John 5:39-40
"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you posses eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."
Jesus accused the Pharisees of not coming to Him in spite of the fact that they liked to read and recite God's word to a point that they are willing to hang His word on their foreheads and around the door frames. Even though only the Old Testament existed at the time, every book pointed to Jesus Christ Himself, and for this reason, Jesus said that the Scriptures testified about Him. Ironically, many people are under the restrain of knowledge that prevents them from coming to the Lord. In fact, often times we are fully engaged in Bible studies because we enjoyed this rewarding time that fulfills our spiritual needs; we also enjoy listening to the preaching as we are enlightened by the words of wisdom. This is especially true in North America as many Chinese are intellectuals who enjoy studying the Bible as reflected by the many Bible study groups here in US. Of course it is wonderful that we can study the word of God together, have a time of sharing, and enjoy meals together.
Often we would come to these activities without truly coming before the Lord. Just as the Pharisees were rebuked by the Lord, I truly believe that the Lord is also rebuking the church today, because we only focus on the outward activities, but fail to come before Him. The Lord often tells us, "Come to me who are weary and burdened; come to me who are thirsty." Unfortunately, we are burdened with outside activities, we are unable to come to the Lord as we should. May the Lord relieve us from the burdens of unnecessary outside activities so that we will have the desire and hunger for Him. Knowledge can only make us arrogant , only life from the Lord Himself makes us alive.
Of course, this is not to say that Bible is not important, but God's spirit as well as His word are equally important. Without the word of God, there is no foundation for the work of the Spirit . Thus we need to read, study and memorized God's word by hard. On the other hand, we welcome the help of the Holy Spirit so that we would come to the Lord without arrogance. May God's spirit be merciful, help us understand that God's spirit and His word are dual channels of blessings neither of which we can do without. Let us read His word daily with a heart of humility so that our lives be transformed by the word of God.
Pray with Pastor Tong
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