“Ministers, Read the Bible!” (One-Year plan included)

 “Ministers, Read the Bible!” (One-Year plan included)

At the bottom of this article is a link to a 1-year Bible Reading plan that I made (technically speaking, modified). I don't think it is God's mandate for believers to read Scripture once a year, but for those in full-time ministry or aspiring to be in full-time ministry or serving as elders/pastors/deacons (even though all believers are supposedly ministers of God…)—I encourage you to read Scripture once a year. Here's why:

 

1.    Knowing Scripture by Heart

It is written, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” (Ps 119:105) and that God’s word is “…profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)

 

If we desire to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord” (2 Pet 3:18) and to develop any sort of intimacy with the Holy Spirit, we have to know Scripture. I think there can be a difference between knowing and understanding Scripture. Understanding and interpreting Scripture accurately can sometimes require a careful study of each passage in light of God’s Word as a whole and a careful understanding of how different words are used (especially in the original languages).

 

However, I also firmly believe that one who has the skills to understand Scripture may not necessarily know Scripture well—that he/she has not kept God’s Word as the lamp to one’s feet and as the light to one’s path. Ultimately, one’s engagement with Scripture enables one to engage the Word of God—Jesus Christ—through Scripture. Thus, knowing Scripture is more than understanding the authorial intent of God’s Word, though that is important, but a means to know who God is—as that is revealed in His Word.

 

And the only way (and best way?) to know God’s Word is to spend time in His Word! It takes steady, dedicated time and memory to know Scripture by heart. This is why I propose my plan so that one may read Scripture once a year as it provides a structure and rhythm of steady engagement with Scripture every day.

 

 

2.   Setting an Example

As ministers of God, we are representatives of God (though our eyes should be ultimately set on Christ, the Head of the church). As Paul says in 1 Cor 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” or “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us,” (Phil 3:17) we should be living examples demonstrating the character and faithfulness of Christ. By the way, Jesus knew Scripture really well as a man (yes, He’s God…but as a man) through His answers and understanding (cf. Lk 2:47). Though inspired by the Holy Spirit, He engaged with Scripture (LXX) prior to His ministry. We should imitate Christ as our brothers and sisters imitate us.

 

On the flip side, if we don’t regularly and fruitfully engage with Scripture, how then can we instruct others to engage in God’s Word?

 

3.   Revisiting All of Scripture (whole counsel of God?)

I can’t believe I’ve met pastors who’ve said, “the last time I read that book (in the Bible…I think it was Lamentations or Zephaniah) was years ago.” I thought: “I can’t believe you’re a pastor.”

 

When Paul mentions the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), I don’t think that refers to all of Scripture, as in, the entire Bible. But as ministers, (supposedly) being “able to teach” (1 Tim 3:2), I struggle to comprehend how we do not engage with the entire Bible regularly. Yes, the Bible is a tome, but shouldn’t we try our best to know ALL of God’s Word to the best of our abilities—even the likes of Zephaniah or Esther or Onesimus (Philemon) and the “elect lady” in 2 John 1?

 

4.   A Sign of Commitment

Allow me to raise my hands (feel free to picture that) and admit that Scripture  (written by the end of the First Century) has no direct exhortation for Christians to read all of God’s Word once a year—because God’s Word was not available for the believers in the early church! Some of the early church may have only had a few epistles! But what do we have now? We have Scripture in all kinds of forms (such as journals, online versions and so on?), just listening to it for half an hour a day gets will get us through the whole of Scripture in a year. 

I think devoting ourselves to Scripture, whether once a year or something, can serve a sign of our commitment and treasuring of God’s Word! And honestly, how can one commit to anything if one can’t commit to the simple task (physically simple…though spiritually challenging at times) of reading Scripture regularly and engaging with Him—the One whom we claim to love?

Let me present a passage that is not contextually connected with this article's topic: Hebrews 12:4, "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." The author of Hebrews (Barnabas maybe? jk, it's probably Apollos) is stating that their quest of sanctification hasn't been that bad—it's not like they're dying in their struggle against sin. With a similar logic, I'd like to say: "your daily reading of Scripture and engagement with God has not come to the point of shedding blood as well" so why not engage with Him more?

