Issue 949 – Pieces – January 4, 2023
All preachers and teachers have “hobby horses,” passages or themes they preach regularly. If you ever attended “the cowboy church,” you would know my mantra was “Read the Word, read the Word, read the Word.” I do not believe knowing the Bible too well or understanding it too deeply is possible.
As a believer, my relationship with and knowledge of the Bible grows constantly. I have read it cover to cover many times in numerous translations, and some portions of it many more times.
I know the Scriptures far better than when I became a believer in the mid-1990s, but nowhere as profoundly as I want to/should.
I think I have a good working knowledge of the Scriptures, although I am amazed at how often something pops up that I don’t recall ever reading. I know that I have, but sometimes the Holy Spirit shines the spotlight on something familiar, causing us to see it with fresh eyes.
I was recently listening to the Word at bedtime (my typical practice) and heard something I had missed. It was the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11ff), a familiar story that I had read dozens of times, heard many sermons on and even preached on. I thought I was conversant with the account.
That story is well worth reading again to refresh your memory. If you aren’t familiar with it, or to refresh your memory, Jesus’ friend Lazarus is sick, and his family wants Jesus to come to heal him. Jesus delays, and Lazarus dies. After Lazarus lay in the tomb for days, Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. There is a lot in that account about the power of life over death, the role of Jesus and more. It would be easy to get several sermons out of that passage. It’s powerful stuff.
In the next chapter (John 12) comes something I had overlooked or forgotten.
When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. John 12:9-11
The religious establishment hated Jesus because He threatened their power and livelihood. They planned to kill him and eventually succeeded, not knowing they were fulfilling God’s plan and that Jesus would be raised as well.
I had forgotten that their hatred was not only of Jesus but extended to anyone associated with Him. Rather than marvelling at the resurrection of Lazarus, they hated him and planned to murder him.
They could not deny the miracle or the power of Christ. Instead, their blind hearts allowed them to contemplate murder as somehow being of service to God.
We might wonder how easily they justified their planned sin, yet we can do the same. Perhaps sin isn’t murder, but we can still fall into the trap of rationalizing it.
We have all been guilty of walking in sin, even in sin that we knew was wrong and rationalizing why it was okay. Our hearts truly are wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).
My point today is a simple reminder that we need to read the Word. Even the passages we are familiar with can teach us new things or refresh our memories of what we have to learn.
I encourage you to read the Word. If you have never read it through once, make that your goal for the year. If you have read it many times, reread it in a different translation.
Each time we do, the pieces become a little more clear and fit together a little tighter.
Choose your action plan and then “read the Word, read the Word, read the Word.”
Be Blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
__________________________________________
Please like and share this post with friends and your circle of influence. Also, feel free to comment.
Did you know that we have an email version? Subscribe today https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/ gleanings-1
_____________
We also have a website
https://gleaningsfromtheword.com
______________________________
All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2023 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
___________________________________________
#Gleanings #theWord #devotional #encouragement #Biblestudy #faith #dailyBible #verseoftheday
#GleaningsFromTheword #KevinCorbin #bible #jesus #god #faith #christian #love #Christ #Father #pray #Holyspirit #YHWH #yahweh #Jehovah #bibleverses #jesuschrist #church #prayer #christianity #scripture #gospel #hope #truth #godisgood #worship #believe #blessed #amen #grace #Word #readTheWord #Lazarus #Resurrection #John11 #John12