Computer Illiterate

 

To follow-up on yesterday’s example, I want to talk a little more about Jesus statement: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples”

I would like to compare our familiarity with the Word to our familiarity with our computer.  In order to use our computer we need to get familiar with it.  It is usually trial and error.  I have never met a computer geek who took a computer class. The only way to become computer literate is to spend a lot of time playing with it. Most of us never have taken a computer course; but don’t spend a lot of time with it so we probably use less than 1% of our computer capacity.

The same is true when it comes to the Word.   We will never become Word savvy taking a class.  We must immerse ourselves in the Word.  We will never know our Father’s character unless we spend time with him.  We will never get to know Him by reading books about him.  We must read His book. In order to bear much fruit, we must be "Word literate".  Our Father has tasked us, the church, to do His work.  This is same work that Jesus did while He was on the earth, bringing glory to the Father.  We are told in Chronicles: "the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him."  He wants to demonstrate His power through you and me, the church.  When we deny His power by our lack of knowing Him, we are depriving the Father of glory.  Like in the computer example, we tap into an infinitesimal amount of God’s power.  God wants more glory.  He wants to show Himself strong on our behalf, as a witness to the unsaved.  Paul told the Romans: I have fully preached the gospel of Christ through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God.”  The only way to “fully preach the gospel” is through “mighty signs and wonders”.  Is it any wonder the church to day is floundering?

We will never fully learn His character by talking to other people.  We will never fully learn from experiences because people and experiences are not how God chose how to reveal Himself to us.

 Paul told Timothy,

                  If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, ….. be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.   ….give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. ¹⁶Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Meditate means to “use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments, to think about deeply, to reflect.  Meditation is different than memorization.  Memorization may involve meditation; but, not always.  I memorized many things in my years in school, but it was not until I had to teach, did I meditate on those things and they became second nature to me.

The psalmist in Psalm 119 says: “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.  Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies.

And in Psalm 63: My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

And in Psalm 77:  I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.  I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

Notice in the last verses he says: “I will”.  This is a decision that he makes.  It is a commitment.

Oh that we would make the same commitment.