Corona Devo 3203
Do you remember how you learned that 2x3=6?
Or that 4x7=28?
Times tables. Studying. Memorization. Dedica.tion. ...and flash cards. In our home, we learned our times tables by studying flash cards.
Our family had (dreaded) rectangular flash cards that held the (unanswered) math equation on one side, and the (full) answered math equation on the flip side. And we studied those flash cards...alot. We would partner up with a family member and one person would repeatedly flip through cards in that rectangle deck of equations, until the other person could answer quickly and methodically.
And by the way, this took time. And repetition. I did not know that 9x7=63 right off the bat. That took time and repetition for me to memorize. But eventually, and as a result of repeated study...we learned our times tables.
I believe that God desires the same (type) of practice, intention, and result for us with our Bibles.
He did not give us the Bible to confuse, confound, or mystify us. The Lord intended for His people to read and study His Word. Over and over. Repeatedly. And often. So that...we would learn His Word, and also learn His love for us.
The truth is, God was not cryptic or secretive about this happening. He blatantly tells us throughout the Bible to read the Bible, and to continue discussing the accounts, commands and commandments with ourselves, our children, and our churches.
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, (2) so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. (3) Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
(4) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (5) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (6) These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. (7) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (9) Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
(10) When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, (11) houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, (12) be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ~Deuteronomy 6:1-12
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Like math flashcards: today, tomorrow, and our entire lives...we should be studying the Bible...alot. Reading it again and again. Reviewing it with others. Committing it to memory, so that we are truly learning His Word, and so that we are being transformed by His Word.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. ~Psalm 119:11
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The Bible is worth reading (day after day) because it is a guide to us from our God.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. ~Psalm 119:105
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The Bible needs to be reviewed and studied over and over because unlike a flashcard with the same equation and answer everytime, God is meeting us freshly each day with each verse. What God was speaking to our heart yesterday in a certain verse could be (and most often will be) completely different from what He will be whispering to our heart the next time that we read that particular verse.
His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), but so are His intended applications of His Word into our life situations.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ~Hebrews 4:12
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If we dig a little deeper into God's heart, we will find that He doesn't just give us His Word as a bunch of rules--no. He gives us His Word so that we will have hope for today.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. ~Romans 15:4
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When we were learning our multiplication tables, we spent time and effort and concentration on those flash cards. We started with the lower numbers (2x3 and 3x4), and then in mastering those, we moved on to more challenging problems. We graduated into multiplying the fives and sixes, and eventually all the way up to 9x9=81.
These equations and their sums became the (memorized and learned) basics for every math class that would follow those early elementary grades with their foundational (multiplication-table) facts.
We learned math, and then in natural succession, we learned more math.
The same spiritual-progression should be true with our Bible-reading and our faith-growth.
...as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, (3) if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. ~I Peter 2:2-3
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
And the Lord invites us again today to taste that He is gracious. His Word is gracious to us every single day. Taste and see all over again today. And tomorrow, and the next day too.
Like studying flash cards to memorize math facts, may we never relent or grow lazy or apathetic in our pursuit of God's Word and Truth.
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. ~Psalm 34:8
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