Mid-Life Crisis, part II

Last month I wrote about my “mid-life crisis” when I turned 40. At that time I asked God to reveal to me what I should be doing with the rest of my life. I am very concerned that I do not waste my time, my energy, or the gifts that God gave to me. I want to be found worthy of God's call on my life and to do his work with all my heart.

To that end, God gave me the mission to do three things with the rest of my life. I wrote about the first of those last month, “Renewing worship in the church.” Today, let's turn to the second part of this renewed call; “Teaching the Bible and instilling a love for God's Word in God's people.”

A big part of what I have devoted my life too is learning God's word. I read the Bible every day. I have made a commitment to read it through at least once each year for the rest of my life. I regularly read books about the Bible. I take classes and listen to sermons on the Bible. I am resolved to base my sermons, lessons and writings on God's Word. It will be the basis from which I orient my priorities in living, teaching and planning for the future.

This is all true partly because,

1. The Bible is the best place to get information on how to live in God's will. Without a foundation source, we cannot really know what God wants, or how to measure ourselves.

2. The Bible comes to us as the actual, revealed Word of God. God has spoken to us so that we can know his ways, his works and his will.

3. The more we know and study the Bible, the more we will want to know and study God's word. Knowing about the Bible causes us to want to know more about the Bible. Reading His word, makes us want to study it more. We will learn that we can never know too much Biblical information. God's word is addictive, in a good way.

4. The Bible reveals to us how we can grow in our faith. There are too many Christians who struggle just to maintain their faith experience. Many more have no clue how to experience the abundant life that Jesus promises (John 10.10). To grow in your faith, spend time with God studying his Word.

I promise you, that to the best of my ability, I will teach you what God teaches in the Scriptures. I will challenge you to read, study and meditate on the Bible so that you can experience God in new ways. How about joining me on this journey into God's Word?