Week 10/21-10/27: Redeemed Response - Trusting the God Who Speaks

 Day One: Acts 7: 2-5 “Brothers and fathers,” he said, “listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, and said to him: Get out of your country and away from your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you. “Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this land you now live in. He didn’t give him an inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, but He promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless.

Finish the story by reading 6-16 in your Bible.

HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED A GIFT and had no clue what it was?

A few years ago some of my cousins gave my grandmother a Nintendo DS and the game Brain Age for Christmas. When she opened the package, she had no idea what she had been given.

After letting her sit there with a confused look trying to figure that contraption out for a bit, my cousins finally explained the gift. They let her know that it was a portable video game system, and that the game Brain Age was designed to help stimulate brain activity. Since the potential of losing her mental sharpness is one of my grandmother’s greatest fears about getting older, the game was a great gift. After she figured out what it was, she was greatly appreciative and has used it regularly.

Notice that last part. She could only truly appreciate and use the gift after she figured out what it was. The same thing is true with the Bible. If we do not know it, we cannot appreciate it, apply it, trust it, or proclaim it.

Look back at our passage. Stephen knew the Bible. In this brief passage, he quickly traces the history of the Christian patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the midst of the discussion, he even stops to quote Old Testament passages. The implication is clear: Stephen knew the Word of God!

What about you? Do you know the message and stories that are contained in the Bible? Or is it one of those things that just takes up space on your shelf? In the next few days we’ll look at the importance of trusting and proclaiming God’s Word. But here’s the kicker. If you don’t know the Word of God, it’s going to be impossible to truly trust and proclaim it.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷How often do you read God’s Word?

▷▷What can you do to make sure you spend time in God’s Word on a regular basis?

▷▷Will you commit to reading your Bible daily? Why or why not?