Don't SPEED READ the BIBLE!

 

I have decided to take what could be a LONG TOUR of the book of Isaiah. I really debated whether I wanted to start "In the BEGINNING" or some place else and the Lord seems to want me to spend more time in this Book than I have ever before. This book is important. It is the most quoted Old Testament book in New Testament. It held a pretty powerful message for the first century. So, I will explore what it has to say for us today.

For many years I was proud of the fact that I read through the entire Bible each year. It was like a right of passage for me. I have to admit that time was more about ACCOMPLISHING A TASK than it was growing to know the Lord. I can't say it didn't have an impact, but I have found that SLOWING DOWN, MEDITATING on GOD'S WORD is really what I prefer and it adds so much insight when I just let the LORD speak! MY ADVICE:

DON'T SPEED READ THE BIBLE! (But speed reading is better than not reading at all! LOL!)

Read God's word to KNOW HIM MORE. 

So this could be a long haul because I am NOT in a rush to complete this book. Here is my approach. I will read slowly and when i am prompted by the LORD, I will stop. HA! Simple enough!

Today, I didn't get very far. 

"Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: 'The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master's care -- but Israel doesn't know its master. My people don't recognize my care for them' Oh what a sinful nation they are -- loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him." (Isaiah 1: 2-4, NLT, emphasis added)

Do we know the LORD? I am constantly reminded that we can't REALLY KNOW THE LORD. He is so wonderful, so powerful, so awe inspiring, that he is BEYOND our full comprehension. But, that should not prevent us from SEEKING HIM, seeking to know him more. Being compared to an ox and a donkey is not a ringing endorsement from God. But, it is accurate for many people, maybe even Christians. We don't recognize God's wonderful hand of protection and we even go a step further. We REBEL against HIM! Knowing God is great, but even satan KNOWS GOD. Taking that a step further and knowing how much he cares for us, how much he loves us, how much he grants us good things, is really getting to KNOW GOD. 

Our sinfulness is such a burden and those sins weigh us down. Our sinfulness SEPARATES US from a God who loves us dearly. That separation is not GOD PUSHING US AWAY, it is OUR CHOICE, IT IS OUR REJECTION OF HIM. HOW can we know God if we have pushed him away from us? How can we get to KNOW GOD at ARMS LENGTH?

Lord, forgive me for not knowing you, not recognizing and acknowledging how much you care, how much you love us, and how much you desire us to enter into your arms. Intimacy with you cannot happen from a distance. Lord, my prayer today is that you fill me with your SPIRIT as I go through my day with you. I want to KNOW YOU MORE. Thank You Lord for your amazing love and the joy it brings to me each day. AMEN!