Mrs. Beaver:
I just started reading Joe Thorn's
Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Before even reaching the author's words, I've been challenged and convicted by the introduction.
What's your reaction to these strong assertions?
"Good intentions, New Year's resolutions, promises, plans, personal discipline, and rigorous regimens designed to control and direct human choices only go so far. They rarely, if ever, effect a lasting and fruitful change in the soul. It is only when our thoughts are challenged and conformed to the principles of God's Word and our hearts are energized to make choices consistent with God's revealed will that a human being is transformed...
"Merely affirming that the Bible is inspired accomplishes very little. Asserting its authority isn't much better. The inspiration and authority of the Scriptures are of value to us only so far as we change our beliefs to conform to its principles and alter our behavior to coincide with its imperatives. The Bible is meant to govern our lives, to fashion our choices, to challenge our cherished traditions, and ultimately to make us look more like Jesus.
"The question for each of us, then, is whether the Bible actually functions in this way. Do we submit to its dictates? Do we put our confidence in its promises? Do we stop living a certain way in response to its counsel? Do we embrace particular truths on its authority? Do we set aside traditional practices that conflict with its instruction?
"In other words, for the Bible to be of value to us it must actually function to shape how we think, feel, and act, as well as what we believe, value, and teach...
"Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God has invested the biblical text with the capacity to change human lives...
"Let [God's Word] be the anchor for your soul. Let it be the rock on which you stand. Let it be the compass to guide your choices and renew your heart through trials and tragic times. Let it govern your choices and renew your joy and ground your hope. Build your life on its moral principles. Embrace its ethical and moral norms. Believe what it says about the nature of God. Believe what it says about the nature of mankind...
"The word of God, whether it is preached and heard or read and memorized, is more than simply true. It is effectual. The Word of God does more than merely announce: it accomplishes! It doesn't just impart information; it creates life! someone once said, and rightly so, that God speaking is God acting. God's word is always carried along by God's Spirit and empowered to produce what it proclaims...
Therefore, let us, "Crave the Word of God. Be desperate for it! Seek it. Yearn for it. Long for it. Desire it. Tolerate nothing in your life that might diminish your hunger for God's Word. And apply it with vigor and spiritual energy!"
Sam Storms, Senior Pastor, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
