psalm 119:11 ; James 1:22-25
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you”.
Most Christians have interacted with the Bible and God’s word long enough that we know it in an out. We know almost every verse by heart and can complete any scriptural verse as its being read or quoted by someone else. We sit through a sermon and might not even be tempted to open our Bible because we can read the passages by heart.
What I am trying to say is that our intimacy with and knowledge of God’s word is at such of a high level that most times we quote these scriptures in a heartbeat. At the snap of a finger, we are either starting or finishing a verse, and most times not necessarily paying much attention to the depth of meaning inherent in such verses.
Such knowledge and familiarity with the scriptures often come from a long time interaction with the Bible, people that know the Bible, or simply by being in a church community as a young child growing up in a Sunday school class; and this is wonderful and fantastic! There is nothing wrong in memorizing scriptures; as a matter of fact, it is a joy and privilege to have God’s word hidden in our hearts, so that we would not sin against HIM like the psalmist said.
However, we must be aware and conscious of the danger that comes from head knowledge only. It is possible to know God’s word by heart only and never experience the life and hope it gives through practical explorations in our everyday life! Knowing God’s word by heart alone is not enough, we must take time to mediate and reflect on the meaning, the implications of each verse. We must live out God’s word, and move from head knowledge to practical knowledge!
Is the Bible your living manual? Your go-to resource for every question, confusion, challenge, comfort, direction, etc.? How you live your life every day, the decisions you make (great or small), the way you respond to problems, challenges, crises, difficulties, etc., is a true test of how much you believe the bible.
If we truly believe the bible, we would apply it to every situation – our actions will show the level of our belief. Stop and think about it – do you really believe the Bible? Do you take God’s word at its face value? Are your actions conformed to the scriptures you quote?
God we ask for a revelation in Your word, an insight to the depth of meaning inherent in the Bible, that we may move from “knowledge” to “believe”, and then to “doing” as we “live out” the Your holy word day-by day.