Wed. Day 10...How to REAP...Read

Today, you're going to begin to REAP a harvest 

If you want to be a man outstanding in his field, know your Bible well. Most men don't. Thus, their field of dreams is more like a nightmare. A man can prevent so many problems in his life if he will just read and heed the owner's manual- the Bible. He could reap such a harvest if he would just follow it.



Yesterday, we considered the importance of asking our Father for his divine favor before we opened his book of life to meet with him. Today we want to begin to learn how to R.E.A.P. from his word. 

R= Read. We need to be people who read and heed God’s word. Ages ago, Christians were known as “people of the book.” I’m afraid many now barely know the book. They rarely read it. What an insult to God who used over 40 different authors, writing in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek), over a period of over 1,400 years to give us the greatest earthly treasure to man- and yet it collects dust. If you were an archeologist, can you imagine finding any greater treasure than the very oracles of God? But today believers treasure their TV shows over the Scriptures. So they don’t read the word because they are “too busy.” I would dare say a king could use that excuse about being too busy to read God’s word. But notice what God expected the kings of Israel to do- “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes” Dt.17:18-19. Note the connection between reading the word of the Lord daily and learning the fear of the Lord (to honor and obey him.).

The summer before I started attending kindergarten in 1963, the US Supreme Court outlawed the reading of the Bible in public schools. And thus, the most important thing we could learn- the fear of the Lord from the word of the Lord- has not been taught in our schools for over 50 years. Do you think there might be a connection between that and the melt down of morality in our land?

The reading of the Scriptures is of supreme importance. We should know our Father’s book. Jesus various times rebuked the pious religious leaders who opposed his teaching by slapping their pride saying, “Haven’t you read…?” He expects us to read even end time prophecies found in Daniel. "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand—“ Mt.24:15. Even the book of Revelation, which many wrongly avoid, pronounces a special blessing on those who read it- “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy” Rev.1:3. (Would you like to study through Revelation? We will!)

So it’s very good that we are daily reading and heeding God’s word. At times we will read through a chapter or an entire book, studying a portion of it at a time. At other times, we will look at various scattered verses on a certain topic. But it all begins with carefully and prayerfully reading God's word. So use the prayer you wrote on your MP3 card from yesterday before you begin reading. Make this your own holy habit, not just when I mention it, please.)

Today, let’s read Ps.119:9-16. This is one of the most power packed stanzas of the 22 in this psalm in honor of God’s word. As you begin reading carefully, what do you notice right off the bat? Hey, the stanza of 119:9-16 is entitled “Beth.” That's right! No, Beth wasn’t his wife or girlfriend whom he was dedicating the song to. If you have a study Bible, it probably has a footnote for the beginning of Psalm 119 that explains this.* 

1.- Pick and write out one verse from Ps.119:9-16 and share what you like about it.

2.- Also write your verse on your MP3 card. When you did it, write “Did it.”Then enjoy meditating on it, praying and praising God regarding it and passing it on to others today.  

Write down the total number of times you shared your MP3 card with others since you blogged yesterday.

R?

E? 

A? Did you Attack in prayer? O God, help me and others to be Power HOUSE men!

* If you don't have a study Bible, please get one. There are many good ones out there, such as the Life Application Study Bible. Christian Book Distributors (CBD) has nice discounts on study Bibles. See their offerings at http://www.christianbook.com/page/bibles/study-bibles?event=Bibles
The modern translations such NIV, ESV, NLT are good ones. I have a King James Version (KJV) Bible, but the old English from 400 years ago, makes it hard to read and understand in places. (If you ever meet someone who thinks that the KJV is the only Bible we should use, just know, that he does not know what he's talking about. We'll dig into that down the road.)

I have a friend who is a Pentecostal pastor. Some people will ask him at times, “Pastor, do you have a word from the Lord for me?” 
“Yes, read your Bible! That’s the word of the Lord for you.” Great response!

Let's review some of the vital things we've covered over these first 10 days together (No you don't need to submit your answers.)

You are in Pro training for the next several weeks. Our goal is to enable you to become a G.R.E.A.T. man in God's eyes who greatly impacts many other men, who would trace their legacy to you. Our theme verse is "The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men, who will also be qualified to teach others." 2 Tim.2:2.  May you prove yourself to be reliable, unstoppable.

1-Our mission is to Multiply MANLY (Christlike) Men. T or F
2-MANLY stands for Mature in character, Active in mentoring, Noble in battle, Loving in relationships, Yoked to Christ and our band of brothers. T or F
3-Can you quote what MANLY stands for without looking at the screen? Review it out loud until you can answer Yes. 
4-God loves you and wants to meet with you daily in His word. T or F
5-The commitment you have made to help you become Unstoppable is "No Scripture No Sleep." T or F  Boys break their word, men keep theirs."He keeps his oath even when it hurts." Ps.15:4
6-To receive the Unstoppable award pin you need to be faithfully reading and sharing your thoughts from Scripture on the blog over the course of a month. You also need to pay for it ($9:). T or F
7-Before you can receive the Unstoppable pin, you need to submit the names and emails of 2 adults who will regularly pray for you. T or F
8-Calls, texts or emails from a fellow M3 member who requests a call back need to be returned at the latest by the end of the following day or an apology and soft drink is owed. We are big on respecting each other. It's what men  with chests do. T or F
9-We are big on encouragement and thus we seek to encourage at least one other teammate daily. T or F
10-Our MP3 card stands for Meditating, Praying, Praising and Passing on what we've been learning. We are big on passing on what we've been learning. Jesus said those who practice and teach (share) his teaching would be called great in God's kingdom. T or F







1 comment:

  1. 1. Psalm 119:15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I like this because this is what i constantly do on a daily basis. I meditate and consider until I believe i understand the direction God is pointing me in.

    2. Did it.

    ReplyDelete