August 14
Neh 7:73-9:21 | PS 33:12-22 | Prov 21:11-12 | 1 Cor 9:1-18
We all have different upbringings in the faith. Though my parents were beautiful and loving, I was raised in a relatively faithless house. I rarely went to church in my younger years, and after being confirmed, I pretty much never went to church. Our holidays were joyous, but completely secular in nature. For me, when I first encountered God's Word it was like nothing else that I had ever read or encountered. But there are many who are raised in the church. As opposed to individuals like myself who were ignorant to God's Word, they have heard it over and over again. Many have allowed the familiarity of what they have heard for years result in a complete loss of zeal and wonder. I spoke with two young women recently in which this was the case. God's Word is truth. When it is not resonating, the problem is with us, not its contents. If you grew up reading one version, perhaps the King James, change it up, try another like the New Living Translation. Perhaps get a Bible with commentary, to allow someone else to help apply what you are reading. Change the time when you read. Change the worship music that you listen to. God is exciting. If we are not feeling that excitement, we need to do more than simply complain about our apathy, we need to stay in the Word but change what is stale within ourselves.
We read in Ezra 8:3, "Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law." No doubt, they had heard much of this before, but now Ezra had their attention. We next read in 8:7-8 of a group of priests and Levites who, "... helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading." They helped make God's Word make sense to them, helped them understand and apply. We read the result in 8:9, " For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law." They didn't merely hear in their heads, they were convicted, cut to the heart.
In the prayer in Nehemiah 9, we read in verse 17, "They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks,...". Couldn't the same be said of many of us. We sadly, take God lightly. The same God who created the world, parted the Red Sea, who rose from the grave, is the same God who is very much present in our current times. Sadly He is missed by the overwhelming majority. If you have allowed your wonder of Him to grow cold, please don't simply complain about it. He didn't change, you have. He is worthy of our awe and reverence. Listen anew. Make the necessary changes to fall in love with Him once again.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: