July 30, 2008
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Psalms 119:97 NIV).
Friend to Friend
I was seventeen-years-old when about twenty-five of my jean clad friends and I sat crossed-legged on the floor of our Christian coffee house called The Ancient of Days. Bell bottom hip hugger pants, tie-dyed t-shirts, long straight hair (on boys and girls), platform shoes…we were a sight. We gathered each week for a Bible study led by a twenty-something fellow from the local college. After singing “Pass It On,” the leader grew very serious, lowered his voice, and posed the question: “Who came here tonight to have…fun?”
My hand was the first to shoot up in the air! As a matter-of-fact, it was the only hand to shoot up in the air. I sheepishly looked around the room and mumbled, Wrong answer? I felt as though I had a neon sign over my head blinking HEATHEN! HEATHEN!
With a tisk, tisk, look on his sullen face, the young man, just a few years my senior announced, “We are not here to have fun! We are here to study God’s Word.”
However, what that whipper-snapper didn’t understand was, for me, studying God’s Word was fun! What could be more exciting than discovering answers to the mysteries of creation, seeing Jesus revealed in the Old Testament, uncovering the truths that can set you free? It’s a love story, a murder mystery, a history lesson, a letter from God, and the key to wisdom all wrapped into one. Wow! That is fun. The Bible is filled with treasures waiting to be discovered. It was exciting to me when I was seventeen and it is still exciting to me today. Therefore, you see, it wasn’t the wrong answer after all.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I get so excited learning about You! The Bible is so deeply profound, yet incredibly simple, all at the same time. You have such incredible riches just waiting to be discovered on every page. Thank You that we live in a time in history that we can hold Your Holy Word in our hands. What a blessing! May we never take it for granted. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Now it’s Your Turn
When was the most fun you have ever had studying God’s Word? For some, that will be a strange and uncomfortable question. That’s OK. Just think about it.
If you have children and you read the Bible together, think about the attitude you portray of God’s Word. Do your children think the Bible is exciting or boring? Learn how to ask great questions that make them see the wonder and thrill of learning about God.
Summertime is a time when many Bible study groups take a break. If you’re wondering what to read during the summer months, consider the book of Proverbs. There are 31 chapters, just perfect for one chapter a day. Simply read the chapter that coincides with the particular day of the month.
More from the Girlfriends
Today’s devotion was taken from Sharon new devotional book, Extraordinary Moments with God. Come with Sharon as she dusts for God’s fingerprints that change ordinary days into extraordinary moments. As you explore this treasury of stories highlighting “God moments” in the lives of fellow travelers, you too will begin to sense His presence in extraordinary ways.
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