"…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight…" —Acts 9:1
“When Paul received his sight, he also received spiritual insight into the Person of Jesus Christ. His entire life and preaching from that point on were totally consumed with nothing but Jesus Christ— “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul never again allowed anything to attract and hold the attention of his mind and soul except the face of Jesus Christ. We must learn to maintain a strong degree of character in our lives, even to the level that has been revealed in our vision of Jesus Christ. The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others. The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ. Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart (see Acts 13:22). Never allow anything to divert you from your insight into Jesus Christ. It is the true test of whether you are spiritual or not. To be unspiritual means that other things have a growing fascination for you. Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus, I’ve lost sight of all beside, So enchained my spirit’s vision, Gazing on the Crucified.” - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest
I was talking to a friend of ours some time ago about a related topic. She told me how she longed to be in a Bible study. I resisted the urge to say “Ok I will start one!”. Just because you can does not mean you should. (Leading a bible study should spring from the prompting of the Spirit and not simply your desire to help people. Our challenge is to know the difference .. but that discussion will have to wait for another time.) She also wanted to understand what the Nicene council did and why certain writings were excluded from the Bible as we know it. After I thought about our conversation, and read Chamber’s devotion this morning, I concluded that although those things are nice to know, it is more important to know more about Jesus. Our friend was not questioning His deity .. something the Nicene council addressed by the way … but she was concerned about things that really have no bearing on her spiritual growth. Her questions are not unreasonable … but, in my opinion, are not practical.
Our spiritual understanding is rooted in the presence of the "unquenched" – Spirit in our lives. Most Christians, my opinion again, are Biblically illiterate. They are not students of the scriptures .. but hearers mostly .. from the radio, TV and Sunday morning on the big screens. I am referring primarily to Christians in the U.S. of A. Listen, “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48) In other countries, many Christians will never hold a Bible in their hands. But for us … we are Bible-poor … having more than one in our homes. The problem is a Bible sitting on a shelf is of little value except to impress our friends. It must be read to have its intended affect. My friend does not need to read about the Bible, she needs to read the Bible.
A common malady that plagues many if not most Christians in the US. NotReadingTheBible-itis. In fact I believe it has reached pandemic proportions that preexisted COVID. To clarify, an epidemic is defined as “an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time.” A pandemic is a type of epidemic (one with greater range and coverage), an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population.
If you want to know more about Jesus, study your Bible. If you want to grow in your faith, study your Bible. If you want to know how to live, study your Bible.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
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