The Weekly Epistle 1/6/21

Do you remember what you had for lunch on December 15?  How about dinner on December 12?  Or what you ate each day three weeks ago?  Unless you eat the same thing every day, or it was a special occasion, you likely do not remember what you ate.  But it is safe to assume you did eat!
 
What’s my point?  Even though you can’t remember what you ate, I can look at you and conclude you did eat- no offense.  Spiritually, you may not remember the exact sermon you heard, or the Bible passages you read in 2020, but eventually your spiritual diet would be obvious.  You are what you eat!  We are shaped by what we read.  
 
How was your Bible reading in 2020?  I shared a quote on social media recently from David Mathis.  He said, “None of us were barred access by civil authorities from the Scriptures or from the throne of grace in prayer.  Yet, how did 2020 affect you?”  In other words, with all the challenges of this past year and especially the loss of precious Sundays with God’s people, we have not been locked out or locked down from the words of God in the Bible.  Are you spiritually the better for 2020?  
 
As we turn the page to 2021, what’s your plan for hearing from God in His word this year?  As the saying goes, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.”  What are you aiming for in terms of Scripture intake this year?  And it must go deeper than a New Year’s resolution.  
 
I have heard from several of you about your commitment to reading through the Bible this past year and have been super encouraged by your follow through.  I know that some of you followed the reading plan that went along with our sermon series this past year.  If you are following that reading plan and are a little behind, this is the month to catch up, as our study in Daniel won’t begin until February 7.  
 
My challenge to you is to make Bible reading not merely a new year’s resolution, but a lifelong pursuit.  And by reading it, I mean, applying it to your life.  How wonderful it is that God gave us 66 books, about 775,000 words in English, to make Himself known to us!  He has not left us to ourselves to find our way in 2021 but provides us with the greatest resource ever to teach us how to live.  And not only live, but live abundantly, live triumphantly, live above the circumstances.  
 
What’s your plan for hearing from God in His word this year?  We cannot live without it.  Often someone will ask me, “Does it bother you that people might not remember your sermons?”  Not really!  I am tasked with the privilege of giving out spiritual food, of feeding the church (and my own soul), and while the church may or may not remember the food they ate, my hope and prayer is that it shows in our lives.  
 
I remain committed to feeding you, but let’s commit to gathering food for ourselves as well.  Like the sloth of Proverbs, “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth” (Proverbs 26:15).  Let’s fight against any laziness to gather food for ourselves in 2021.  
 
Blessings to you!  Pastor Brian