The topic for today is the Word of God.
I feel myself to be on fairly solid ground when it comes
to the Word of God. I’ve read it,
preached it, acted some of it out in various scenarios, written poetry prompted
by it, prayed it, written devotionals inspired by it, drawn pictures of some of
the stories, chewed over bits of it, spat out other bits of it, rewritten bits
of it to suit myself and, sometimes allowed it to soak into me and become part
of who I am and what I do. I have been transformed by it.
We cannot do without the Word of God.
“But God put his word into the mouth of human beings so
that it may be passed on to others…God has willed that we should seek and find
God’s living Word in the testimony of other Christians…Christians need other
Christians who speak God’s Word to them.”
I used to get into serious trouble every Sunday when I
worshipped with the Brethren Church when I lived in Limassol in Cyprus. I don’t
know whether the rules about women speaking in a meeting have been relaxed or
not, but in my day they took Paul’s directive about women being silent very
seriously. It always surprised me that
as a woman who rarely said much from Monday to Saturday when none would have
complained, Sundays were a real battle to stay silent.
There was always this bit in the evening service about
testimonies. A gospel message was always
preached, despite everyone in the room having made a commitment to Jesus. Visitors were rare and usually came with
letters of recommendation from other Brethren churches. When the invitation went out to share what
God had done there was a heavy silence. No one was jumping the queue to get to
the platform to share a testimony. There was no queue, just an awkward silence,
before the speaker moved on. I hated
that silence. God was not doing nothing! So I started to fill
it. I gave accounts of answered
prayer. I talked about encouraging
conversations I had with my landlord about Jesus. I described sunsets that had stirred me to
praise God.
Every Sunday I would say something. It got to the stage where heads would start
turning in my direction as soon as the invitation was given. I was admired by
some but vilified by most.
Every Monday I would be called to the elder’s office and
hauled over the stones. Did I not know
the Scriptures? Did I not know that as I
woman I was commanded to be silent? I
seem to remember some retort that went something like, “If the men in the
church did their job properly I wouldn’t need to speak out!”
The spoken Word is not just about reading what is written
in the Bible. It’s also about testifying
of how the Word in my life is transforming me.
The first of two journal reflections for today was about
writing about people who spoken God’s Word into my life.
Have I mentioned my hermit tendencies and my
self-sufficient streak before? I speak the Word of God into my own life! I guess I’m not talking to as many people as
I could, or I’m not talking about my Christian walk with them. Sadly, I’m not even sure that I expect folk
to speak from God to me. It is not a
good thing to admit. I perhaps need to deliberately
put myself in the path of His Word, and recognise and respond to it in all its
forms.
The second journal reflection was about identifying the
people I had spoken the Word to. My problem
here is, not exactly editing what I have to say, but saying the “God” thing and
not just the “good” thing. Saying something is often not the problem. Making what I say necessary is the challenge.
At a first glance I think I chastised myself for not
being vocal enough and sharing my stories with others. I have thrown enough pearls to so many pigs
and seen it trampled into the mud that I am not always quick to speak. But then I remembered the poetry that I write
and share at the Sunset café, or at a Sunday meeting, or on the blog…and I know
that I am speaking the Word of God to people.
It’s wrapped in verse, but it is the Word of God.
“One
generation commends your works to another: they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty - and I will meditate on your
wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works - and I will
proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.” Psalm 145:4-8
Tell me about what you know of God’s
mighty acts – truth I need to know. Let
me tell you of His wonderful works in my life – truth you need to know.
Let's talk about Jesus!
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