The Wealth of God's Word ~ Part 2

The Word of God is the greatest treasure we will ever own. We ought not be flippant with it.

Col.3:16 tells us exactly what we are to do with this treasure. We are to "Let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly." When we open our Bible in Meditation, Quiet Time, Devotions, Bible Reading, Bible Study, or any other name you may call it, our mind must be focused. We are spending time with our heavenly Father.
Quiet Time is sometimes referred to as a Morning Watch in which we spend a few precious minutes talking with our Father and setting our mind on Him. We fortify ourselves from a portion of His Word and we commit our day to Him for His direction. There are books especially designed for that purpose. A Christian book store will help you .We may have to set our alarm clock ten or twenty minutes earlier and we may have to exercise our mind over our mattress, but we will be blessed as we go through the day.
When we understand that God longs for our fellowship, we can’t help but want to meet with Him. "The Father seeketh [true worshipers] to worship Him in spirit and in truth" Jn.4:23

A man told D.L. Moody that he did not have time to read his Bible every day to which Moody repliesd "My friend, if you are too busy to read the Bible every day you are busier than Almighty God ever intended any human being should be, and you better let some things go and take time to read the Bible." When will we find time to read our Bible? We won’t find time! We must make time in our daily schedule.
In my own pursuit for growth in the Lord I make a decided differentiation between Bible reading and Bible study: however, they are not mutually exclusive. Proper Bible reading habits will affect our Bible study.

"What really counts is not how much of God’s Word you go through, but how much of God’s Word goes through you." Reading the Bible through in a year is a valuable method for a bird’s eye view of the whole picture. Hats off to you who do that. But we must go further by taking time to assimilate, digest, and appropriate the truths through the leading of the Holy Spirit. That is necessary and vital for maturity and growth in the ways of the Lord.

It is helpful for me to vary my Bible reading. Sometimes I read aloud. Over a period of days I will read the same portion of Scripture from various versions or translations. It is helpful to personalize God’s Word. Example: [Norma], count it all joy when you fall into various trials"

Ja.1:2. Ouch! That hits the core of my heart. That’s not for my neighbor down the street. That’s for me right in the middle of my muddle. Yes, LORD. As an artist I enjoy visualizing accounts. The breadcrumbs falling from Jesus’ hands as he broke the loaves to feeds thousands. Or Peter and Jesus’ probable facial expressions as they approached each other walking on the water.

Next time we will look into the glorious experience of digging deeply into the gold mine and finding precious nuggets as well as mountains of valuable jewels to enrich our lives in Christ.

(to be continued)

　

The Wealth of God's Word ~ Part 1

Now that you have read my four- part biography, we will be able to identify with each other in our future studies.

It is my desire that THE WEALTH OF GOD’S WORD will give a deeper hunger to dig into God’s gold mine of truth and grow thereby.

LET’S START OUR STUDY

We have a gold mine at our finger tips. Its resources are available to anyone at anytime and yields high dividends to those who are willing to dig. That gold mine, of course, is the Bible, which tells us everything we need to know about life.

One Bible teacher said, “How wonderful it is to study the Scripture and to know that I not only have the page in my hand, but I have the Author in my heart.” Of course we know the Author is the Holy Spirit Who inspired the words of Scripture. And the Holy Spirit is our teacher. Isn’t that awesome! We have the Author at our side!

People ask my husband and me to autograph our books. They take them home and study on their own. They may have questions to be answered, but we are not there. Not so with God’s Word. The Author is always and immediately available. Our Interpreter comes with the Book. Isn’t that awesome! All we need to do is ask Him to help us.

To ask means to pray. Prayer is crucial with any form of interaction with the triune God and His Word. (In fact, we know that prayer is crucial in any and every activity of life). John 16:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit will guide us in all truth. We need that. We can’t understand, apply, or obey on our own. We need help. So when we open our Bible, the first thing we must do is to ask the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher; to reveal the infinitely precious truths of God to us. Isn’t that Awesome! We have the Author, the Interpreter, and the Teacher right at our side!

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” ( Psalm 42:1). I picture a beleaguered deer with a body drained of moisture and panting for water to assuage its thirst. That is the way I want to approach the Word of God. A thirst that can never be quenched apart from God and His all consuming Word.

Gabriel Bradford transferred the picture to himself when he said, “My one unchanged ambition wheresoe’er my feet have trod is a keen, enormous, haunting never-sated thirst for God.” Through His Word.

