Spiritual Maturity - Jeremiah's Vow

Asbury is not OUR revival

What’s happening at Asbury is not MY revival. It’s not OUR revival. My participation in it is tertiary at best. And even though I thought about making a trip, I’ve decided against it.

Honoring God and Asbury University

As I have been reflecting on the Asbury Awakening¹, I have found myself conflicted by the “conversation” happening among those not in Wilmore.

As an outsider and spectator, I want to make sure my heart is in a posture of humility. I don’t want to be dismissive or in denial regarding what is taking place.

I also don’t want to assume “ownership” or “rights” to something I have not prayed for specifically and have not been laboring for intentionally.

Let me say it bluntly. What’s happening at Asbury is not MY revival. It’s not OUR revival. My participation in it is tertiary at best. And even though I thought about making a trip, I’ve decided against it.

Whatever benefits I may glean from what God is doing in Kentucky, it will be to praise him for visiting a people who have called for a special impartation of his presence. Other than that, it would be improper and disingenuous of me to go there and try to reap where others have sown.

I don’t need a spiritual fix. The students, faculty, and staff of Asbury don’t have to prove anything to me. And God doesn’t need to verify his purposes with me so I can put my stamp of approval on it. Please just sit down with that foolishness!

Discernment is a Process, not a Weapon

My temperament is generally “wait and see.” Not out of disinterest in what is happening. I have been filled with so much joy seeing what God has been doing. Reading and hearing the testimonies have encouraged me profoundly.

I am the type of person who trusts that if what is taking place is of God it will last and if it’s not, it will pass. Over the years I have learned that discernment is a process we grow into. We must never use it as a weapon to manipulate others to our way of seeing or doing things.

Either way, God is neither flustered nor bothered by my response or lack thereof. There do appear to be some who have been. And I think it’s right to offer some clarifying counsel on the tone of this conversation.

When we do not make assessing our presuppositions and bias a part of the discernment process, we invariably make avoidable errors. We will become the very people we are warning against. And, what’s worse, we may do it with a self-righteous spirit.

So, with that in mind, I would like to offer some thoughts.

Maturity takes Time

As I’ve grown older, I hope I have also grown wiser. But, only the trust of others can confirm that. Maturity takes time. And the reason it does is that some things have to be seen, felt, and even tasted in order to properly understand them.

Here are some of the thoughts I have been processing as I have been reading, watching, praying, and sharing with some friends and colleagues.

As with anything in life, we are almost always dealing with tension created by opposing forces. So what are those forces at play here? I will provide some examples to help us move the discussion along.

There is honest questioning.

There is dishonest questioning.

Honest skepticism.

Dishonest skepticism.

Honest caution.

Dishonest caution.

Honest concern.

Dishonest concern.

How do we tell the difference?

I’ve been asking myself this for the last few days.

As a pastor, I have to navigate between my role as a shepherd of souls and my life as a disciple. And it’s at the intersection of those two realities in my life that I find clarity.

If my motivation is wisdom, truth, genuineness, and the advancement of the kingdom, then I am leaning toward honesty.

But if what is happening needs to prove to me that it’s real, then I’m leaning toward the dishonesty side.

Being concerned for the well-being of another’s soul is honest. Being concerned about a “Simon the magician” (Acts 8:9-24) getting some air time is dishonest.

Desiring that more people experience a renewal of faith or the start of it is honest. Being concerned that people are going to miss out on the “real thing” is dishonest.

Voicing caution because of the temptation to sensationalize and even force a move of God is honest. Hyperventilating about how this move of God is not like or not as good as others is dishonest.

Beware the Sin of Pride

Once again, I sense there are some of us who are looking at the right things in the wrong ways. Fighting for something while undermining it in an attempt to “protect” it.

We should take care of how we speak. For we may be speaking out of turn!

The following clip always reminds me of this. God knows what He’s doing.

We esteem our wisdom too highly; our maturity too quickly; our discernment too prescriptive; and our longing more passionate than it truly burns.

When God shows up, the mouths of fools are shut, the strength of muscles melts like wax, and the thirst of parched souls is satiated.

I’ve seen that in my own life and journey with God. And I’m seeing glimpses of that now at Asbury. Even from a distance.

That doesn’t mean it’s “perfect.” Nothing handled by human beings ever is. But just because it’s not how I would do it doesn’t make it wrong or “less than” what God can use.

We must be careful not to become the appraisers of the quality of God’s plans. That is a very dangerous position to assume.

