Get Plugged In!
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I wonder if you’ve ever thought about what a strange thing marriage is. Two people who really have no idea just how different they are come together before God and promise to be faithful to one another until death.
And then, sometimes before the honeymoon is even over, they begin to see the many unexpected ways those differences complicate their lives.
HOW they deal with those differences is one of the indicators of how happy and satisfied they will be as a married couple.
Those who allow the differences to become frustrations and the frustrations to become anger and disaffection are in for a hard time. Those who can embrace the differences and even laugh about them are apt to be much happier.
This is something Annette and I have become acutely aware of in recent years.
We are extremely different in the ways we see the world and in the ways we seek solutions to problems. If I look outside and see that it’s partly cloudy, I can be sure that Annette would describe it as partly sunny.
And it’s only been in the past few years that we’ve come to understand that both views are right and that there’s value in both observations.
It’s a work in progress — but isn’t that true of marriage in general? And one of the ways we’re learning to live with one another is to laugh at our differences and affirm one another in them.
But there are some ways in which we’re very much alike. And one of them is that we both ALWAYS forget to pack something important when we travel.
For Annette, it’s shoes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard her say, “I can’t do such-and-such, because I didn’t bring the right shoes.”
Have any of you men ever heard that from your wives? Probably so. Now, let me ask the guys this: How many times have you gone away on a trip and realized YOU didn’t have the shoes you needed?
That’s not a thing for most men. I’ve got three pairs of shoes that I wear, and I can get by on most trips with the shoes I wore out of the house.
Now, I’m not picking on Annette, because, as I said, I always forget something, too. For me, it’s chargers for all my electronic devices.
When we got to Greensboro this week, I realized I’d left my laptop charger at home, which meant I couldn’t use my computer for most of the trip. SHE, on the other hand, had all the chargers she needed.
We’ve learned to laugh at ourselves about these differences. Indeed, they’ve become a running joke between us.
What’s especially funny to me is that the things we forget tend to be among the most important things to each of us.
Annette needs good shoes to be able to walk long distances without causing pain in her knee and back. And I need my chargers to be able to use the laptop and phone, at least one of which is in my hands 90 percent of the time I’m awake.
In fact, in the past, we’ve had to look for an Apple store to go and buy a laptop charger so I could work while we were away from home.
The charger provides the power that makes this tool useful. Without it, I’m running on empty, and eventually I can’t do the things I need to do.
In many ways, the Bible is the Christian’s charging cable. And just as your laptop charger isn’t going to power your computer unless you have it with you and then plug it into the computer, your Bible isn’t going to give you the power for living the life God intended unless you open it up and read it.
In the 119th Psalm, the great Old Testament poem about God’s Word, the psalmist writes:
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.
16 I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.
Notice that he doesn’t say he treasures the Bible or even the Old Testament scrolls. He treasures God’s WORD, which he found written UPON the scrolls.
How could he treasure in his heart that with which he wasn’t intimately familiar? And how could he be intimately familiar with it if he didn’t spend significant time reading and studying it?
I know that many of you probably set out on Jan. 1 to read the Bible in a year. Let me ask you something: How’s that coming along?
If you’re like me, you’re already behind, and you’re frustrated with yourself for allowing that to happen.
One of the reasons we get behind is that we try to do it only on our own. And the interesting thing is that, while there’s a place for solitary study of the Bible, reading and studying Scripture wasn’t ever meant to be ONLY a solitary pursuit.
We see Moses reading Scripture to the people of Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai in Exodus, chapter 24.
In Deuteronomy, chapter 31, we see God commanding that the whole of the first five books of our Bible be read publicly to the Israelites every seven years.
In Joshua, chapter 8, we see Joshua celebrating a victory over the city of Ai by reading to the people of Israel “all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law.”
Later in Israel’s history, we see King Josiah discovering the Scriptures, which had been lost, and then reading them to the gathered people of Israel. Ezra the priest is described doing the same thing in the Book of Nehemiah.
This tradition continued in the New Testament, where we see Jesus reading Scripture in the synagogue and the letters of Paul and others being read before the congregations of the churches that received those letters.
Interestingly, the Book of Revelation begins with a blessing for those who read and those who hear the words of that prophecy. Look at verse 3 of chapter 1.
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
The word that’s translated as “read” there means to read aloud, which is reinforced by the inclusion of a blessing on those who HEAR what’s been read.
Now, there’s probably a whole sermon on the benefits of reading Scripture aloud, and I’d love to figure out a way for us to do that on a regular basis.
