Basking
in His Word 4-15-13
Do you
ever get so deep in reading the Word of God that you loose track of
time? Or maybe you find yourself thinking on the scriptures as you
wander through your day as if you were in the Bible days?
Do you
see people around you in the likeness of the characters you are
reading about in your daily reads?
If so
you may be basking in the Word!
Think
about how it is to lay out in the sun, or maybe you enjoy sitting
outside on a warm Spring day with a bit of sin filtering through the
trees. As you sit there imagine the warmth you feel that reaches to
the depths of your body because it just feels so good that you do not
want to stop sitting there even if you know there is a threat of
sunburn. That is basking in the Sunshine. Personally I love that
feeling, but even more than that do I enjoy basking in the Son-shine!
Basking
in the Son is when you think on a Bible truth that touches your soul,
its as if the same warmth of the physical sun is shining from the
inside out fulling you with warmth and peace that passes all
understanding. You just want to think, or meditate, on this
particular part of scripture for ever!
Many
of us get this excited when we are first 'saved' and we want the
whole world to feel it too! We wake up in the morning feeling that
love of God flowing all over us and we just can't help but tell
others about it. Like a person who loves to go to the beach to we
dive into the Word first thing and carry our Bibles with us wherever
we go. There is no time too short or too long for us to spend
reading; even one scripture verse will keep us basking in His Word.
The
thing we probably do not realize when we do this is that its His Love
that we are truly basking in; the love notes in our Bibles remind us
of all things wonderful and related to the One we love. One such day
in the Bible the people followed Jesus around to listen to Him speak,
they did not have a Bible to carry; they spent the whole day in His
Word!
So
they left by boats but many people recognized them and saw them
leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and
goth there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from
the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep
without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Late in
the afternoon his disciples came to him and said,” This is a remote
place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they
can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”
But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“with
what?” they asked. “We'd have to work for months to earn enough
money to buy food for all these people!”
“How
much bread do you have?” he asked.”Go and find out.”
They
came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two
fish.”
Then
Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven and
blessed them. Then breaking the loaves into pieces he kept giving the
bread to the disciples so they would distribute it to the people. He
also divided the fish for everyone to share.
They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets for leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 mean and their families were fed from those loaves!Mark 6:30-44
God
honored the people for sitting there at Jesus' feet listening to His
direction. In the same way I believe He honors us today when we bask
in His Word. The more we listen to what God has for us the more our
day will be filtered with good 'food' for thought.
On the
last day the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the
crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes
in me may come and drink! For the scriptures declare, 'Rivers of
living water will flow from his heart.'” John 7:36-38
Basking
in His presence is resting in Him. Basking in His Word is resting in
His word, relishing it and savoring it; in other words thoroughly
enjoying it!
When we read or listen to studies in the morning it will remain with us throughout the day. I can't count how many times I have had the right attitude or thing to say when someone was in need of a good word because of the time spent searching the scriptures for that perfect amount of information. Some days it is just a matter of a little nibble that stays with me all day. Some days it takes several chapters or a whole book but whatever amount it takes to enjoy what you are reading and know that it was what God wanted you to read today suffices.
I am
counting on the Lord; yes I am counting on Him. I have put my hope in
His Word. Psalm 10:5
What I
am trying to say is that reading the bible daily is not supposed to
be a chore but something to enjoy. Read to your heart's content!
Dear
Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word that we can read daily and
grow closer to You in doing so. Thank you for the knowledge, the
understanding and the wisdom we receive in the Word each day. Help
us to apply it to our lives and those around us, in Jesus name, amen.
Suggested
reading: Psalm 130:1-8, Mark 6: 1-56, Psalm 89:1-82, and 2 Peter
3:1-18.