If there are those trying to take center stage for selfish reasons, they will be revealed. And no one will pay them any mind.

So let not your hearts be troubled. The king is still reigning. And he is more than capable of sorting out the wheat from the chaff than we are. Or ever will be.

I would like to give credit to Dr. Timothy Tennent for using this framing of what is happening at Asbury [↩]

Lent 2022 | Day 9: Bless

The word bless is one we don’t use very much in our culture or in the church anymore. One of the reasons is we no longer have a clear understanding of its purpose. The idea of blessing is often attributed to what happens before a meal or after someone sneezes. But this is a radical diminishing of the purpose of the blessing.

When the Bible speaks about blessing it is calling us to be aware of a relationship. The relationship that is supposed to exist between God and his people. God desires to bless us because of who we become when we enter into a relationship with them. The promise of the gospel is that when we trust in Christ we are adopted into the family of God. And as a result of this God takes ownership and responsibility to care for us. In this care, we experience the kind of love that awakens us to the beauty and majesty of God himself.

The reality of our relationship with God is most clearly seen when we find ourselves feeling distant from him. When we sin or when we find ourselves falling short of what we desire to be we project those feelings onto God. But God is not hindered by our emotional fluctuations or our physical failures. As a matter of fact, what we do or get wrong does not affect God’s consistent character.

As we walk this life with God and with others we experience blessing when we are able to live out the fullness of what God has been putting within us. What I imagine this means is that when we embrace the transformation the gospel initiates, we no longer become conscious of what needs to be fixed. Rather we live out our lives in as normal a way as we can. In the same way that many of us have no consciousness of our breathing until we think about it, the Christian life can be just as normal. Where we’re living our lives embodying the fullness of the gospel’s promises without giving them much thought.

God is not hindered by our emotional fluctuations or our physical failures. As a matter of fact, what we do or get wrong does not affect God’s consistent character.
Tweet

Spiritual maturity is evidenced by this instinctive living out of the gospel’s imperatives. When we are able to do what we believe in, in an almost instinctive manner, we have moved into a deeper understanding of the faith. Not because we have some academic proficiency but because we have internalized the fullness of God’s grace.

This is what it means to be blessed. Where there is this mindfulness of what is good and true. We were able to enjoy the simple and often times mundane realities of life. Where we can identify those moments where God’s grace punctuates the seemingly ordinary and makes it something more. It is in this transformed thinking that we see all that could be even when it is not realized in our lives.

In many ways, this is the hope of Easter morning. That what was only a potential hope has become a reality that is undeniable in our lives. But we’re not there yet. There is still some time before we can revel in the fullness of God’s glorious grace as celebrated on resurrection Sunday.

For now, we continue our journey through the season of Lent. Considering what is yet to come in the light of where we are. It can be challenging to pause and look and see what is happening to us and around us. But if we don’t take the time to reflect and consider what God is trying to do even now, we may very well end up missing how God is shaping us in the process of this journey.

Lent 2022 | Day 4: Remember

What is the purpose of remembering?

It is to give you a chance to relive and rehearse what you’ve been through without necessarily having to live through it again.

One of the obstacles we have to overcome when engaging in a time of remembering is dealing with emotions that haven’t been addressed or have gone unresolved. These memories are important even when we do not necessarily have a clear path forward.

The goal of remembering should be to enter into a deeper analysis of the events and to discern, as best we can, the lessons we can take away from them.

We should not be surprised when we find ourselves stuck on a memory unable to move forward. This is actually quite common. It’s at times like these when we should seek the counsel of a trusted friend or mentor. Sometimes in conversation the combined wisdom of your lives can bring about some new insights that may have gone unnoticed before. This may not be the best approach for everyone.

The goal of remembering should be to enter into a deeper analysis of the events and to discern, as best we can, the lessons we can take away from them.
Tweet

Sometimes writing down our memories and reflections can be helpful. Other times using our imagination to put ourselves into that situation may be the way to go. Regardless of the method we use, the goal should be to look at the event and the choices that we made, and possibly the mistakes that were made in order to gain a better understanding of how we can grow and move forward.

As we continue our journey towards Easter, it is good to take a moment to reflect and remember on those things that could keep us from embracing the fullness of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This time of reflection is key in helping us to consider where we are on our journey of faith.

As we look back and even consider where we might go in the days, months, and years to come, remembering when we are not in the immediate emotional state of that event gives us an opportunity to think and look at what happened with a little more clarity.

