His Word is Alive

In July 2014, MJ was heading to his first duty station overseas. I was trying to share with him how not to get "lost" and be left adrift in the world when you're in the midst of times and places you don't yet understand. I don't know if he ever read it or heard the depth of my heart in what I was sharing, but I share this message here because it's for any of us who need a place to start. A place to lean into. A place to begin. A place to seek and find. A place to ask and receive. A place where when we knock, a door will be opened to the heart of Jesus. As JM is on my heart and mind, I think of him and others who are new to seeking God in His Word and not just in prayer. 

I was thinking about what to tell you to read in the Bible if you were wanting comfort. The Psalms are always a good place to start. I love the Gospel of John...you get hooked with the first verse. As some one who like the details, Luke might be a good one for you as he was a doctor and very detailed in his accounts. I also love Matthew because it's what Godspell (the play) was based on and when I read certain verses, it reminds me of the songs. Mark I have done a couple of studies on and you can never go wrong with wherever you start. God's Word will reveal much to you. 

Many people say to start with Romans and there is much good in there. Ephesians, Corinthians, Philippians, Hebrews, Acts, Timothy, 1/2/3 John, Galatians...there is so much to be found in those letters as well. The question is, what are you looking for? Comfort? Love? Answers? Direction? Truth? It's all there.

I thought about what to tell someone about the old testament. Many think it's not relevant, but it is. Oh, it is! I love Genesis. I remember the first time I realized that Jesus was with God when He spoke the world into being in those first 2 chapters and how that changed everything for me. I love the story of Joseph (son of Jacob, he of the Technicolor Dreamcoat, not Jesus' earthly father) and how even through adversity, He used him for good. We never know the plans God has for us in the moments, but little by little we see how He uses even the bad in our circumstances or in our choices for His good purposes. 

Chronicles and Kings will show you the stories of our willfulness as a people and how time after time God met our needs and disciplined us. Isaiah and Jeremiah tell of tough times and some of the most amazing promises that come to be in the New Testament. Read Isaiah 53 and you will read of what will happen to Jesus, the Messiah. Read Jeremiah 31 where God tells him about the new covenant, the final covenant that is Jesus. Read Ruth and see the story of obedience and love and the blessings poured out when we live in this way...and this is the family line from which David and Jesus are born; I love the way the stories are woven together so you can see these truths. And Hosea--the story of a wayward prostitute who is married to a man of God to show how often we will deny and run from the Lord, but He will continue to pursue us and love us even through those transgressions. 

Read the Wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs. If you want to see how when all is lost, you can still find your hope in the Lord and in that obedience have restored to you all that was lost and more, read Job. Read the story of David in Samuel. Read about Jonah and how he runs from what God has for him in Jonah, but still God pursues Him and changes him while changing others. Read how Joshua lead the people out of the wilderness, stepped into the depths of the Jordan in faith, blew trumpets to take down the walls of Jericho and believed in obedience to what God had for His people. Read about Moses and his triumphs and transgressions in Genesis, Exodus and Deuteronomy (Deut 4:29, "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul."). I could go on and on about the value and goodness of His Word, but you will find it for yourself in time. If you're looking for something, though, I hope I gave you some places to start.

You may not be ready for any of this now, but save this and come back to it. My prayer for you is that you'll have a a friend like Jonathan was to David who will love you as he loves himself (see 1 Sam 18:3 and 20:17); someone to stand beside you and pray for you in all that you go through. It's important for men to have male friends and mentors so they can stay the course and see what it is to walk with the Lord each day. Women are more relational and often have those close friends that they seek. Seek God in His Word and He will always meet you where you are. I can't tell you how many times I've read a verse or a chapter I've read before and something new was revealed to me. God's Word is ALIVE!