March 10, 2021
“These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.” – Deuteronomy 6:6-9
When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was go to the video store to rent a movie. I especially loved the local places like “Uptown Video” in the small town where I lived. Back then, renting a movie was a big deal. You would anxiously wait for a new movie to come out on VHS or DVD. When it did, all the copies were usually checked out already, so you would return to the store, often several times a day, hoping you could grab a copy before it was gone again. Because of this, when you finally got the movie home it was a family affair. Everyone would set time aside and sit down to watch the movie together. And you wouldn’t wait too long to do this or there would be late fees! Today things are very different. Like most of you, I have several streaming services. In each of those I have numerous movies saved to my favorites list. But you know how many I have watched? None of them. Why? Is it because I don’t have time? No, you can always make time to do the things that are important to you. I don’t watch them because they are always there, and I have access to them anytime I want. These days it is much easier to say, “I’ll watch that sooner or later.”
So, let me ask you a question; do you have this same attitude toward your Bible? Is your Bible on your “favorites list” but never in your hand? Our church has been supporting a new ministry in a modular home community near us. The man leading that ministry has been inundated with Bibles. We bought a case of Bibles and people have brought lots of “extra” Bibles they had laying around the house. There are Bibles everywhere! But I recently saw a video of believers receiving Bibles in a country where they are highly persecuted. In that place, when the box of Bibles shows up everyone scrambles to get one and runs immediately to the corner of the room to start reading. If only we Americans had that kind of passion for God’s Word! How can we have so many Bibles and so few Bible readers?! I want to challenge you today; make your Bible a priority. Set aside some time, sit down, and read the Scriptures on a regular basis. Never take for granted the fact that you hold the Word of God in your hand.
Lord fill us with passion for Your Word. Give us a deep desire to know You more through the incredible blessing of our Bibles. Convict our hearts and drive us to recognize the Scriptures as a vital part of our daily lives.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Shane Cannon