This is not an easy task for many. But in spite of the challenges, it is well worth the effort. When we remember and reflect and consider where we have been and where we would like to go we grow as individuals and as members of the faith communities to which we belong.

We should not underestimate the power of our own spiritual maturity and development. It may be something other people do not consider to be of value. However, as followers of Christ, we are called to a continual journey of development. This journey can sometimes lead us to places and conclusions we did not anticipate or expect. But regardless of where we end up we can put our trust in Christ to lead us from there to the place he said he was preparing for us.

To walk by faith can sometimes feel like an overwhelming challenge. But that challenge should not cause us to despair or lose hope. We should continue to turn our attention towards Christ, allowing him to continue his work in us as he conforms us into his image and cultivates in us those disciplines that will yield a harvest within our lives.

Series Page

Who’s Driving Your Emotions?

When others use our emotions either against us or for their own goals, they are not trustworthy sources of counsel.

God gave us emotions to serve as brakes. Not the gas pedal. But there seems to be a growing epidemic of emotional pedal confusion¹ in our world. Then, unironically, people are surprised by the carnage and chaos that results.

Watch out for those who are constantly pressing the gas on your emotions. They are not trying to help you. They are using you. Controlling you. And you should ask yourself why you let them.

What’s worse is those people are doing you a disservice and spiritual harm. When others use our emotions either against us or for their own goals, they are not trustworthy sources of counsel. I will grant that not all people who do this may have malicious or nefarious objectives, but the end will be the same. We have to become more discerning in who we allow that kind of influence in our lives.

This happens in the church. At your workplace. On the news. In your family. And especially on social media. It’s going to happen anywhere two people interact.

But, learning to be a steward of your own heart is the key to becoming free from these tactics. It can be challenging to set up healthy barriers. But doing is so is an essential part of growing emotionally and spiritually.

One of the most important disciplines we can cultivate is reflection. Taking the time to think about what is happening in and around your life. Slowing down long enough to make sure you are going where you planned and doing those things that are healthy and good.

When we reflect on those moments and events that caused us emotional frustration, we begin to discern how we respond to different stimuli. This is how we grow.

It’s one thing to be passionate. But it’s quite another to have your passions enslaved. And even more dangerous when our passions are used for the purposes of another’s agenda. We can be so passionate about something we can’t actually change we lose sight of who we are in the process. This is a recipe for being deceived and misled.

It’s one thing to be committed to a cause. But it’s quite another to give blind allegiance to anything. Particularly anything that does not provide a path toward forgiveness and reconciliation.

Too many people can no longer tell the difference. Why? Because they have invested too much of themselves into what they are promoting. And no one wants to admit they are wrong. That they may have been misled. Or even manipulated.

When our identity is subsumed into another’s or into a cause, no matter how noble its purported aims, we will become cogs in someone else’s machine. This is not how we are to live our lives. We should not surrender our personhood to anyone or anything. Who we are is a gift from God. To give ourselves in a way that only rightly belongs to God to anyone or anything earthly is a form of idolatry.

Good intentions are not good enough. Good intentions are the internal reasons for why we act. And it’s important to have them. I will not deny that. Wanting positive results can be and is commendable.

The challenge is recognizing whether or not those intentions actually produce the intended results. If they don’t, and we continue to do those things that are inflicting obvious harm, then we have become the very thing we were trying to oppose. Our intentions have to be evaluated by the results they produce. Otherwise, we will give ourselves, and others, a pass on their actions when the results are negative.

Judas had good intentions. But he ended up betraying the Son of God. And Peter had good intentions, but when confronted with his association with Jesus he denied Him three times. One could not forgive himself, the other found forgiveness he didn’t deserve.

Our intentions should not be the metric we use to evaluate what we do. What results from our actions should be. And the results must be under constant evaluation.

Steps for Reflection

Because learning how to reflect on our lives and our responses is so important, I’ve asked my friend and contributor to this site to provide us with a simple pattern we can use. There is also an example below. When you find yourself feeling like you are not clear about a reaction you had to an event or situation go through the following steps.

1. What emotion do I feel the strongest right now?

(If you’re having trouble identifying it, use a feelings wheel – you can find one fairly easily on Google)

*Express your emotion to God, be specific about why you feel that way.

2. What might God want to say to me in the midst of that emotion?

(It can be helpful to use the Psalms in this case – Google the emotion you feel and the word “Psalm” and see if you find one that you identify with)

*Pray, listening to what God might say about that emotion to you.

