Live to Be Mastered by Scripture

The call to be mastered by anything already feels sort of out-of-balance with the world in which we live. We are called to be masters of our own selves, masters of our own fate, and masters of anything that we wish to use for our own advantage. However, with Scripture – with the holy inspired words of God – they are of most use to us when we work not to master them but to be mastered by them. 

The Pitfall of “Mastering” Scripture

Pitfalls come along unnoticed and often in a manner in which one could scarcely imagine why they might exist. That is their mode of attack – to catch those ignorant enough to believe they do not exist. These pitfalls are present within our lives, especially in places that seem to us as if they are most secure – as is often the case with the Bible. It is the Bible-reader who strives to dominate the pages of Scripture that will find himself swallowed up within those pages. The words of God, given to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are an ever-increasing ocean of knowledge, revelation, insight, application, and truth. To think that we are able to take hold of the thoughts of God in a way that we may be able to master them is foolish. But we try. We try because we like to make gods of ourselves. We like to make gods of ourselves because we don’t know the true God as we ought. The Triune God that lives. And, in making gods of ourselves, the first wave of attack is usually brought against the Bible. It is assumed that if we can master Scripture then we can mold it to our liking. History shows that changing the Bible to fit social and worldview outlooks always moves people further from Christ and closer the world.

The Joy of Being Mastered by Scripture

When we give ourselves up to the life-changing work of the revelation of God that is found within the pages of the Bible we come to find that there is joy in being mastered by Scripture. It is joy to know that the great and glorious God of the universe has not hidden himself from his people. It is joy to know that God has revealed himself in the written word and has been pleased to care for that written word over thousands of years of copying and translation. And it is joy to know that this book that contains direct revelation of God is mainly about God. We are called to be mastered by a book that tells us who God is and, in that, there is joy. A joy that comes with the realization that within the pages of the Bible we can come to know who Jesus is – this Jesus that died and was resurrected in such a way to atone for and secure to himself those that would call him Lord and Christ.

Five Ways to Be Mastered by Scripture

  1. Read a lot of the Bible. Take big gulps of the Bible. Read the Old Testament in 90 days, the New Testament in 30 days. Read the Gospels in one week. Read great amounts of the Bible in shorter periods of time. Ask God to give you the strength to read the Bible in a year.

  2. Read the Bible consistently. Follow a reading plan. Stay regular with your readings, not off and on or when it feels right. Ask for God’s grace to discipline you to read every day from the Bible.

  3. Memorize verses in the Bible. Memorize a verse a week. Memorize verses that are beneficial and helpful in your walk with God (verses about God’s faithfulness, righteousness, love, mercy, and grace). Write down the verse on a 3”x5” card and take it with you throughout the week. Ask God to help secure his word in your heart.

  4. Read about those that have been mastered by Scripture. Learn from the lives of those that have given themselves to conforming to Christ through their reading of the Bible. Charles Spurgeon said that if you pricked John Bunyan anywhere, he would "bleed Bibline." Examine the lives of people that are greatly steeped in Scripture and see how it has shaped their lives. Ask God to give you people to shape your life.

  5. Look for Jesus in all of the Bible. Jesus is not just found in the New Testament; he is found in all of Scripture. Look for him. The prophets spoke about the Messiah. Read their writings and soak in the hope that they had for a savior. Ask God to show himself to you within the pages of the Old Testament. 

Follow me where?

When Jesus issued the invitation to follow him he didn't tell them up front where he was going or leading them to. Which is amazing. They knew he was a Rabbi. They were honored they were being drafted by a Rabbi to follow him. Which would have been contrary to how an individual usually entered into a Rabbi/disciple relationship.

So they got up and started following.

They would have been impacted by the messages they were hearing. This Rabbi was teaching differently, as one who had authority. He was teaching about life in the kingdom of God now, not just for the age to come. He was raising the bar concerning thought life and motive and actions. Maybe not raising the bar but showing where it should have been all the time. 

Then they observed his actions. How he spoke to women. How he mixed company with unclean people, like those with leprosy. How he spoke to sinners and tax collectors. How he healed a variety of people. How he exercised authority over demons. How he raised Lazarus from the dead. How he spoke to the religious authority. He was different.

At times he had an edge, but it was not mean spirited. At times he was blunt, but not obnoxious. All the time he spoke truth. He was open about his agenda. 