 

From my experience with believers in countries where Scripture is illegal, I can testify to how they have truly dedicated themselves to God’s Word! Some read Scripture a few times a year because that is truly the most important thing in their lives! God’s word is truly more precious than gold to them (cf. Ps 19:10). One of my favorite Bible scholars, Craig Keener, was noted to have read 40 chapters a day when he first encountered God.

 

 

Ministers, may we truly pursue God and His Word to the best of our abilities. And if this is reading His Word once a year, so be it. I do not want to sound legalistic, or perhaps this is my own bias, but I think reading Scripture once a year only produces fruit without harm. I know churches that mandate their pastors and staff to read Scripture once a year, and I think that's great. 

 

Click HERE for the link to my 1-year Bible Reading plan:

 

Devotions - the spark to transformation

If you’re raised in a family that loves God with all everything it got, or if you’ve been attending church at a very young age, you’ve probably came across many sayings about devotions. When I was young, I never understood the reason to have devotion. I did spend time to quickly plow through the Bible for an ‘Amen’, but I never understood the essence. Devotions, is so much more than just reading the Bible, or an increase in Biblical knowledge, but the spark to transformation of your life, and the ‘lovey-dovey’ times between you and The One who loves you more than you love yourself. Devotions is a time where you get soaked in God’s presence.

Imagine this: You are submerging and sinking. The space between you and the surface is enlarging, and the bottom doesn’t seem to have an end. You’re sinking, but you’re not drowning, nor are you engulfed by water. The substance that touches every corner of you, is a warm, cozy, watery-like aroma. It’s like you’re dumped into a hot, foamy fountain, and you just want to stay in that place of warmth, comfort, peace and satisfaction for the rest of your days. This is what it feels for me, when I get soaked in God’s presence.

I do devotions before I go to sleep. The reason so, is because at the end of the day, I have finished every other task, and I can place a full-hearted attention to God; laying down my worries and earthly troubles. Of course, there’s no problem with people who do devotions at daybreak, or at any time of a day.

Devotions for me, is analyzing the Word of God, and searching for applications. I try to take every verse as an application for a sermon, and I sleep amazed for the profoundness of God’s word, when I find it practical. Apart from devotion, I have worship every day for at least 30 minutes. In the time of worship I am refreshed by the Holy Spirit, and when I sing my favorite worship songs, I can feel the vivid presence of my King abiding in my heart. However, the Word of God stays as it is, and it is the solid rock for the foundation of our belief.

Devotions also acts as an implant of a spiritual seal. When I refresh myself in reading God’s Word, listening to His voice, and abiding in His presence; my heart and soul is filled with Him. Due to the solidity of His Word and the overwhelming satisfaction of His presence, I sleep with joy and spiritual satisfaction, which carries on to the next day. There’s no space in me to think of stuff that displeases God, because I am completely renewed and filled with the Holy Spirit. I find myself less-prone to sin when I have a quality devotional time, even though I hate sin with all my heart and soul and mind.

I believe some of you will think ‘so what does that have to do with me?’ or simply ‘so what’. You see, being a Christian isn’t about blind faith. Our faith in God is not simply a bet in luck or a bet in the unseen. Christianity is a relationship, and in a relationship, there’s communication. Therefore, when Christianity isn’t a religion, but a relationship, we’re not seeking holiness and purification blindly because the Bible tells us so. We’re doing it, because we have a relationship with God, who sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins. When you’re in a relationship with someone, you feel the presence of that person beside you. In the same way, if you have a relationship with God, by loving Him with all your heart, mind and soul, you will feel Him; and feeling God, is like you’re engulfed in a warm, cozy aroma, which gives you peace, comfort, joy, hope and love.

We hear a lot about ‘bad’ people experiencing massive change in life after they’ve turned to Christ. You might think ‘that’s cool’, or perhaps you believe that you’ve been a Christian all along, but you don’t really feel anything. However, I can guarantee you, that if you feel that you’re lacking a purpose in life, a reason for living, or an identity which you are satisfied with; a relationship with God will provide solutions to all of that. This is why there are so many famous people, whom we may think are having a perfect life, finding true fulfillment and worth after getting to know Jesus as a personal Saviour and friend.

