A fire for God’s word and the power of truth
A purpose or vison I have for this blog is to inspire a generation of believers to seek after God’s truth through his word and to experience scripture come alive and transform.
His word is a living source of wisdom, guidance and truth and has the power to speak and pierce our inmost being.
I used to read scripture as an act of spiritual discipline or daily routine. And while there is nothing wrong with spiritual discipline, I lacked a true passion for scripture. It felt more like studying for an exam than discovering the living word of God.
A little while back, my life had gotten very confusing and I needed direction. But even more than direction, I was desperate to hear and experience God. Most of my days were darkened by struggles with sin and a sense of failure. One evening, deeply saddened by a new wave of defeat, I took God’s word and opened it at random. I began reading in Ezekiel and like oil, the words began to calm and sooth my soul. At first there was no particular passage that spoke to me, but the mere presence of God in scripture brought me peace. And then I read the following passage which stirred something in me:
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land.”- Ezekiel 34:11-13
I remembered a passage in Isaiah that also spoke of the sheep and quickly searched for it (Isaiah 40:10-11). As I then read through Isaiah, I began seeing the promise of Christ in these scriptures. Suddenly these passages and other scriptures started to connect in my mind, pictures began to form and in me arose an excitement for the treasure I had just discovered.
From that moment on, a fire and passion for God’s word had ignited and I decided to begin reading the Bible from start to finish (Genesis to Revelation). While I had read the entire Bible before, it seemed like a whole different word this time. I found my heart jumping for joy at certain passages, while others brought in deep conviction, repentance or healing. I was consumed with pondering scripture I had read in the morning during my day-to-day life, while the Holy Spirit began to reveal things I had previously missed or not understood. A deep passion for His truth started to take over. Since then God has not only lead me into deeper truths in scripture but in the process, He has transformed my mind, heart and soul.
He has given me a new perspective, deepened my understanding of His will, love and grace and is taking me on a journey into knowing Him.
During the last weeks, there has arisen a new urgency in my heart to understand and know scripture. In the context of this fast-changing world, a lot of prophecies, end-time messages and general uncertainty has been spreading within Christian communities and even my non-Christian circle of friends. At first, I felt myself being helplessly exposed by all the messages and new “theories”. Then, God’s word began stirring in my soul, giving me a strong sense of direction, as the Lord reminded me of the following passage:
“Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed […] At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:4-14
I realised that without knowledge of His word, we are much more vulnerable to any and every message that is shot our way. Therefore, I felt a great urge to call out to fellow believers, to not just settle for pre-digested messages of the Gospel (weather in the form of books, blogs, sermons, or teachings), but to return to God’s word and to search His truth. Now, I don’t mean to imply that Christian books, blogs, sermons, or teachings aren’t a valuable source for spiritual growth, wisdom, and inspiration.
But how are we to discern truth from lies, if we have no basis of truth to stand on?
It is my hope, that you will read my blog and be inspired to dig into the treasure of scripture; that my thoughts may provoke a deeper search for His truth and a redirection to God’s ways. I encourage you to see the beauty in God’s words and ways, to embark on your very own adventure in discovering the wonders of God’s word come to life and to enter into a deeper relationship with your creator, saviour and Lord.
I pray that the transforming power of God’s word that has renewed my mind and brought beauty into my life through knowing Him, may be poured out onto your soul as you open your heart to what God wants to speak to you.
For He is eager to be sought after, to reveal his will and heart, and eager to be a never-ending source of life within us.
I want to leave you with this though, especially for the times when scripture may seem confusing or you are tempted to reason or argue with God’s word:
A man was sitting on a porch stroking a cat which was on his lap. Another man passed by and stopped as he saw the cat being stroked from tail to head. He spoke and said: “Sir, I believe you are petting your cat the wrong way around”. The man with the cat looked at him and answered: “No I am not. Let the cat turn around, and his fur will be unruffled when I stroke him.”
I heard this short story in a sermon, and it has been my constant companion and reminder whenever, I struggle to understand scripture. For it reminds me that God is God, and His word is truth. And If I struggle or feel irritated by scripture, it is not for God to change who He is or what He says, but for me to search deeper, submit and search my heart for the source of my irritation. So, when we read God´s word, let us read with open hearts and minds, with the help of his Holy Spirit and with great anticipation that in our reading, we will discover truth and a personal relationship with the author of life.
“I’ve done every devotional
Been every place emotional
Trying to hear a new word from God
And I think it’s very odd,
that while I attempt to help myself
My Bible sits upon my shelf
With every promise
I could ever need”
Bibs Blog 