GO FOR THE FEAST!!!
“Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They have used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.” Luke 1:1-4
John Stott writes, “It should whet our appetite, especially if we have become too accustomed to living on spiritual snacks, to know what pains Luke has taken to prepare this feast.”
The main course Luke serves is the certainty of truth he promises. Luke’s gift to Theophilus is a gift for us as well. Those of us who have missed the authenticity of mom’s cooking/baking, grow weary of manufactured snacks – or the frozen look alike meals. As we grow in our faith, we should hunger for more Truth with the only preservative being certainty.
Many years ago when I was a new believer, I rode on the shirttails of my pastor hoping to receive crumbs of wisdom to snack on. I didn’t study and learn God’s Word to know it for myself and soon discovered I was biblically illiterate – malnourished in God’s Word. It wasn’t that I didn’t receive great teaching, it was simply time for me to feed myself more so that I could feed others.
I thank God I had a grandmother and a mother who taught me how to cook (my husband thanks Him too) so our family didn’t have to ride on the shirttails of my mom for every meal. I thank God for faithful Christians in the past who have paved the way that we can be confident of the Truth as we study it and apply it to our lives today. With God’s Word and today’s technology in the United States, we never have to settle for an unhealthy snack or have stunted Christianity due to malnourishment. There is a 24/7 Bible study buffet open for anyone desiring more than hors d’oeuvres. But, just like any buffet, we can become spiritually fat if all we do is eat without exercising what we have consumed. When we live out the Word of God, we share the meal with others who are starving.
Not sure what to read? Start with a Christmas Devotional from here: http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/category/devotional?page=2
Lord, I pray for my hunger to increase for your Word on a daily basis . . . that I would take a bite and chew on it for a while and let it digest thoroughly into my life so that others receive its nourishment as well. May this Christmas bring a real certainty to many who are struggling to know the Truth, the One who has the power to transform and the One who longs to be a part of the rest of our stories. In Jesus name, Amen.
