Eat Fast, Pay Less

A hotel in Singapore introduced an express buffet—eat all you can in 30 minutes and pay just half the price! After that experience, one diner reported: “I lost my decorum, stuffing my mouth with yet more food. I lost my civility, . . . and I lost my appetite for the rest of the day, so severe was my heartburn.”

Sometimes I think in our devotional reading we treat God’s Word like an express buffet. We wolf it down as fast as we can and wonder why we haven’t learned very much. Like physical food, spiritual food needs chewing! For those of us who have been Christians for a long time, we may have a tendency to speed-read through the passages we’ve read many times before. But in doing so, we miss what God is meaning to show us. One sure sign of this is when we learn nothing new from that passage.

David’s desire was right when he wrote in Psalm 119:15, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.” That’s the way to treat God’s Word—to take time to mull it over.

Let’s not come to the Bible as if we were going to an express buffet. Only by meditating on God’s Word will we get the most value for our spiritual well-being.

Spending time in meditation,
Hiding Scripture in our heart,
Works in us a transformation
So from sin we can depart. —Sper

Reading the Bible without reflecting
is like eating without chewing.

Our Daily Bread - January 1, 2011
http://odb.org/2011/01/01/eat-fast-pay-less/

Discovering God's Will

God’s plan ensures that every believer reaches his or her maximum potential. He desires that His children live a certain way and make right decisions, so He accepts full responsibility for guiding them. In fact, He promises, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go” (Psalm 32:8). However, our lifetime is not mapped out in a primer that we read the day we are saved. Discovering God’s will is a daily process of trust.

We learn God’s will by reading His Word. Scripture provides a comprehensive guide for any situation. There we find rules and commands that will lead to our success, as well as principles for daily application. The Bible doesn’t detail every possible situation we might face, but its principles equip us to make decisions with regard to any and every circumstance we encounter. Studying God’s Word is the only way for a believer to recognize His will. We discover God’s will through circumstances.

The Lord is actively guiding every incident of our lives in order to stitch the incongruent “threads” together for our good. (Romans 8:28) For example, when I was young, I had no money for seminary, even though I’d felt God’s call to preach. As I discussed the situation one evening with a friend named Julian, my pastor walked by. Julian called him over and then asked if he could help. The pastor told me to come see him. I did, and out of that meeting came a four-year scholarship. Believers must be alert for the moment God reveals His will. Pray every day that He will make you sensitive to His ways.

READ 2 Timothy 3:14-17
http://www.intouch.org/