| Sunny Side Up Feb.22-06 �2005, Kathleen Gibson Don't play Bible Roulette On the 26th day of a recent month, a particularly busy day, I 'laid me down to sleep'. Then I remembered - I hadn't made time for my usual Bible reading. Too sleepy to read long, I decided to choose a single verse and meditate on that. I could have (and eventually did) pulled out a passage from my memory. Instead, I did something I don't recommend - played a version of what I call Bible roulette. The most common is flopping open a Bible, shutting your eyes, pointing anywhere on the page, and assuming the verse under your finger is God's personal memo to you. I chose another variety: opened my Bible and turned to the 26th book and 26th chapter with the intention of reading the 26th verse. But the 26th chapter of Ezekiel contains only 21 verses. I'll just read the last, I decided. Here's what it said: "I will bring you to a horrible end, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you never again will be found, declares the Sovereign Lord." See why I don't recommend Bible roulette? If I wasn't already familiar with the object of, and reason for that comment - Israel's persistent disobedience to God's direction - I'd have wilted into my sheets. Instead, I laughed so loud the Preacher asked why. I explained. "That'll preach," he said. I put no faith in fortune cookies, psychics or horoscopes. And God never intended us to use his Word as one. Trying to get a specific message from the Divine by choosing a verse at random is a lot like trying to lasso a bird on the wing, blindfolded. 'The rest of the story' - scripture read in context - tells me that as an intentionally faithful follower of Christ, I will NOT come to a horrible end - I'll one day enjoy eternal life with him, in a place he's already preparing. Reading the Bible carefully and systematically is a sure way to hear from God. The world's best-known preacher, Billy Graham, aging now, says, "I used to read five psalms every day - that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man." Try it. There are 150 chapters in Psalms, and 31 in Proverbs. It works out perfectly, and makes a good base camp. Stay there, and as time allows, add a chapter daily from other books. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, if you're just beginning. I know, because I practice it, that all that reading takes time. But less time than CSI or the news hour. And it'll do something those shows won't - it'll help you hear from God. Ask him to help you understand what you're reading. You'll be astounded. Almost every day you'll find something - a principle, a story, an encouragement, caution or prayer - you can put to work in your life situations. That's God speaking. Pay attention. And take notes. Respond Home |
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