While I was in Michigan in June I heard a pastor talk about
something that his church was doing that was leading them to grow as disciples
of Jesus. First of all he said that
people in the congregation were committing themselves to reading a chapter of
the Bible each day. They weren't all
reading the same chapter, and some of them were reading much more than that,
but at a minimum many people were reading one chapter from their Bible every
day. It's what they did with that
chapter that was making the difference.
As they read the chapter they would settle on one verse from
that chapter and do four things with it. They would read it, write it, pray it
and share it. Reading it was the easy part, as they were reading a chapter to
begin with. Next they would take one
verse and write it down. As they wrote the words the verse and its meaning
would penetrate a bit more deeply into their minds and their hearts. Then they would pray that verse back to
God. As they would lift to God his very
own words the people would find more ways, and stronger ways, in which that
verse had relevance to their lives and the world. Lastly, they would share that
verse with someone else. Sometimes they
would share the verse with people they knew, but as they grew as disciples and
began sharing their verse with people outside of their church they began to see
God work more powerfully in their community.
I've been trying this method since I came home. The verse I
chose today is Psalm 119:9, which says:
"How
can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word."
As I read it, and then wrote it, it was easy to see that its
truth isn't merely for young men, and young women, but for all who love and
follow God. There are so many places in God's word that he gives us guidance as
to how to live, both with him and with each other. He doesn't give us this
guidance to oppress us and keep us away from what we might think of as fun in
the moment, but to protect us as his dearly loved children.
And so then my prayer became one of thanks for his giving of
his word. I asked that I might receive
it in the manner desired, that is as something for my good, even if in a
particular moment I would rather break his rules than follow them. I prayed that as temptation arose throughout
the day I would seek refuge in him and the wisdom of his word. I haven't shared it, yet, but I'm trusting
that God will bring me the opportunity to do so.
The pastor who told me of this serves in inner-city Los
Angeles, in a neighborhood that recently saw a drop in murders from 300/year to
20/year. Twenty murders is still a lot,
but the drop is staggering. To this pastor it is evidence that as his
congregation digs into God's word and leads to growth as disciples, that word
is making a very real impact on the place they live.
Dulce is not inner-city LA, but very real pain is present in
our community as a whole, and in the lives of so many people. May we be people of God who dig into his word
and live by it, bringing peace and true hope to the people of Dulce.
God's word: Lets read it, write it, pray it and share it.
Amen
Scripture quotations
are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by
Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
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