Building a relationship requires time. Likewise, to have a relationship with God, requires time as well. I don’t know if you have a best friend or not, but if you do, I believe there must be some experiences which turned a mere friend of yours to being you best friend. However, as I mentioned in the first place, to have a relationship with God, requires you to love Him with all your heart, mind, and soul - which is a hard thing to do from the very start.

This is why I would encourage you, if you want to experience God and have a relationship with the Almighty One, to start off slowly into spending time with Him. A relationship will obviously require time spent on each other. Take a time every day, to temporarily forget everything, and talk to God. Tell Him your struggles, problems, joyous moments and most importantly - about your request to have a relationship with Him. Ask God to speak to you, to guide your life, and finally, thank Him for who He is and what He’s done in your life. You might not see what He’s done, but one day, if you have a relationship with God, you will look back, and find how much God has blessed you!

Finally, take a few minutes every day, to look up the Word of God. Maybe find a devotional guide book, but most importantly, do devotions with a purpose. Do devotions so that you may encounter God and seek more about who He is, for God and His contrivances are enlisted in His Word. Persist to knowing more about God, and your life will be transformed by a spark.

Starting from scratch

Scripture: Matt 22:37

In life, there are many honorable moments, but for me, the most honorable moments are the times where I can lead worship; sing praises; preach messages about who God is and about faith; and ultimately, doing stuff which God takes honor in. I don’t want to give the wrong message about honoring God as something that is all about leading worship and the stuff that’s done under the spotlight and on stage. In fact, this important message is a bit of the opposite. However, before I begin, I would like to use a little story I made.

Let’s all pretend you are villagers in the mid 1300s. You’re all living in times where there are still kings and emperors. Thankfully, your king, is loved and respected by all. All of you, have a specific role in the society. Some may be carpenters, others swordsmiths, or perhaps musicians. One day, your king comes by and gives you a visit. You hurriedly show the best that you have to present to your loved king. If you’re a carpenter, you’ll show him the most beautiful carved images or works; if you’re a swordsmith, you’ll show him your sharpest blade; and finally, if you’re a musician, you’ll play your favorite song. When you see your king delighted and clapping his hands in joy; giving you praise and saying ‘well done’; you’ve just received the greatest honor in life. This is what it feels when you do stuff which God takes pleasure in, even in the small things you do to honor Him.

Going deeper into the message, whenever we think about glory and honor, I think most of us would think about something massive; something that’s great. I’m a English literature student, and despite I would dare to claim that I’m good at literature, I learned that general male poets like to set their poems on big, dramatic stuff. Such as powerful dreams, dramatic political aspirations etc. Conversely, a female poet generally focuses on smaller objects, such as tables, cups, chairs and other precise objects instead. I learnt about one female poet likes to mock and challenge male poets about their style, saying that those male poets who focus on massive dreams and aspirations don’t even know the small stuff. This is exactly a major point of this message.

Let me ask you a question: If God gave you a choice between being spiritually gifted with healing, or being the backstage person dealing with the sound system; what’d you choose? I think quite a lot would rather have a power of healing. It’s natural to seek for fame, attention, and to be in the spotlight; but that may not be what God wants or desires from us. It’s like soccer. I’ve heard that if a keeper stops 9/10 shots from a striker, but concedes one, causing the team to lose; the team will focus on that one conceded goal, whereas the striker will be praised for scoring that 1 decisive goal, despite squandering all other 9 chances.

I love worship, and whenever I have the opportunity to worship, I will gladly do so. One time I was part of a worship team of a Christian camp. I met with the founder, who was also the organiser of the camp to discuss about the details. When we left on a cab, the founder somehow started swearing and saying indecent stuff out loud while hitting on a catchy topic. I was left in shock and dismay. You would naturally perceive a founder of a Christian camp to be someone who will make you say ‘amen’ every little expression, yet this wasn’t the case. I love picking on verbal expressions, because the Word of God clearly says that what is being said by one, reflects what’s inside of one.

