Engaging in God's Word During COVID
Don't Let Hope Fade
In spite of having a multitude of things for which to be grateful during these last four months, it is easy for hope to fade as our world system accelerates toward chaos, conflict, and corruption. While complex realities threaten, making us feel helpless, Jesus did say that in this world we “will have trouble.”
One very real example among many that feel hopeless to me … I can scarcely entertain images in my mind of nursing homes filled with dear ones void of the loving touch and encouraging voices of their friends, their children, and grandchildren. For many, using technology to keep connected virtually is beyond their capacity. This feels desperately sad and marked with despair.
So, with certain trouble closing in, what are we taking into our minds to feed on during these unsettling days? While streaming movies and other forms of entertainment provide a distraction, they are too often a waste of time. The relentless flow of news, and the need to discern if it’s real, too frequently nourishes confusion and despair. Even time with family and friends, whose love we so desperately need, is now frequently curtailed by corona restrictions. Church is not the same, ministries have been curtailed.
So where do I turn? What do I do? How do we maintain our mental and spiritual equilibrium, even hopefulness, in the midst of these troubling times? We know that our God is sovereign, that he is good and loving and wise. But how do I live each moment appropriating those truths and not lose hope?
Yes, I’ve written about this before, but I cannot emphasize it too much. May we be characterized by those who watch and read the news little and intake God’s Word much. If you find yourself being addicted to a steady diet of streaming, let’s consider seriously how we’re using our time and with what we are filling our minds. How about a fast this next weekend from cell phones, tablets, TVs, and computers to give more time to prayer and Scripture intake? Even more radical in the judgment of many would be spending greater time in God’s Word than we do on the internet . . . or in front of the television . . . or in reading books and magazines, which may entertain for the moment but offer little, if anything, of eternal value. What should we be feeding our minds in the midst of troubled, challenging, and seemingly hopeless times?
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things.
Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope.
These enriching words from Psalm 119 point us to a simple yet profound truth: WE ARE TO MAKE A STEADY DIET OF GOD’S WORD. How often are we to take it into our hearts and minds? God was very clear about this with Joshua: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).
Although we already love God and his Word, I want to encourage each of us to be running to the Lord through his precious Word in deeper ways than we ever have before.
Below I’ve listed some tools for taking in God’s Word that you may find helpful in addition to what you are already doing. God’s Spirit working through his Word stabilizes, edifies, comforts, invigorates, instructs, renews, encourages, and gives hope in troubled times. As Isaiah reminds us, the grass will wither and the flowers will fall, but the Word of our God will endure forever! May we be passionate and steady intakers of God’s Word, especially in these days.
Grateful for you and his Word,
Bob Fetherlin, OMS Global President
July 2020
ENGAGE Your Heart With God’s Heart Through His Word
Reading the Bible—read through the Bible in one year
Purpose: Introduction
Plan: http://www.biblica.com/bibles/daily-reading/
Estimated time: 1 year
Understanding the Bible—listen to John Soper’s Know the Word series
Purpose: Building comprehension
Plan: Go to http://www.mission119.org Downloadable app also available. Five sessions per week, each taking about 30 minutes.
Estimated time: 91 weeks
Memorizing Key Passages—memorize Topical Memory System (TMS) and TMS Life Issues
Purpose: Meditation/application
Plan:
TMS – http://www.navpress.com/product/9781576839973/Topical-Memory-System-The-Navigators
TMS Accessory Card Set – http://www.navpress.com/product/9781600064340/Topical-Memory-System-Accessory-Card-Set-The-Navigators
TMS Life Issues – http://www.navpress.com/product/9781600066719/Topical-Memory-System-Life-Issues-The-Navigators
TMS Life Issues Memory Verse Cards – http://www.navpress.com/product/
9781615211272/Topical-Memory-System-Life-Issues-Memory-Verse-Cards
Access: Estimated time: 1 year
Studying the Bible—work through Search the Scriptures
Purpose: Whole Bible–whole life integration
Plan: Search the Scriptures by Alan M. Stibbs can be purchased through
Amazon.com. Involves inductive Bible study.
Estimated time: 3 years
Other Recommendations:
www.minibiblecollege.org/download/audio.php
An audio Bible app –DWELL: Audio Bible (highly recommended by many Christian leaders and available in the app store)