1:7

2.  We struggle with being holy.  1 Peter 1:15-16  How can I live a holy life?  I Peter 1:13-14

3.  We lack unity in the church.  I Peter 2:1  How do we fight against hypocrisy, envy, deceit?  I Peter 2:2-3

4.  We are disobedient.  I Peter 2:8  How do we deal with disobedience?  Focus on who we are as His people.  I Peter 2:9-10

5.  We are not submissive.  We need to learn to serve one another.  I Peter 2:13-17

6.  Our marriages are not an effective witness.  How to be a better witness?  I Peter 3:1-2, 7

7.  We are not prepared to share the message of the Gospel.  1 Peter 3:15

8.  We are not living for God.  1 Peter 4:3   Live for the will of God, 1 Peter 4:2

9.  We lack love in the church.  What is the picture of love in the church? 1 Peter 4:7-11

10.  We lack humility, we are proud.  1 Peter 5:5-6

We are His people, we are His witness, we are to be faithful in sharing.

Some sow, some water, but God brings about the fruit.

Where are you today in your witness for the Lord?

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Sunday was an unusual day.

We celebrated the Lord’s Supper at church and by doing so we celebrated the death of our Savior.

On the other hand, this is the beginning of December and we begin preparing for our celebration of Jesus’ birth.

So we are caught in between two important events, the death of our Savior and the birth of our Savior.

When the disciples gathered with Jesus for the Last Supper in the upper room, they ate the bread and drank from the cup.  At this time Jesus instructed them to “do this in remembrance of me.”

But is there anywhere in Scripture where Jesus told people, “Remember my birth?”  We celebrate Christmas each year but we don’t have specific instructions about this in the Bible.

So is it necessary that we observe the birth of Jesus each, celebrating His birth?

I say absolutely yes.  We must remember His birth as much as we remember His death.

And I believe the Bible supports this.

Let’s look at some reasons from Scripture why it is important to remember Jesus’ birth this time of year.

1.  First, we should not forget that when Jesus was born God became flesh and dwelt among men.  Jesus was God incarnate; He came in the flesh and became one of humanity.

We tell the Christmas story often, we love hearing about the manger, the shepherds, the angels, the star, the little town of Bethlehem.

But all of these parts of the story are not the most important part.

The most important part of the story, and the most amazing, is that when Jesus was born God became man.

This was foretold more than 600 years before His birth but the prophet Isaiah.

Read Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6.

This one fact, that God became man, is what makes Christianity unique compared to the other religions of the world.

Since Jesus Christ was God, does that mean he existed before He was born at Bethlehem?

The answer is yes.

John said it this way, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

Paul explained this further to the Colossian church.  Read Col. 1:15-20

Jesus made the claim that He existed before coming to earth in the flesh.  He said this to the Pharisees, “Before Abraham came to be, I am.” (John 8:58).  This was a claim to his existence before Abraham and also a reference to His claim to be God in the flesh.

If you look throughout history, many have denied the deity of Christ.  Even today several groups deny that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh.

Many people today say that Jesus

Was a great teacher

That He was a great man

That He was a good man

That He was a wise man.

But they will not say that He was God the Son.  They deny the authority of Scripture and say that Jesus never claimed to be God.

This Christmas let’s remember first and foremost that the birth of Jesus meant that God came to earth, and Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost.

2.  So let’s go back to our original question—why celebrate the birth of Jesus?

Here is another reason;  the Christian life is not just about death, it is also about birth, about new life.

We often talk about the Christian life as “dying to ourselves.”  We quote Gal. 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

But becoming a follower of Christ involves a birth also.

2 Cor 5:17 says it this way, “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come.”

We have “new life” in Christ, we have a new likeness.

In fact, we have been born again into a new family.

Jesus told us that we must be “born again” to be a part of this family.

Read John 3:1-8 where Jesus explained the new birth.

