As I grew up here in Kalkaska, at least one if not two of my weeks in the summer were spent at church camp. And I loved church camp! They would assign us to groups or families. Each meal we would line our family up and they would decide who got to eat first based on the straightest and quietest line. And, as a family, we would earn points throughout the week to see who could score the most points. Points were earned by memorizing verses in the Bible and by memorizing the books of the Bible. |
The first verse I remember memorizing and sharing with my family leader for points was Psalm 119:105. “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” I can’t imagine going through life without the wisdom and guidance of God’s Word. When I think about the first church, I realize how difficult it must have been for them to gather and learn or teach from either a singular letter sent to them or from the Old Testament law. That’s why we challenge everyone at the beginning of the year to read the Bible all the way through and why we celebrate at the end of the year when people accomplish it. The more we read God’s Word, the more we understand who He is and what his desire is for us as his followers. Paul said, “not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” Jesus said, “You can’t serve both God and money.” Peter teaches us to “look out for false prophets and that they come dressed in sheep’s clothing.” We learn from David not to “offer anything to God that will cost us nothing.” We learn from Solomon that earthly wealth won’t lead to happiness. We learn from Abraham what faith is. We learn from Jacob that even deceivers are used by God. We learn from Joseph that even our right decisions can lead us to miserable circumstances. The other night I was getting into bed and the lights were all off as my wife was already asleep. I had to stop for a minute because I didn’t have my bearings. I thought I was feeling the dresser but it ended up being the door or the wall. It wasn’t until I saw a little bit of light that I was able to realize I had turned about 60 degrees and things weren’t where I thought they would be. If I had turned on the light I could have seen where I was and where I needed to go. The Bible is that light we need to understand where we are and the light we need to help us see where we need to go. Dive into it! |