As we scroll down to the last day of the decade, two themes continue their prominence in my life- the love of God & the Word of God. At the end of 1991, the worst year of my life, I came to a point of utter personal devastation. Or as Proverbs 5:14 puts it, "to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly." I had prayed a conversion prayer twenty years before, joined the Christian community & agreed with basic orthodox Christian doctrine. I heard a good sermon every week & went bible studies regularly. But I lived the Christian life the way i thought it should be lived. I learned the externals and successfully mimicked "Christian" behavior. I and the others around me thought I was a genuine believer.
When I finally crashed and burned- thank you for your mercy, Lord- God showed me two themes. He loved me personally, which I had never really believed, and He wanted me to do what His Word said, rather than just listen to others teach it. He led me through a prolonged season of confession and repentance. I quickly saw that I couldn't do what it said, because I didn't really know what it said- despite all those sermons and bible studies. He gave me a voracious hunger for His Word because I finally saw the Bible as a letter of love to me in which God wanted to reveal who He is, and His interaction with humanity.
It grieves me to observe, as I travel through the Body of Christ in America, that so many do not seem to have a relationship of love with Jesus, or do not dig into His Word, or both. As we begin the new decade I pray that everyone who has occasion to read this blog will receive the love of God in a deep, profound way, and will allow the Holy Spirit to minister the Word of God to you.
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