(to be continued)

Thought #4 ~ Faith

Thought #4: "Walking by faith means being prepared to trust when we are not permitted to see."

Thought #3 ~ No Condemnation

Thought #3 "...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). Without believing in the atoning work of Jesus we stand in death’s row -- condemned. "Jesus came (Christmas) to pay a debt (Good Friday) He didn’t owe, because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay." I had unspeakable release when I found out that I was no longer condemned. How about you?

Thought #2

Thought #2: Today I was taken back by a question -- "Will all ‘Christians‘ go to heaven?" The article continued, "In today’s egotistical culture, many choose to trust in self-achievements and hope in the saving power of personal works." I am finding Matt. 25:41 a probing study as I reference myself to the seriousness of the total context. I hope you will join me.

Thought #1 and Introduction

Dear friends,

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of you are enjoying my monthly blog spot, A Window for Women. Thank you for your comments that  encourage me to continue. Because a month seems like a long time, and because I’ m constrained to share more often, I’m adding a weekly "shortie" called A Thought. A "shortie" is a hard thing for a woman to come by! At least we have a reputation. In this new venture, I have found that it takes a lot of time and forethought to say something that will be worthy of your time and will honor our Lord in a few words. I don’t know who will be reading these nuggets, but God does. I have prayed that the Lord, "Who knows all things," would help me write just the right thought on the very week that someone would need it.

What is the source of these thoughts? Some of the short ones are from jottings on scraps of paper; some are from the fly leaves of my Bibles or my daily Bible study. Some are from friends, and some just pop into my head as I write. The longer ones take much time as I reference commentaries and other sources. They must go through the grid of my own heart before I share.

If this venture is a blessing to you, I would appreciate knowing so. This will help me to know whether to continue. Please don’t expect more than a "Thank you" in reply. My cup is very full in ministry -- mentoring, counseling, writing, speaking, witnessing, housekeeping, and being my husband’s helpmeet.

My prayer is that you will be edified and God glorified through this little tool -- "A Thought."

Look for a new Thought on Monday of each week. We will start with Thought #1 today. God bless.
　
Thought #1 There is no problem that is bigger than the reservoir of God’s grace. Open your Bible to 2 Cor. 12:9. Paul says that three times he pleaded with the Lord to take away his "thorn in the flesh." But God responded with, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in [your] weakness." Infirmities are not easy to bear, are they? May you, like Paul, rest in the fact that in it all God has a plan to demonstrate through you His purpose and power. What a privilege to be used of God in this way!

Life History of Norma Whitcomb ~ Part 4

Dr. Whitcomb had other serious matters to discuss while we drove along in his big blue station wagon, especially since he knew nothing about me nor my plans after moving back to Kansas. He asked me nothing about my past, present or future, but went right to the point. "Senie [his wife] was ill for so many years. There were times when we thought the doctors had found a cure for her. When it was obvious that the Lord was going to take her home, she told me that she would like you to be the mother of our four children." !!!!!!

No, I was not dreaming. It was all very real. We drove along and he continued to talk. On the outside I appeared calm, cool and collected. On the inside I was in shock. How do I know? Because my mouth went so dry that I could not talk, and when a woman can’t talk, she must be in shock. I had one piece of gum in my purse which I halved to share with him. He put his piece into his pocket. After chewing a bit I was able to talk. Not a word of our conversation do I remember except, "I’ll try", meaning, I’ll try to be the mother of your children!

As we conversed for a couple of hours over a Chinese meal, it began to dawn on me that this man had proposed to me and that I had said, "yes". I was engaged! That really did not confuse or distress me. You see, several months earlier, God had spoken from His heart to mine. No visions. No voice. Just a calm assurance from His Word that He would continue to guide me. My JEHOVAH-SHALOM gave me peace that passes all understanding – just as He has promised all through His precious Word. "This is the way, walk in it." On that assurance I said, "Yes".

On January 1^st, 1971, my sixteen-year-old son, Dan, walked down the aisle to give me as wife to Dr. John C. Whitcomb. When asked, " Who gives this woman to this man?" my son replied, "My brother and I." That night, our lonesome threesome became a bustling household of eight. I do mean bustling! The ages of those in our quiver were 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Our home mission field.

God has been gracious to each one in our blended family. All six children have a close relationship to their God. We are trusting Him to do His perfect work in every one of our seventeen grandchildren. (Norma Whitcomb)