Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
(Acts 17:11 (NIV))
To put this concept into context with something that was said about 40 years ago, “Trust but verify!”
The Bereans believed what Paul told them, but they took it one step further. They searched the Scriptures to verify the truth and they found it to be exactly as Paul taught. Do we do as much? Do we listen to someone in a pulpit and take what they say as truth, or do we search the Scriptures to verify for ourselves? Do we use these weekly teachings as a springboard to dive deeper into God’s Word? Do we study and follow God’s leading to wherever it may go, or do we only rely on human teachers to tell us what we need to know?
In other words, do you hunger to know the truth of God’s Word?
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
(Psalms 34:8a (NIV))
If you truly hunger for God’s Word, an hour every Sunday will not satisfy that appetite. It will become a craving that can only be satisfied by spending more and more time in the presence of the Lord and in His Word. You will find yourself doing what the Bereans did. You will read and study and cross reference and pray and take notes and then start all over again as you discover a new truth that the Lord has waiting for you!
A little over twenty years ago, I was working from home. I have multiple computers on my desk and this particular day found me with only one computer actually turned on. Imagine my surprise when the second computer just turned on and a web browser opened up and loaded a site with what they claimed was over 30,000 pages of Bible prophecy and proof that the Bible was true. The site was put together by an atheist who set out to prove that the Bible wasn’t true. By the time that he finished his research, he was no longer an atheist. I spent the rest of that day and several others following his study and his proof. I was a good Berean and verified for myself as I read what he wrote. Ever since that day, which still gives me chills when I think about it, I have found myself digging deeper than I ever thought I would. I read books and watch videos and verify as I go. I have a physical Bible, but I have come to rely on a Bible software that allows me to cross reference every single translation that there is. At present, I am drawn to read from the 1599 Geneva Bible translation, even with the 420 year old spellings.
I am not saying this to brag, but to use as an example of how once we taste and see that the Lord is good, we should desire more and more of Him. How can we truly know the Lord if our only exposure to Him is through the words of someone else? Think about that for a moment. Think about Paul and his testimony of being the perfect Jew before his Damascus Road experience. The Bereans probably knew of Paul’s history, yet they chose to not simply believe what he told them. They eagerly studied and verified for themselves!
Do you possess the eagerness of the Bereans?
Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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