LET'S GET REAL

 
Thy word is a lamp to Psalm
my feet and a light to
my path.
119:105

Some of us who are in the older years of life are in more and more spiritual jeopardy the older we get. Many of us have been in church and Sunday school most of our lives. Most of the Bible is overly familiar to us. We may own well marked Bibles which I have said to myself, “So what?” My desire for my own self and friends is that we get real with the things of God. That means not just reading Bibles, but soaking in the Word. Hopefully the soaking will be enough to seep into our spirits where we will respond to the Spirit's leading in our quest.

We're in a new year and the last one was tough. If I learned nothing else, I came, all over again, to appreciate how the Spirit can speak so clearly to us even in the difficult times. His Word is our rock and comfort and because of those days of 2020, I've come to re-evaluate how I approach God's Word. I want a freshness of it in my life not in just looking at a new year, but in looking at my “every days.” Scripture tells us all the things God IS and wants to be for you and me. He says to come to Him when we are weary and heavyladen and He'll give us rest. He stands ready to be all we need and we can be overcomers.

At times, I've read my Bible through several chapters in one sitting, but don't ask me an hour later what I read. Sound familiar? It's not that way all the time, but I don't want that to happen at all. I want to read, even if just one or two verses, that I can chew on, gleaning all the truth from them that I can. In this process, I hope to do some slimming down in my reading so I can really hear what God wants to say to me.

I've been preparing for knee replacement surgery 1/25. I've had most of my duckies in a row for a little bit while looking toward that time. It dawned on me that I had done little in spiritual preparation. I am changing where and what I read. I came up with fixing Scripture verses on a binder ring that I keep with me wherever I go. If I have some free moments, I pull out my little ring with my Scripture cards and read slowly over them. Right now, I'm not trying to memorize them. Reading makes me go word by word, absorbing as I go. The 3x5 cards are cut in half. Every now and then I add a card. It has been spiritually fun and I find nothing wrong with that.

Another thing I like doing is having a lined notebook where each day, I write a verse. Again it doesn't mean typing it on a computer. When I do this daily a verse is impressed in my heart. I may end up with 2-3 or more verses on a page. I write the date and reference on it's own line. If I miss a day, I catch up or keep on moving.

My challenge for all of us is that we get real with Scripture, not casually reading but reading with purpose, applying however the Spirit leads. We've been through some tough times and they aren't over. We must be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Stripped of so many things we've come to love and depend upon, God wants us back with our attention focused on Him. May it be so as we change that date indicating a new year.

Father, thank You for Your patience with us. Forgive our becoming so entwined in the problems of our world, often leaving You to one side. Give us a peace and resolve as You walk us into coming days. Keep us close...nudge us when You must. In Jesus' precious name...Amen