Pastor Bryce Mensink
This morning’s message is aimed at those who seldom (or even never) (1) get alone and (2) open their Bibles and (3) walk away with something memorable that God is saying to them. I’m trusting that disciplined Bible readers will listen to the message, too. (If they find it hard to listen, they can always pray that the Holy Spirit will use the message to change the lives that need changing.)
I’m not going to aim at making these fellow worshipers feel guilty. I am going to address two reasons why, I believe, some church goers are not regular Bible readers. These two reasons may not be clear until the end of the message. I will not give them away in this article, nor at the beginning of the sermon. I will be giving hints and I’m starting right now.
Many good books that explain how to read the Bible are available and in print. As I preach, I’m not going to recommend any, nor am I going to give you any quotes from my favorites. Although the sermon will point out the ideas from the paragraph-after-next, it will not contain much detail. You’ll have to go treasure hunting in your Bible for the details. (Yes, another hint.)
At a time of life when I needed more discipline to open the Bible and get a personal message from God to me, I discovered a simple practice that is promoted by Billie Hanks, Jr. in The Spiritual Journal. (Billie is founder of Operation Multiplication www.ieaom.org. Yes, he’s a Texan). He gives credit to Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Valley Community Church for the idea.
One of the things Bible readers can do is take a sheet of paper (or a computer screen), write the following capital letters on the left hand column, and, as God speaks, fill in what he says:
S - Sin / What sin does God want me to confess?
P - Promise / What promise does God want me to claim?
A - Attitude / What attitude does God want me to change?
C - Command / What command does God want me to obey?
E - Example / What example does God want me to follow?
One of the reasons why I will not elaborate on S-P-A-C-E is because, at least at first, this may seem like too much detail for people too busy to open their personal Bibles. So, when I preach, I’ll tell you something about Martin Luther’s Quiet Time and I’ll outline it, both in print (if you turn the page) and on the projection screens (if you look up).
I’m praying that God uses these words to motivate people--who have no time to open their Bibles--to open their Bibles.
