Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. – 1 Peter 2:1-3
I hear so many Christians today express concern about the way our culture is increasingly rejecting biblical Christianity. I share the same concern, but honestly, I am a lot more concerned about evangelical Christians rejecting the Bible. I don’t mean that Christians reject the truth of the Bible, but they reject time in the Bible.
It’s like when you try to give a baby a bottle, but they refuse to drink it. You know it’s what they need to grow stronger, but for some reason, they don’t want it. We’ve got milk (in the Word of God). We are just not drinking it. And because we are not, we are starving ourselves of direction in how to walk, wisdom in how to think, and guidance in how to live.
Over the next couple of days, I want to share with you three habits we need to develop if our relationship with God is going to be as rich, as powerful, and as meaningful as it should be. Let’s look at the first one today and we’ll look at two more tomorrow.
First, we must develop a heart for God’s Word. The Bible is a different kind of book from any other book that has ever been written because you don’t primarily read the Bible with your eyes; you primarily read the Bible with your heart. Because of that, we have got to make sure our hearts are remaining pure. And to do that, we must rid ourselves of anything that would clog up our spiritual ears from hearing what God has to say.
When you read the Bible with a clean heart, God tells you what to do. And when you do what God tells you to do, then you won’t want to do what He doesn’t want you to do. When you are doing what He wants you to do, and not doing what He doesn’t want you to do, then you have the heart to hear what He has to say.
Dear Lord, I’m asking that you would give me a heart for your Word. Purify my heart and cleanse me from any impurities so that I might focus on your Word and what you want to teach me as I seek more of you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Approaching God