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I commonly hear people encouraging us to serve in every possible way; to get involved; and to do this and that for God. I’m not saying that we are not to, and in fact, every Christian’s purpose is, simply put, made for worship and revival. So hopefully I’m not clashing with Calvinism sayings about predestination, but every Christian is to make the most of their effort to spread God’s love. However, being critical, numerous times when I hear people yelling loudly about serving and serving and serving; it’s like they’re trying to make faith deemable by works. It’s like ‘you gotta serve in church, and lead worship and this and that, then you're a faithful servant’. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not wrong to serve, but commonly, what’s often being neglected is that God cares about one’s heart more than one’s work. “I give you more than a song, for a song in itself, is not what you have required”. How many would treat worship only as a time of worship instead of a lifestyle?

The Bible says how some who casted out demons in God’s name will fail to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Bible never exactly say what they’ve did, resulting in them getting locked out of heaven, but presumably, I believe those people did not submit themselves completely, aka they were hypocrites. You see, God works in ways beyond our logic. The best example I have is the example of King Ahab, in fact, I’ve used this in other messages. Israel’s religion under Ahab was Baalism, which is ironic. Yet when Ahab went to war with other nations, God delivered the enemies into his hands not because there was any goodness in him or his nation, but because God did so for His own glory to be seen and adhered by other nations.

Anyways, a lot of times where we see people doing great stuff under the spotlight, like helping in worship; being an usher; going on mission trips; helping the poor; we see acts and produced fruit. When we solely focus on actions and produced fruit, we may tend to neglect the heart and motive.

The core thesis in this message, is loving God from the inside out, referenced from the most important scripture (at least one of them): love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. The scripture's reference is very simple and basic, yet we may often neglect what it’s trying to say. Let’s analyze Matthew 22:37 again. I would say that there is one keyword, meaning the entire content would be twisted awry without the keyword; and a key concept. The keyword obviously is all. The key concept is the 3 objects in the verse: heart, soul and mind. You might have not thought of this before, but these 3 aspects are inside of one. Catholics believe that the soul is in the head, well honestly I don’t care, but I think the soul may actually be a spiritual figure of who you physically, in a spiritual dimension, referenced from Saul. (OT guy)

So basically, when the Word of God says “love the Lord with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul", it means, love the Lord from the inside out, starting with the mind and thoughts, and a heart of worship and glorification. Yet, sometimes we hear messages that preach the exact opposite. We may hear messages telling us to demonstrate our love for God, by doing this and that.

In a nutshell, the difference between a hypocrite and a ‘true’ believer, can be judged by Matthew 22:37. A hypocrite would firstly not love God with ‘all’. The hypocrite will love God and serve Him partially. Secondly, the hypocrite would not love God from the inside out. The hypocrite may do works and actions to portray the love for God, but the thoughts, mindset and heart does not loving God. Again, what comes out of one’s mouth reflects the heart of one. Off topic and no offence, there are tons of hypocrites, which is in fact, foretold in the Word of God.

To come closer to a close, let’s start from scratch. Let’s love God from the inside out, and do it starting from the small things. When you glorify God in the small things, it usually reflects your heart and motive than doing great things. Sometimes helping the poor (financially and spiritually) such as talking to a person who has very little friends, may easily reflect your heart that contains Jesus’ love; whereas if you’re helping out with singing in worship, which is an act under the spotlight, it may only reflect your voice or musical ability.

Loving God from the inside out also contains the message of starting from scratch. Loving God from the inside out may firstly start not by works or actions which others can see or notice. It may simply be about you spending time offering devotions, prayer, worship, and feeling the presence of God. Once you’ve have a good, loving relationship with the Holy Father, God will slowly lead you on your purpose. It’s like the parable of the talents. You see, the master only gave the servants 5, 2 and 1 talents respectively. Yet, as the faithful strove for the master in what is little, the master set them for what’s much and abundant.

It’s a new year(since I wrote this during the end of December), and let’s declare our complete love for God from the inside out, by restarting our ambitions on the smaller things. For some, it may be verbal expressions, such as not saying omg or swearing, or listening to music that contain lyrics that aren't pleasing to God; others, it may be a change in thought, such as controlling the mind to prevent thinking about indecent, unholy acts. Let's start from scratch.

The greatest honor in life, as a Christian, is doing what God takes joy in, whether big or small.

-Barnabas Kwok