Doing

It has been a while since I last posted. Life gets so busy.

Recently I was visiting with dear friends who lead churches. Our conversation turned towards the Bible and our approach to it. Questions arose like, do we interpret the scripture through our experience or do we accept it at face value? Is the Bible culturally relevant? I must confess that I was a little put off by the tenor of the discussion. I believe that the Bible is THE word of God. It is the measure of all things. It defines what is true and doesn't need our experience to validate it. Before the critic jumps in, I know that there are difficulties, but the problem is not in the scripture but our understanding of it. It is my conviction that we miss the mark when we sit outside the Bible to evaluate what is true. Let me explain, David in Psalm 1:1-2 writes, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (NASU)

The phrase “in His law he meditates” strikes me as the posture that we should hold as we approach the Word. David is suggesting that the scripture drives our very meditations. It is where we derive the premises that drive our thought life. To often we read and then evaluate what we will accept and what we will reject, instead of letting the scripture define what is true and then embracing that truth. To many times we will say, “the scripture says, but…” and then excuse ourselves from what it says

Jesus was very straightforward on this issue. “The one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
(Luke 6:49 from New International Version)

James writes, “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” The word receive in the Greek is more than
give ear to, it involves embracing, making it one's own, and being careful not to reject it. He goes on, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:21-25 NASU)

It is in the embracing and doing that we get insight. If we wait until we understand the word, we make ourselves slaves to our carnal mind. We are “to receive the word implanted”, in faith, which is able to save our souls. David understood the importance of the scripture when he wrote, in Psalm 119:9-16:“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of all the ordinances of Your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and regard your ways. I shall delight in your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.” (NASU)

I want to be a doer of the Word, a man that receives and agrees with God, one who builds on a sure foundation.

Psalm 119:144
Your testimonies are righteous forever; Give me understanding that I may live. NASU