October 12 - Respect the Law

Read today’s texts first: Nehemiah 7,8; Acts 1

MAXIMize YOUR DAY 

“Desire the sincere milk of the Word” (1 Pet. 2:2), without adding chocolate syrup, whipped cream and sprinkles!

 
We live in a day when life is far too fast paced.  We run to too many activities, energized by too much sugar and caffeine.  Our kids are often medicated for hyperactivity, and media has reduced their typical attention span to about 7 minutes, if that!

For those of us who teach or preach as a profession, our western culture is a challenge.  I remember fondly the young pastors in Sri Lanka who sat spellbound for the hours of training we provided every day all week long.  In our churches here at home we are fortunate to keep people’s attention for 30 minutes once a week, and we better lace the sermon with funny stories, video and prezi (power point is now passé).  Bonus points for any extra special effects you can throw into the mix!

Nehemiah asked Ezra to read the entire Torah (the Law) from early morning to late afternoon in front of absolutely everyone in Judah, 42,360 of them, men, women, and older children, standing, in the hot sun. No technology, no projectors, no microphones - just God’s Word. And when Ezra finished, everyone wept, not because they were glad it was over but because they were so happy to hear God speak to them (8:9)!

Our pastor in my home church read two full chapters from Joshua recently (he did use various readers and some improv acting to keep everyone’s attention), but I found it refreshing to hear the whole story without interruption.  I pray that we can run counter-culture and change the way we as God’s people respect the reading of God’s Holy Word. It starts with each of us reading for ourselves each day.  I love the daily discipline of reading and reflecting on Scripture.

“Thank You Lord for the joy of hearing from You every day - the joy of the Lord is my strength” (8:10).