But today, I want to talk not so much about whether we’re reading the Bible aloud or silently, but rather about the benefits we can expect from reading it TOGETHER, even if we’re doing it separately.
And the first thing to note is what a blessing it is to us that we even HAVE the Bible in our own language.
As I was researching this message, I learned that there are full Bible translations for 724 languages spoken around the world.
And that sounds wonderful until you know that there are 7,388 languages spoken around the world. Thankfully, there are organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators that are devoted to translating the Bible INTO those other languages.
These statistics are convicting for me. Last night, I counted 20 different Bibles in our home, which doesn’t even include the 25 or so English translations I have available on my computer or the half-dozen Bibles I have on the shelf in my office.
And it doesn’t include THESE (uncover stacks) that we found in a closet here in the church. Or the ones in the library. Or the ones in the sanctuary pews.
You get the picture. We have the chargers, but are they plugged in?
The Book of Psalms begins with a reminder about where we can find the power to live the godly lives God intends for us.
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
In the Old Testament, the “law” can refer to the 10 Commandments, the whole of the Mosaic Law or to all of Old Testament Scripture. And I think it’s this last reference that’s in play here.
When we delight in God’s word — when we meditate on it day and night — we can expect to be changed by it. We can expect to be empowered by it. We can expect to be fruitful because of it.
Oswald Chambers said that if we understood what happens when we use the Word of God, we would use it more often.
The Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, touched on this in his second letter to his protégé:
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
The word that’s translated there as “be diligent” can also be translated as “study.”
Paul was telling the young pastor that faithful study of Scripture would help to insure that he didn’t veer from the truth as he did the work of leading a church that God had called Timothy to do.
And I think that we can all agree that pastors have a special obligation to be studying God’s word. To be meditating on it. To take delight in it.
But what about you? You’re not pastors, and most of you aren’t teaching Bible studies. So why do YOU need to be meditating on and studying God’s word?
Well, Paul talks about that in the very next chapter. You’ll probably recognize these verses.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Why should you be reading your Bible if you’re a follower of Jesus? Well, for one thing, that’s how God prepares you and equips you for the Kingdom work He’s appointed you to do.
And Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, makes it clear that every follower of Jesus has work he or she is expected to do for the Kingdom of God.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
We’re not saved by our works. We’re saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But every one of us who has turned to Jesus in faith has been saved FOR good works — for the Kingdom work that leads others to Jesus.
There are many good reasons to make reading your Bible a daily habit. Paul talked about some of them in 2 Timothy, chapter 3.
For teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. And all of these things help prepare and equip us for doing the Kingdom work that God has appointed for us.
But all too often, we approach Bible reading and study as just another chore that needs to be checked off the chore chart. And let me tell you something about chores. It’s easy to allow ourselves to be distracted from them.
One of the chores that’s been on my list for a while is cleaning my office at home. But organizing the chaos there is overwhelming to me, so I’ve allowed myself to be distracted from doing it by just about anything else. For much longer than I’d like to admit publicly.
But when we look at Bible reading and study as our primary way to get to know God — and when we recognize that we only get the power we need to do what He’s appointed for us to do by regularly spending time in His Word — things can be different.
Let me ask you again: How’s your Bible-in-a-year reading plan coming along?
I realized a couple of weeks ago that I’d been spending all of my Bible study time reading passages that I’ll use for sermons, Zoom Bible studies and other messages I’ll be presenting.
And even though those are fruitful times of study for me, I also realized that I was shortchanging myself and my spiritual growth by not taking more time to study for MYSELF.
One of the things I concluded was that I needed some kind of accountability to redevelop the habit that I’d allowed to atrophy.
So, I’m going to ask you all to hold me accountable for it this year. And the way you’ll hold me accountable is to join me in a modern version of what both the church and the people of Israel have done throughout history: reading the Scriptures TOGETHER.
I’ve put together a Bible-in-a-year reading plan that begins on Monday. You’ll find copies of the plan on the welcome table. If you can’t find one there, let me know, and I’ll print more. I’ll also post the plan on our Facebook page.
Now, understand that we won’t be reading the entire Bible THIS year. We’ve already lost a month, so we’ll be reading the Bible in A year, concluding at the end of January 2025. This is the Bible in a year for procrastinators.
I’ve tried to set up this plan in the most user-friendly way I can. In order to give us a mix of Old and New Testament readings, you’ll find some of both each day.
And in order to give you a chance to catch up if you’re behind or to meditate on what you’ve read through the week, I’ve limited the readings to Monday through Friday.
The readings average just 15 minutes or so a day. And let’s be honest: Most of us spend more time reading Facebook posts than that each day. And I guarantee that most of what you’ll see on Facebook won’t get you closer to God.
