KNOWING AND DOING

A young, energetic salesman approached a wise, old farmer and offered to sell him a set of newly published books on “Farming: Things You Need to Know.”

“If you buy them, read them carefully and study them thoroughly,” said the confident young man, “you’ll farm twice as good as you do now.”

“Listen, young fellow,” said the farmer, “I ain’t farming half as good as I know how now!”

It’s not what I do not know or understand about the Bible that troubles me, it’s what I know and often do not apply as I go about my daily responsibilities.

At the conclusion of one of His lessons, Jesus said, “You know these things – now do them! That is the path of blessing.”

Often we are anxious to purchase a new Bible that promises to provide insight and knowledge about the teachings of Scripture. And it seems as though there are new study Bibles published every month that offer “easy-to-understand” interpretations of difficult passages. Other editions promise to teach the reader how to study the Bible “inductively” or “deductively.” Others focus on timelines and prophecies, culture and geography.

What is most helpful, however, is to actually read the Bible every day, meditate on its teachings and ask God, through His Holy Spirit, to teach us His ways.

Prayer:  Father, help us to accept and apply Your Word that challenges us to “realize what is wrong in our lives”…and know that it will straighten us out to do right. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:   All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16