People down through the ages have looked at the life and teachings of Jesus and have come to a variety of different conclusions as to what he was all about or what he was leading his disciples to become. He had a goal in mind. He still has a goal in mind.

Love. God and others. 

 

Follow me

Six times in the book of Matthew Jesus said, "come follow me." Each with a slightly different aspect to following Jesus. Meditate on what it means for you to follow Jesus.

1. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4.19

Observations: Following is voluntarily. Following requires leaving where I am presently. Following means giving leadership to another. Following results in learning.

2. But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."Matthew 8.22

Observations: Following requires us to leave things, important things, to others. Following means paying a price emotionally, relationally, and financially.

3. "As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." Matthew 9.9

Observations: Following means adapting to other environments. Following means adjusting to living in the light, rather than darkness.

4. "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10.37-38

Observations: Following Jesus is intended to be a priority. 

5. "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matthew 16.24

Observations: Following is accomplished with full hands. We deny ourselves and we pick up a cross. 

6. "Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. " Matthew 19.21

Observations: Following means we must release our grip on whatever was keeping us from following Jesus in the first place. Making this choice is often the hardest part of following.  

What is the Gospel?

The gospel is good news. The good news is a person, Jesus Christ. Why is Jesus Christ good news?

Because he came to make all things new. In order for all things to be made new he: lived a sinless life, died for our sins, overcame death and the grave by resurrecting from the dead, and invited men and women to follow him in to this new creation. 

Our part is to believe in Jesus. 

It seems simple and it is. When we believe, a whole chain of events are kicked into motion.

We are given a new identity. 

We are given a family. 

We are shown how to connect what we do with what God is doing.

We experience forgiveness.

We are given the Holy Spirit who guides us, reveals truth to us, and corrects us.

Following is proactive. You cannot follow Jesus and remain in the same place. I am not talking about moving geographically. I am talking about changing the way I think, act, work and relate to God and others. 

Carpenter’s Walk for a Cure

Many of you know Brandon and Lyndsey Carpenter they have been coming to LWCH for a while now. Their daughter Layli has food allergies. She has been allergic to dairy and shellfish since she has been born. She also has slight allergies to gluten and egg whites. This makes it a challenge having to read all labels and when they go out.

They will be participating in the 2014 FARE Walk for Food Allergy to help raise critical funds and awareness.

Their story was featured on Star 105.7 you can read it Here

Carpenterfamily.jpeg

If you would like to support them on their walk you can do that on their team page. Click Here

 

To quote her article on start 105.7  “I think the more who are aware, the more sensitive they will be.  I empathize with these kiddos and don’t want them to be treated any differently because they cannot participate in certain things or have to eat a special treat at a birthday party or have to sit at a dairy free or peanut free table in the lunchroom. It’s a passion of mine and I want every child to know that they are okay just the way they are.  My dream is that society will raise their children to be empathetic, sensitive and understanding of each child’s differences-whether it be a food allergy or otherwise.”

Experiencing the Wonder of Being Knit Together by God

An answer that is often provided when conversations of existence and an ultimate cause are had is one that presents humanity as, for the moment, extremely lucky. It is said that billions of years ago hydrogen reacted in just the right way with nothing else in the universe and now we have life. Life that dreams, imagines, assembles, tells stories, loves, and sacrifices. It does seem that if the universe and all of life did come about in the manner that is most regularly taught then we would be the luckiest of all evolved beings that we know of. We have been the ones to persevere to the point of being at the top of the food chain. We win. Only, can we really say we win if we are here by chance? Chance would receive the credit for our existence and chance would be glorified for the fact that the human race has sustaining power.

Another option to this question of existence and ultimate cause is God. In an existence where an endless string of causes would need something to even render existence a possibility there would have to be the uncaused cause, or God. Now, to be clear, this uncaused cause or God is not a little-g god, this is the capital-G God – Yahweh, the great I AM, the Lord of Lords, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect unity. And this personal God has spoken to us through his word and his Word. In Psalm 139, David writes, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” David’s soul knows the fact that he is not responsible for his coming into being and neither are his parents or their parents before them. He is the sole work of God.

Realizing this truth will make you stop in wonder of the glory and power of God. The power of God to make something out of nothing and the glory of God that you are reading this right now and have not yet stopped to make sure your heart beats or made a point to take the right amount of breaths to stay conscious. We need not concern ourselves with those things. Instead, we can rest alone in the reality that this God is upholding His creation by the word of his power and, because of that, we are free to wonder!