As I said, one of the reasons I put together this plan — and one of the reasons I’m talking about it today — is so you’ll be able to hold me accountable for following it.
And to keep me accountable to you, I’m going to commit to posting a short devotional video on Facebook and on our church website each Tuesday.
I’ll talk about something from one of the readings that week and encourage you to dig deeper in your own study.
Now, I recognize there are a couple of potential kinks in this plan. First, I know that some of you already have begun a different Bible-in-a-year plan.
I leave it up to you to choose whether to join THIS plan or continue your own. But I’ll encourage you to look for the devotionals, as I hope they’ll be useful in exposing things you might not otherwise have noticed.
And second, I know that reading is difficult for some folks. So let me address that.
I read and preach from the New American Standard Bible, because that’s the version I’ve found to be closest to the Greek and Hebrew texts. But you can read from whatever translation you’re most comfortable with.
And if reading is just too hard, there’s no shame AT ALL in listening to recordings of the Bible. The YouVersion app will read whatever passage you choose out loud for you. And there are audio Bible tapes, CDs and mp3s available online and elsewhere, as well.
However you choose to join me in working your way through God’s Word this year, I hope you will do so.
But don’t do it just so you can check the chore box, even though there are boxes to check for each daily reading.
Do it with the expectation that God will reveal Himself to you and with the confidence that He will use your time in His Word to change you and make you more like Jesus.
Do it prayerfully. In other words, start your time in Scripture with a brief prayer asking God to speak to your heart and to reveal to you what He wants you to see each day.
Do it faithfully. Set aside a time each weekday when you won’t allow yourself to be disturbed or distracted.
And if you DO get behind, don’t use that as an excuse to quit. Just skip ahead to the current reading, and then catch up on what you missed when you have some extra time.
Do it with great expectations. God will use this time that you devote to Him in ways you can’t imagine. The writer of the Book of Hebrews puts it this way:
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And finally, do it gladly. Each time you sit down to read or listen to God’s Word, you are hearing from our Father in Heaven Himself.
If you’re a follower of Jesus, this should be something that brings you joy. King David talks about this in the 19th Psalm.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Folks, I’d bet that every person here has a mobile phone. And if you’ve got a mobile phone, you’ve also got a cable to charge it. But your phone won’t have the power it needs to operate if you don’t PLUG IT IN!
Are you looking for the power to live the way God intended you to live? To do the things God has appointed you to do?
Then, get plugged into His Word!
I hope you’ll join me this year as we explore what God has revealed to us about Himself and ourselves.
Let’s see together the power of God’s Word in our lives and the lives of those who are touched by the work we’re enabled to do by spending time listening to Him each day.
And if you need a Bible, come and grab one of these. We’ve been blessed with a few extras.
Now, today is Lord’s Supper Sunday. This observance is important to the fellowship of the church. It brings us together in a unique way and reminds us that we belong to one another in Christ Jesus.
It reminds us of the love that He has for us and the love we’re called to have for one another.
Jesus commanded us to observe the Lord’s Supper as an act of obedience to Him, as a way of proclaiming that we who follow Him in faith belong to Him, and as a way of reminding us what He did for us.
The Lord’s Supper reminds us that our hope for salvation rests entirely on the sacrifice He made on our behalf at the cross. It reminds us that our life is in Him.
And the fact that we share bread from one loaf reminds us that we are, together, the one body of Christ. It reminds us that we’re called to unity of faith, unity of purpose, and unity of love.
It reminds us that, just as He gave up the glory He had in heaven, we who’ve followed Him in faith are called to give up any claims we might think we have to our own lives as we follow Him.
Finally, it reminds us that, as we’ve been given the testimony of the Holy Spirit within us, we are to share OUR testimony of salvation by grace through faith.
If you’re a baptized believer who is walking in obedience to Christ, I would like to invite you to join us today as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
Now, this sacred meal dates all the way back to when Jesus shared it with His disciples at the Last Supper on the night before He was crucified.
The conditions during the Last Supper were different than the conditions we have here today, but the significance was the same as it is today.
Jesus told His disciples that the bread represented His body, which would be broken for our transgressions.
Let us pray.
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
As Jesus suffered and died on that cross, his blood poured out with His life. This was always God’s plan to reconcile mankind to Himself.
“In [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”
Let us pray.
27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
Take and drink.
“Now, as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
Maranatha! Lord, come!
Here at Liberty Spring, we have a tradition following our commemoration of the Lord’s Supper.
Please gather around in a circle, and let us sing together “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.”