3. What is a healthy way to express that emotion to those around me?

(This might be the step that requires you to talk with a trusted mentor in the faith – despite a culture that wants you to react immediately)

*Act on the emotion in a Christlike way that displays empathy and humility.

Example:

Someone shares an example of injustice in the world that is horrible.

1. What emotion do I feel the strongest right now?

Anger. Specifically frustrated and infuriated.

*God, I am angry about this injustice. Why would such a thing be allowed?! Do something!

2. What might God want to say to me in the midst of that emotion?

I see examples of anger about injustice in several Psalms, so I read those Psalms.

*It seems like God is saying it’s okay to be angry over such things, to trust Him that He will enact justice, and to seek Him on how to participate in His justice.

3. What is a healthy way to express that emotion to those around me?

I think about a humble and empathetic way to respond in my context. I seek the advice of trusted mentors.

*I commit myself to on-going prayer and periodic fasting concerning this injustice. I decide to start a petition to change the laws and I contact lawyers and politicians to begin making changes.

Footnotes:

¹ Pedal confusion is the phrase used to describe when a driver presses the wrong pedal while driving. Usually leading to an accident.

“and wherever you go, there you are.”

Here’s the longer quote from Thomas á Kempis:

“No one feels in his heart what Christ felt in his Passion, except the person who suffers as he did. So, the cross is always ready and waits for you everywhere. You cannot escape it no matter where you run, for wherever you go, you are burdened with yourself, and wherever you go, there you are. Look up, look down; look out, look in. Everywhere you will find the cross, and you must endure patiently if you wish to have inner peace and gain eternal life.”
The Imitation of Christ

This quote reflects a fascinating challenge in the modern age of “self-awareness.”

Or really faux-self-awareness, if we’re honest – as too many have become only self-aware enough to explain away, justify, or mask their flaws.

Self-awareness is vital in Christian maturity. But it is not an end in itself (like it can become for the world around us).

The end for Christians is becoming like Jesus. And so we must take another path alongside the quest for self-awareness (at the very same time really), and that’s the road of self-crucifixion.

We can only die to ourselves when we actually know ourselves. Ironic isn’t is?

Many people have been taught to live very well within the façade of an idealized false self. Unfortunately, religion can many times cause people to become entrenched in that false self even more if they aren’t careful.

It looks like presenting a version of oneself to the world that isn’t completely true. It’s modified. Typically enhanced or exaggerated. And unfortunately something people can get so used to presenting that they lose themselves completely in it, and usually require a jolting of sorts to finally deal with the reality of who they have become…

For the Christian, our calling is to become fully aware of ourselves (the good, the bad, the ugly) and to own those aspects of who we are, so that we might be able to crucify the things in our humanity that must give way if Jesus is going to take precedent in our lives.

And this practice of self-awareness requires us to be fully present.

Right where we are.

With who we are.

In view of those around us.

Which is where the quote comes into play:

“and wherever you go, there you are.”

Sounds very profound, doesn’t it?

Yet, ironically, it is very simple.

Simple, and yet very hard to live out.

Why? Because we are experts at distracting ourselves from being fully present.

With work.

With TV.

With music.

With social media.

With hobbies.

With vacations.

With religious entertainment even.

The list is endless of that which we can use to perpetuate distracting ourselves from who we are so that we can go on pretending we are the false self we’ve become accustomed to.

Popularity.

Money.

Power.

Titles.

And more only make it harder in this process as well.

But we chase after such things. Not even realizing that what can be seen as a blessing externally can internally quickly become a curse.

Those things can cause us to puff up our false self and thicken the barrier to genuine self-awareness, which keeps us from truly being present.

And what changes when we become fully present? We can become fully aware of God’s presence with us.

And what changes when we become fully present? We can become fully aware of God’s presence with us.
Tweet

Which allows us to be tuned into the Spirit.

Which allows us to become more like Jesus.

Without disciplining ourselves to be present, we will find ourselves merely participating in the grind of life.

Reacting.

Pressing.

Crashing.

That’s pretty much the cycle of an unfulfilling life, isn’t it?

I’ve lived it.

Maybe you have too.

Maybe you still are…

We can choose to keep running the race of life like most of the world around us. Burning ourselves out and burning thru relationships with those around us.

Or, we could look to the life of Jesus for another way.

A better way.

The way we were created to live.

An eternal life full of inner peace.

But the only way to get there is the pursuit of being fully present.

And that only comes as the stream of self-awareness and the stream of self-crucifixion merge into the river of life that Jesus has been offering us this whole time.