It is especially important during this Christmas season to remember that Jesus was born so that we could be born again.

3.  One other reason why we should celebrate Christmas, remembering the birth of our Savior, is that it gives us the opportunity to share the Gospel, to share the Good News.

Because of Jesus’ birth and his death, and what this has accomplished for us, we are to bear witness.

What better time to bear witness than at Christmas time when we focus on the birth of our Savior.

The Bible tells us that we should bear witness of our Savior.  Jesus gave these instructions to His disciples in Matt. 28:18-20.

The facts of His birth strengthens our witness for Him.

The Bible says that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

In fact, the name given to the baby born in the manger tells us why He came.  Matt. 1:21 “She will give birth to a Son and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save people from their sins.”

This Christmas, let’s remember these things.

Remember that God became flesh.

Remember that because Jesus came, we also may be born again.

Remember that others need to hear our witness about who Jesus is and why He came.

Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again.  He also told him that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

Do you have that life today?  You can by placing your trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Why not make this Christmas season the most special of all by remembering why He came and trusting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

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This is the time of year that we pause to give thanks.  It is one of my personal favorites of all holidays because we share with our families and friends one of life’s most precious commodities:  our time.  No presents, nothing but our time.  Of course, some great meals are thrown in there too.

Typically, we are reminded to give thanks by our pastors as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday.  It is a practice that Christians should engage in regularly.  It is good for our spiritual health.  Just this past week my pastor shared the account of a man who came to him for counseling a few years ago.  This man suffered under a load of troubles.  His marriage, his money, his mental health, all was in turmoil.  My pastor counseled him to turn his attention to something for which he could be thankful.  The man said he couldn’t do it.  The pastor took a piece of paper and led this man through a few ideas about things he could express thanks.  When finished, they had come up with about fifty things.

The next year my pastor met with this man.  Some time had passed and this man seemed transformed.  He said that of all the things he was counseled on, the one thing that helped him the most was making the list.  This man kept the list and referred to it regularly.  The focus on thankfulness transformed this man’s life.

Today, I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal on the health benefits of saying thanks.  I quote, “A growing body of research suggests that maintaining an attitude of gratitude can improve psychological, emotional and physical well-being.   Adults who frequently feel grateful have more energy, more optimism, more social connections and more happiness than those who do not, according to studies conducted over the past decade. They’re also less likely to be depressed, envious, greedy or alcoholics. They earn more money, sleep more soundly, exercise more regularly and have greater resistance to viral infections.”

God knows this, so why don’t Christians listen?  Here’s what Scripture says:  “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  Christians ought to be the most thankful people on earth.  Christians should remind themselves that it is God’s will.  Christians should have the corner on the market of thankfulness.

Giving thanks honors the Lord.  It should not become a cliché.  It is an opportunity.  It is good for our health.  It is good for our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

This is the one ingredient we do not want to leave out of our Thanksgiving recipes.  I encourage you today to pause, to thank God for all your blessings and hardships, and to tell others how thankful you are for them.  Thank you Lord for this opportunity to share something that I hope will transform someone’s life today.  Amen!

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Phil. 1:6  He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.

Sometimes I don’t think Christians grasp how God is at work in our lives.  How do I know this?

1.     We think if we work hard enough at the Christian life we can accomplish something.  The problem is that if we do this, we get tired or get disappointed at how slow things get done.

2.     We think we can set the agenda for our lives, but it is God’s agenda that takes priority.  We may set goals, but it is God’s goals that matter.

3.     We don’t have time for interruptions.  We must remember that God is at work in the lives of our friends, our neighbors, our family and that His timing is what counts.

We need to remember Phil. 2:12-13  Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.

A maturing believer realizes that God is at work in us and that we must persevere and be patient for the spiritual growth that God wants for us.

If God is at work in me, what is the evidence?  Where do I look to see the maturing process in me?

