We have a most unreasonable habit in our home. If when we return from the grocery store there is still bread left in the pantry. we put the new fresh bread aside until we have consumed the old bread. The result being that a few days will pass before we get to the fresh bread, which is no longer fresh. This seems to occur each week and so we are always eating semi-fresh or using another expression semi-stale bread, while fresh bread is on the shelf.
This seems most illogical and is often like my consumption of God’s Word. My Bible is right at hand and yet I most likely spend more time reading commentaries and other works that are other people’s interpretations of what various texts mean. While they are often quite good they can be compared to my semi-stale bread. Commentaries are good and useful but not nearly as profitable as the power and freshness of the Word itself. The Holy Spirit attends us as we dig into the depths of His messages to us. As we seek, He speaks. Soon we discover real one to one communication with the Creator Himself.
There is a wonderful old hymn that goes something like this. “I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses and He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own.” There isn’t anything stale and about that even though it is old. The freshness comes from the uniqueness of your special relationship with Him. Paul wrote, “The Word of God is profitable for ……..” Finish the text by going to II Timothy 3:16.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 30, 2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org