At this point in time, I am personally engaged with the Bible. I am reading it again with enthusiasm, expectation and wonder. It's not always like this for me and I've recently come out of an extended time of not engaging with it much at all.
I have found it interesting to ask myself what makes the difference between these two phases that often alternate in my life. Right now, I have returned to the fact that I need to be constantly giving myself over to God, dying to myself, and growing in my knowledge of the mind of God. For me, the Bible is the key source of inspiration for these things. I need to be engaging in Godly 'self-talk' - a process of continually denying worldly, humanist and selfish thinking and replacing it with God's truths and promises. The Bible is my chief weapon in this fight.
In the times when I am not engaged with the Bible, I am typically victim to the type of unhealthy 'self-talk' that renders my family and I victims of circumstance. I am living in my own strength, not God's. Actually, I am not pursuing God's presence in my daily affairs.
I've found that for me, Bible DIS-Engagement is a powerful indicator of spiritual poverty, lethargy and stagnation. Bible reading is an intensely spiritual undertaking.
What does the trend toward Bible DIS-Engagement within Western churches say about the spiritual health of the people of God?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
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2 comments:
Mart,
Thanks for your honesty and thoughts on this topic. I also have recently been asking myself some similar questions. It seems I had been travelling through Christian life with the understanding that the "normal Christian life" is characterised by what some people like to call "seasons" of engagement and DIS-Engagement and a general flux in the way one connects with God. In my immaturity I beleived this to be real and learnt to ride the rollercoaster, as such, and go with the flow rather than questioning why these down times existed in my walk with the Lord. It wasn't until recently when God began to place this more on my heart did I actually do some deeper thinking about it and realised that these valleys in my walk were not normal and should not be accepted as things to be weathered. I realised that these times of DIS-Engagement from God and his word were entirely my doing, HE never DIS-Engaged from me. I now realise that when I feel like I am entering one of these darker periods is the exact time I need to start asking the big questions about where I am at (and where I am heading) in order to get back on track and be even more passionate about him in my day to day life. What are your thoughts?
Wow.. I was searching for personal reactions about the bible which I need for my homework. When I opened the site and have read the entry, I was surprised because I didn't notice that you've posted it during the day of my birthday :D I just wanted to share :) haha! btw, nice post. toodles!anilabs
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