When God is at work in you, you sense His presence. Exodus 33:13-14

When God is at work in you, you become more sensitive to sin and its destructive power. Romans 6:6, 8:2

When God is at work in you, you are becoming more sanctified.  1 Thess. 4:7, 5:23

God is working in you to bear fruit for the Kingdom.  Eph. 2:10, John 15:1,5

You bear the fruit of the Spirit when God is working in you.  Gal. 5:22-23

God is at work in us to help us understand His ways and His involvement in our lives.  Romans 8:28

God is at work to help us to be quiet before Him and to help us pray.  Jesus and solitude, Rom. 8:26-27

God is at work in us to draw us near to Him and to encourage us to seek Him.  Ps. 42:1-2, 63:1

God is at work in us to involve us in evangelism.  1 Cor. 3:6-9, Matt. 9:37-38, Col. 4:5-6

God is at work to make us less self-centered and more Christ-centered.  Gal. 2:20, Phil. 1:21

Is God at work in you today?

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I love Post-it notes.  They could probably be one of the most useful inventions of the 20^th century.

These little colorful pieces of paper can be found all over the place in my stuff.  We use them for bookmarks; maybe even tear in half to be mark two books.  I take notes with them when I find an interesting thought to record for future reference.  They really come in handy when you are doing research and need to mark spots you will need to go back to later.  Of course, we use them to write little notes to each other, particularly sweet little love notes.  Look on the refrigerator or the inside door of a kitchen cabinet and most likely you will find a sticky note with some wise or thoughtful remark.

I have wondered how many characters of text a Post-it will hold, the traditional-sized one.  Then I thought about “tweets.”

Twitter, the social networking and microblogging platform, limits their tweets to 140 characters.  I can picture a tweet fitting on a Post-it.  I have not tested this, but you can imagine it would fit.

According to some stats from June 2010, there are about 750 tweets sent each second of each day.  That is over 65 million Tweets posted each day!  If they average 100 characters per tweet, that would be over 6.5 billion characters tweeted per day—amazing!  And probably most of it only carrying meaning for the followers.

Well, guess what?  You followers of Christ have a better option than Post-its or tweets.  We have God’s Word provided for us, not in tweets or Post-its, but in book form.   I read somewhere that there were over 4 million characters in the text of one version of the Bible.  Imagine the task of setting the text for the Gutenberg Bible in the mid-1400s!

Now this thing about sticky notes, tweets, and the Bible.  Sticky notes, over time, lose their stickiness.  They fall out of place and get lost.  Tweets are nothing more than electronic urges given the form of a line of text.  They are tweeted and then dissolve into space somewhere.  Yes, you can keep a record, but who wants to keep records of urges?

The Bible remains sticky, it is not the urge of a man but the inspiration of God.  We follow complete thoughts and spiritual wisdom rather than limiting ourselves to a set number of letters or characters.  If you have a printed Bible, it can always be booted up without a battery and relies on the charge of the Holy Spirit.

What if God waited until this age to give us His written Word?  Would it come to us in the form of sticky notes or tweets?  If so, could we follow the reasoning, the thinking, the mind of Christ through brief aphorisms?  We try to do this today with our many paraphrases in books and other Christian writings, but does this really capture the mind of God like the Bible does in its present form?

I think these are questions worth asking.  Jump into reading the Bible and check it our for yourself.  God might just speak to you in a way you have never experienced.  Don’t resist this urge.

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A friend gave us a compilation of the writings of Gordon H. Clark and we have enjoyed thinking through some of the arguments for biblical authority.  “The Bible alone is the Word of God,” says Clark, underscoring his commitment to the hallmark of evangelical theology.  I like this other thought expressed so well by Clark, “The biblical doctrine of inspiration demands that we view language as a divinely-appointed tool for the communication of thought.”

