Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Wrapping My Consciousness Around The Word


Once in a while (to be honest, it happens pretty-much every day) I run into a passage of scripture that just about climbs out of the page, wrestles its way into my mind, and settles itself into my consciousness where it pours a cup of tea, puts its feet up, and makes itself at home.

Listen to this - or read it if you're out of earshot! - For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

Now, open your mind and your heart, wrap your consciousness around the words and their meaning, and invite the scripture to settle in. This is what I was talking about yesterday when I wrote the following: I want to put in a word, this morning, for the word. For The Word. Logos.

One day, interviewing a minister for The Tampa Tribune, I asked him to share a scripture that was speaking to his life. The answer started out like this - it was all too familiar. "Well, God gave me my life verse twenty-eight years ago..."

"Just hold on a moment," I said in a moment of clarity I probably should have kept to myself. "You're talking about 1982! I want to know what's going on in your heart today, this week, or at the very least something from the past month. If your 'go-to' scripture doesn't change sometime during the a week then you're not getting into the Bible enough!"

Let me recommend the passage I quoted this morning. Or find a daily guide such as The Upper Room, or These Days - and dive into some scripture.

Then let God's Word climb out of the page, wrestle its way into your mind, and settle itself into your consciousness where it can pour itself a cup of tea, put its feet up, and make itself at home.

Love and blessings - DEREK

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