The Power of Wise Counsel

What do you do when you rant? Most people just let it rip. But, that is not my style…usually.

Well yesterday, I wrote something that was pretty “rant-y”. I wrote it, and was about to hit “publish.” But something said I should check with a few people first.

Well, I did and as a result I put the rant in the trash.

One of the lessons of living in this period in history is the reality that once we put something out there, it is impossible to take it back. That is true of inter-personal relationships and it is true of social media.

We are all learning. We are all capable of saying encouraging and beautiful things. But, there is a “bonehead” living in each of us. And, from time to time they want to get out. We just can’t let them.

When I heard back from the people I sought counsel from, I was disappointed. I wanted them to tell me to let it rip. But they didn’t. They told me what they believed was right and wrong with my rant. And the wrong outweighed the right. It would not have produced the effect I wanted.

To be honest, I wanted to say it. But, in the end, wise counsel won out. Wanting to do something is not justification enough to do something foolish.

Now, my “rant” was pretty mild as far as rants go. But it would not have been helpful or kind. It would have felt good, but it would not have advanced the conversation. So, rather than put something out there that I would second guess, I hit delete.

The lesson for me was twofold. First, if you have access to wise counselors, use them. When you do you everyone benefits from it, not just you.

Second, don’t take it personally when what you hear back is not what you wanted. If you trust your counselors, trust their counsel. Pride is a dangerous friend and an even worse counselor.

I am still growing. Still learning. Still in need of reminders that just because it popped in my head does not mean that it needs to escape my lips.

Lent 2019 | Day 11: The Difficulty of Obedience

The great difficulty about obedience is that it is runs counter to our instincts to do what we think is best.

The great difficulty about obedience is that it is runs counter to our instincts to do what we think is best. We don’t like the idea of substituting our judgment for that of others. Whether we realize it or not, our tendency is to trust our emotional responses to the circumstances we find ourselves in and the decisions we have to make. This can be a dangerous method to making important decisions in life.

The irony is that the season of Lent calls us to forsake our own impulses and tendency and intentionally do one of two things. We can set something we value aside or we can add something we know we need to do that is of spiritual value.

In the Christian faith, obedience is vital if we are going to see anything resembling maturity. If we cannot control our tendencies, insecurities, impulses, or whims we will find it difficult to make progress. This is why obedience is such an important aspect of maturity.

The greater our obedience the easier it becomes to know that we are living in a manner worthy of the Gospel. Our obedience is the expression of our inward convictions and understanding of God’s character and his commands.

The apostle John said as much when he said in his first letter.

³For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3 ESV)

Not only does the apostle equate our love for God with our obedience to his commandments, he adds this extra reminder. John lets the reader know that for those who are children of God, obedience should not feel like a burden! That is a remarkable thing to say. And it is an even more remarkable thing to experience. But, it all begins with a commitment to obey.

The Pastor’s Greatest Enemy

It was one of the most pronounced encounters with the Holy Spirit of my life because I knew that I had crossed a line in my relationship with God.

I have shared this story in a couple of places, but I will share it again here for those who may not be familiar with it. It is the best example I have of what can happen to those of us called to vocational ministry if we are not watchful over our lives. I actually give thanks to God for his grace in teaching me through the events you will read below about how wrong my thinking was with regard to my place in God’s great plan.

I was 19 years old and had accepted the position as Interim Pastor of a small, country church. I want to say from the outset that this was a wonderful church filled with some of the finest folks I have ever known. This is not a story about them exactly even though God used the intersection of our paths to teach me an important lesson.

My responsibilities were to preach on Sunday morning and evening and to teach a Wednesday night bible study. At the time I was trying to figure out what I should be doing because I knew God had called me into full-time ministry. At the campus ministry where I was involved, I saw an advertisement had been posted for someone to come and preach. After some “encouragement” (a story for another day) I called and made plans to go and preach. For the next three weeks, I was asked to return and preach the following week. After the fourth week, I told the members (all 7 of them) that I would continue to preach until they were able to find someone to take over the position full-time. I was still in school and did not feel that I should take on the church.

Everything was going wonderfully (or so I thought). After several months I was growing frustrated because I felt that my talents were being wasted in this small, country church. I decided to vent to my dad as I was driving home one Wednesday night. I can’t remember if I actually said these words, but they capture the sentiment from which I was speaking. To summarize, I was essentially telling my dad, “I am too good for this place.”

