Passions

I plan on posting a picture of Twink in all her glory soon, very soon. My she's a popular cow. :) But first I have to get this other post written. It's been going through my mind since we read Psalm 1 in Book Review Friday just a couple of weeks ago. Mom & Seven, you have no need to read further since I basically said it all to you two yesterday. :)

Psalm 1:2,3 "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper."

What do you meditate on? What is your passion?

There is no focus on reading and studying scripture much anymore. I know that we as moms and wives lead busy lives. We have a lot on our plate. Life is exhausting sometimes. Many women out there are looking for a great quick devotional book to use in those precious 15 mintues of quiet they might find during their hectic days.

My friends listen up. If you only have 15 precious minutes in your day to use in study do not make the mistake of reaching for a devotional book or 'The Daily Bread'. Use those 15 minutes to saturate yourself with the pure unadulterated Word of God! Don't waste time on reading what someone else got out of a passage (and a small passage at that). Open up your own Bible and just read, get to know it a bit.

Happy thought indeed.

And remember, you can't say that you don't have time to study your Bible if you read a couple blogs a day or slept in this morning, or chatted with someone on the phone for a few minutes. If you don't have time to read your Bible then you don't have time to do all those other extra things either. Its the truth.

There are a lot of older Christian women out there who have been saved for years and don't know the Scriptures at all. Many are knowledgable of basic Christian principles and certain verses here and there, but they wouldn't be able to point you to any of them in writing. I love it when I see a Bible open up and there are underlinings and writing all over its pages. They are getting to know the Word!

We also need to study to show ourselves approved so that when we are called on by others going through trials we know where to point them. We know whether its Phillipians or Exodus or Psalm 27 that our friend needs to read, because we've read and studied them. If we know our Bibles we also can't be deceived as easily by false teaching.

If Christian women continue to lean on everything else but their Bibles for their spiritual growth they will lose focus and be led astray without knowing it and their children will be lost as well. It's the truth. Even if they read every book by solid Christian teachers and teach what they read to their children, they have completely missed the mark. We and our children need God's Word, it's the only thing that convicts and changes hearts. It's the only thing with a godly lasting effect. As good as Andrew Murray, John MacArthur, Charles Spurgeon, and John Piper are (and I love them all), they are no substitutes for the real thing. Don't bother with them until you've taken the time with the genuine article. You'll be amazed at how God works through a simple little habit of reading scripture all by yourself.

A couple weeks ago my sister listened to a sermon taken from Leviticus 10. the sermon was called 'strange fire'. She loved the message and wanted to tell her hubby about it when he got home from work. She thought she'd test him a bit first and she told him she listened to a message in Leviticus and asked him if he knew what chapter. He figured it was probably chapter 10. The she asked him what he thought it would be about. And he knew right away that it was probably about Nadab and Abihu and their strange fire.

I want to be like that. I want to study and know. I want to be gleaning knew insights and giving the Lord lots of ammunition every day to win the battle in my heart. The prospect of really knowing God's Word is very exciting to me. I love my binder and my other notes from Book Review Fridays in the past. They are a testament to what I have learned and also a great resource to use in the future. (check out the sidebar for Book Review Friday information).

I want to be like that tree in Psalm 1, firmly planted, getting fed by the river of God's Word, alive and thriving, giving fruit, prospering no matter what weather comes my way. The only way to do that is by delighting in the law of the Lord.

That becomes my passion more and more every day.