Now on to the question, is there currently a resurging interest in reading the Bible?  Maybe.  Take for example the New York Times bestseller Radical by David Platt.  Radical reached as high as number 10 as a NYT bestseller back in May or June.  Platt talks a lot about areas around the world where believers gather to read and study God’s Word in secret church meetings.  He started a “secret church” at the church he pastors.  Then, at the end of the book, he challenges Christians to do 5 radical things for one year.  One of the radical things, number 2 on the list, is to systematically read through the Bible over the course of the next year.

Many ministries and pastors have encouraged plans to read through the Bible in a year.  But Platt combines it with other radical challenges in a formula that would stir the American churchgoers to consider more deeply what it means to follow Christ.  I do pray that this challenge does not go unnoticed, and that pastors from all pulpits in the U.S. would issue a similar challenge.  I believe God wants us to hear from Him and He gave us His Word for this purpose.

The other challenge I see that might indicate God’s people are being drawn back to His Word comes from The Seed Company, the Bible-translation wing of Wycliffe.  It’s called the Blank Bible Challenge.  For 353 million people in the world, the Bible is a blank book.  They have no Scriptures in their language.  On the flip side, 66% of American Christians never or rarely read their Bibles.  So the challenge is this: spend 28 days opening up God’s Word and reading.  Also, listen to Bible storytellers on The Seed Company website and other inspirational web videos.   Through this exercise, they hope to develop interest in funding the translation of the Bible into the final 2200 languages where the Bible is unavailable.

All of this encourages me.  There must be a resurgence in reading God’s Word so that we know and do God’s will.  We must pray for laborers to be sent into the harvest and maybe this resurgence in Bible reading will help encourage those who are being led in that direction.

Look around your day-to-day life and see if you need more of God’s Word in it.  Learn how to study it, to treasure it, and to make it a priority.  The Lord wants us to seek Him and being in His Word is a wonderful way to carry this out.

Related Articles

• The Seed Company Issues ‘The Blank Bible Challenge’ to U.S. Pastors (eon.businesswire.com)
• The Problem With Christians Who Don’t Believe in the Bible (urbanbellemag.com)

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You say you are a follower of Jesus Christ.  You say you pray to our Heavenly Father.  You have 3 or 4 Bibles lying around your dwelling.  You attend church somewhat regularly.  You hang around other Christians.  You say you want to know God’s will and to do God’s will.

How much are you reading Scripture?

This question presupposes that you believe the Bible to be God’s Word, inspired and useful for teaching and training in righteousness.  If this is your belief, why not spend more time reading God’s Word?

I heard a quote recently that alarmed me, that Christians spend only an average of 3 minutes a day reading the Bible.

I can think of many things that we do each day that takes more than 3 minutes and we gladly do many of these things without thinking.  So why is it so hard to spend more time in reading Scripture?

The quote comes from Dr. Paul Negrut, President of Emanuel University and Pastor of Emanuel Baptist Church in Oradea, Romania.  Dr. Negrut is no stranger to persecution.  He tells fascinating accounts of the lives of Believers in an oppressive Romania pre-1990.  In these accounts, one thing that comes up over and over again is the power of God’s Word.  Men gave their lives and their strength to smuggle Bibles into Romania during these years.

I love Romania.  The Romanian Christians are some of the most genuine Believers I have ever met.  Their prayers are fervent, their churches are blessed, and their outreach is productive.  They give God’s Word a special place in their lives and their hearts, spending much time reading and studying during their Sunday services.  The preaching and teaching of God’s Word receives great emphasis.  They require a person to read the entire New Testament before they are baptized.

Three minutes a day?  Revelation 1:3 says “Blessed is he one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it.”

I believe there is blessing in reading God’s Word.  It is nourishment to our soul and it is guidance for our lives.  Pause, stop, take time to dwell longer than 3 minutes today.  You will find something happens in your heart and your hunger to know God will increase as you seek Him in His Word.

Related Articles

• The Seed Company Issues ‘The Blank Bible Challenge’ to U.S. Pastors (eon.businesswire.com)