| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Stay strong” Our Bible verse for today: “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their effort … A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9;12 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Let’s stay strong together” I want to end our theme for this month by reviewing two of the most important ways in which we stay spiritually strong. First, we need to apply ourselves to the study of the Bible every day. The Bible is God’s Word to us. Not only does it reveal God and His ways, but as the writer of Psalm 119:105 reminds us, it also provides the understanding and guidance we need in order to walk through life in a manner that honors God and which is therefore in our own best interest. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” The best life any of us will ever have is the one lived in the center of God’s revealed will. In his great little book, “Eat this book: A conversation in the art of spiritual reading”, pastor and author Eugene Peterson teaches that more than just reading the Bible, we need to enter into it; we need to experience it as if we ourselves are involved in the scene being described on the page; and then we are to go and live what we have learned and experienced. The Bible is meant to transform us. For instance, in the parable of the Good Samaritan a Bible scholar asked Jesus “who is my neighbor?”. Jesus answered the question by telling a story about two men who did not help a person in need, contrasted with one person who did. Then Jesus told the scholar, “go and do likewise”. What we learn there is that the appropriate question for us to ask is not “who is my neighbor?” but “how can I be a neighbor?”. We are to go and do likewise. And if we do, our study of the Bible will have changed how we live. The other important point we should take with us out of this month of devotionally thinking about how we can stay strong, is that we need each other. We’re at our best when we’re together. That’s what Solomon meant in Proverbs 27:17 when he wrote, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.” It’s why the writer of the letter to the Hebrews urged us in Hebrews 10:24, “And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together …” And it’s what Solomon was writing about in Ecclesiastes 4:9;12 (above). The point is that we need to be together because when we are, we help each other to stay strong. These are perilous times we live in. It’s important for Christians to stay spiritually strong. We need the Word and we need each other. When you attend the gatherings of the church, you hear God’s Word explained in ways that apply directly to your life, and you are with those who will help you to stay sharp and to stay strong. I encourage you to stay in the Word and to stay in Church. Let’s stay strong together! God Bless, Pastor Jim |
| Copyright © 2021 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. |
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Oak Hill Baptist Church 