Even now as I write those words it is shocking how pretentious and arrogant they are. But that is how I was feeling at the ripe old age of 20. My dad reminded me that I wouldn’t be there forever; that God was using that small church to help teach me some things about preaching and ministry. I don’t remember everything he said, but I do remember not being entirely satisfied with his words.

A few days later it was Sunday again. The service was going as normal. We typically sang a song before the message and this morning a song I had never heard before was chosen. It is called “Little Is Much If God Is In It” by Kittle L. Suffield.

Here is a rendition of that song by The Gaither Vocal Band.

They do a much better version of the song than I heard that day. However, I can tell you, as God is my witness, I will never forget how the Holy Spirit used that moment and that song to absolutely take a wrecking ball to my pride.

In particular, the second verse brought on me such a heavy weight of conviction after the things I had said and thought in the days prior, that I began to weep. I lost all control. It was one of the most pronounced encounters with the Holy Spirit of my life because I knew that I had crossed a line in my relationship with God. I could not deny it and I accepted the burden of my shame. I had not only been disobedient, I had become rebellious against God’s purposes in my life.

The second verse goes like this:

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.

After that day, I made a promise to God. I told God that I would NEVER hold back in my preaching or shy away from any opportunity to share the Gospel. I promised to never look at the numbers and determine how good I was going to preaching. If all I was called to preach to were 7 (as was the case in that small church), I would preach with everything within me. And if it was to 700 or 7,000, I would preach with the same energy and passion. I have not gone back on my promise.

If you are a pastor or called to some form of vocational ministry, you have a great enemy. But, that enemy does not exist “out there.” That enemy is that small voice that keeps telling you that some task is beneath you. It is that feeling that you are too good for some assignment or that you are too talented to listen to someone of lesser ability. That is not the posture of a servant of God.

Your calling is a gift to you. God did not have to call you, but he did. But your calling is also a gift to those to whom you are sent. When you accept an assignment you are there to take what God has placed within you and share it with others.

That is why when we hold back we are doing harm to both them and us. We harm those we serve because we deny them the best we can offer. And, we harm ourselves because we grieve God with our disobedience, causing a rift in our relationship with him.

I want to encourage you to not give ground or to give in to this enemy. Never forget that where you are is where you are supposed to be. God is at work if we are available to work alongside.

I’ll say this as final thought. It’s something my dad says frequently: “I want to be so available to God that he has no choice but to use me.” That has become a helpful reminder to me.

How about you? How available are you to God?

Confessions of a Functional Deist

Sometimes we assume too much about how far we have traveled down the road of spiritual maturity.

Sometimes we assume too much about how far we have traveled down the road of spiritual maturity. We assume that we have gone farther than we actually have. We talk with too much confidence about what we know; pretend at having more insight than we actually possess; greater wisdom than we have actually attained. I know that has been a part of my story. I have learned a few lessons along the way, but I try and remind myself that if I am not careful I can slip back into bad patterns of living.
Continue reading “Confessions of a Functional Deist”

Is God’s Word Enough For You?

This morning I witnessed something very interesting. My father, who is also the pastor of my church, read the letter to the Colossians. That’s it. He said a few words before and a few words after, but the whole of the message was the simple reading of the letter.

As I watched the reactions of the various people, I noticed that many followed along for a few verses. Most, however, simply began to listen to the reading. I think many were surprised by the fact that nothing was added to the actual reading. There was no commentary, no explanation, no illustrations, or applications. The Word spoke for itself.

bible-reading

I have become an advocate of reading the Bible the way it was written. Instead of trying to study what other people have said, I have taught people to read the Word of God and engage in it as if it were a conversation. A dialogue with God, using the words on the page to serve as the other side of the exchange.

I think the funniest reaction occurred when, after our early service, I walked out and asked some of those attending, “Is the scripture not enough?” Most of the people laughed at the thought, but I have to wonder if there is something to this. Have we trained our members to rely on the pastors preaching to sustain them? Have we, somehow, drawn people away from God and his Word by not teaching them how to engage and interact with the scriptures?

I guess the question that I have to ask myself is this: Have we become so accustomed to the extra words of the preacher that we are not satisfied with the Words of God? There is no doubt that people are become far more biblically illiterate. Many who come and sit in churches each week do not see the Bible as something they can handle on their own.

I think about the privilege we are afforded to have access to the scriptures in our own language. I think of the many who sacrificed over the centuries to make this opportunity possible.

This morning I was given a real life example. We all must remember that God’s word is the only thing we have to sustain and instruct us on this journey of faith. It really must be enough.