Dear Cornerstone Family,
Today is the final Lord’s Day of 2021! Can you believe it? It’s a remarkable grace to weekly meet together in the presence of the Lord and feast on His Word. How faithful our God has been to commune with us this year, portioning out His grace to our gospel-needy souls.
A few months ago, a visiting worshiper, passing through town on his way back to Kansas, said to me at the door, “Boy, you guys sure love the Bible.” When he said that, I wasn’t sure if he thought that was a good thing or not, but he is absolutely right. The Bible is the foundation for all we do at Cornerstone. Every week the worship service is filled to the brim with the truth of God’s Word. Whether reading, preaching, singing, or praying we want the truth of the Scriptures to wash over us, and, by the power of the Spirit, to have a transformative impact on our heart and life (Ephesians 5:26-27).
As central and necessary our weekly Bible intake is in corporate worship, one feeding a week is simply not enough. In the same way that one meal a week cannot meet your physical needs, one meal on God’s Word a week cannot meet your spiritual needs. This is why over and over in the Bible God calls His people to daily feedings on Scripture (Psalm 1:1-2, Joshua 1:8), and why Jesus says we cannot expect to survive spiritually if we’re not regularly consuming every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
If we took an honest look at our patterns of Bible intake, many of us would likely find that our souls are suffering from spiritual malnutrition. Just as our stomach growls when we’re hungry, our soul growls for the solid food of God’s Word (Job 23:12). Sadly, instead of turning to the pure milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2), we’ll snack on the many words of the world. Some sustenance can certainly be found on Christian blogs and books and through conversations with Christian friends, but no matter how tasty the instruction, their words are only supplemental. Man’s words are never to be a meal replacement for the Word of God.
Now, many of you are already thinking about losing those five to ten pounds you’ve picked up between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As a fellow in need of some trimming, I will likely join you in that noble endeavor as soon as the calendar strikes January. But as we make plans to pursue physical health, let’s remember that godliness has value in all things, holding promise for now and eternity (1 Timothy 4:8). Sure, cut out the carbs and go easy on the sugar in January, but don’t ever push back from the table of God’s Word. Instead, let’s commit to glut ourselves with the Word of God this year.
Sometime this week commit to a Bible reading plan. Need help getting started? Crossway books put together a super helpful, one-stop-shop webpage on Bible reading plans. There’s a chronological through the Bible plan, a Psalm a day plan, a five-month New Testament plan, and many more. With a little effort, you can find the one that’s just right for you. Just follow the link and prepare to get started: https://www.crossway.org/articles/download-a-free-bible-reading-plan-for-2017/
Tolle lege!
