Monday, Feb. 22nd, 2010

Bible Thoughts – 9 Notebooks!

The psalmist so beautifully wrote: “How shall a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word” (Ps. 119:9) While outside influences like bad companions and Godless homes can tear young people away from the heavenly Father, a young Christian’s greatest defense against Satan is a strong connection to the living Word. In our study on the inspiration of Scriptures last night, I concluded by reciting the words J.W. McGarvey spoke to the Y.M.C.A at the University of Missouri on May 28^th 1893:

I would advise the young men of this Association then to cling to their Bibles, and to so study the foundations on which the “Impregnable Rock of the Scripture” reposes, that no man shall be able to deceive them, but that they themselves may be teachers of others, and may do battle for the truth against every foe.

Equip yourselves for upholding in your narrower sphere, against every antagonist whom you may meet, the book on which your Association depends for its existence, and on which you individually depend for that which you hold dearest and best.

Remember that your most effective weapon will always be “the sword of the Spirit,” which is the Word of God.

And I think we understand a couple of things from the Psalmist and brother McGarvey’s conclusions. First, this lesson is not limited to our young people. Regardless of age, circumstance, or maturity, every Christian who builds their life around the Gospel will live by faith. We are aware of what Paul wrote to Timothy concerning the power of Scripture: “…profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (II Ti. 3:16-17).

Second, we are talking about more than just going to worship services. There are folks in congregations all across the country who come to every worship service, Bible in tow, and stare at the preacher for 35 minutes a sitting, but aren’t committed to learning, absorbing, or growing in knowledge. Keeping a life according to the Word means being actively involved in the study of Truth and application of Truth. And such is an important goal for us all.

I say all this to give the setting for the title to this article. Last night, 9 Jr High students went to the Pahos’ house for our monthly study. I wanted to discuss the points from our sermon that night, asking them to recall what I taught. But I knew that Payton always took notes and had her notebook with her. I didn’t want her to peek, so I asked for her notebook before we began. I noticed a couple other notebooks, so I said, “Okay, everyone who has notes from our sermons today, hand ‘em in.” And… 9 kids handed in 9 notebooks! How incredible is that? I thumbed through them all, and, sure enough, they had been taking notes for weeks, months even, in great detail. The adults were so proud of them that we gave them a round of applause. And, as you might expect, they did a great job of remembering the points made in the sermon a couple hours earlier.

Maybe today we can take a lesson from our 9 Jr. High kids. God’s Word can do great things for us, but not by osmosis. And not by just going to Church. Nor by staring at the preacher. But by engaging in the reading, notation, and consideration of the only perfect thing on this earth: The Law of Liberty!

kris