Father, even in the middle of all the insanity You bring sanity, calmness, and a wonderful sense of security and peace. My problem is not that You are not by my side but that far too often I forget that You are there. May I not wander from Your side but stay close enough to hear You whisper in my ear. Amen.

John 3:9-15 (<<click here to read the passage)

There is a woman, whom I would call a friend, who through this past Lenten season accepted a challenge to give up something. She emailed me to tell me that she decided to give up screen time (and other times) to read the Bible. She had read through the Bible cover-to-cover a few times in the past, but she had not done so in quite some time. She decided it would be a good time to start reading from the beginning once again.

When she shared her decision with me, she had already read from Genesis and was over three-quarters of the way through Jeremiah in just a couple of months!

One thing that I want to stress is that, yes, she is a well-educated person. She has a wealth of knowledge and even taught young children for many years as her chosen vocation. But knowledge only gets you so far. Experience and wisdom all factor into who we are and what we become.

Now that is all great for this earthly life but all of her knowledge, even adding in her dedication to faithfully reading God’s word would be as filthy rags in God’s sight if she did not know Him personally.

The first part of Isaiah 64:6 makes it very clear.

We are all infected and impure with sin.
….When we display our righteous deeds,
….they are nothing but filthy rags. NLT

My study Bible* says this regarding Nicodemus,

This Jewish teacher of the Bible knew the Old Testament thoroughly, but he didn’t understand what it said about the Messiah. Knowledge is not salvation. You should know the Bible, but even more important, you should understand the God whom the Bible reveals and the salvation that God offers.

I am grateful that my friend has knowledge. I am also grateful that she has taken up the challenge to read her Bible from beginning to end, for many things can be gleaned from such an endeavor. But most importantly, I am grateful that she knows Jesus as her Lord and Savior and strives daily to live out that relationship! May the Lord help us all to be as diligent in following Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength! Amen!

*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation

Apr 7th, 2021, Wed, 7:18 pm