Tired of the Word?

I am pretty sure all of us have been there at some point in our lives.  Where we THINK that we are tired of the word... Or in other words, just don't have the appetite to go open it up and dive in.
Its obvious that we all have this problem, or else our churches would be looking a lot healthier today.

Well, I must admit that I have been in a weird funk the past week that has broken my heart.
The finals, the stress of graduation etc, for some reason made me excuse myself from the word of God.
I would think of excuses every time I had the opportunity to really dive in. Of course, I read some but it was only at face value.  Towards the end of the week, I was truly hurt that my heart was not hungry.

But then tonight, my eyes were opened. I listened to a sermon by my favorite preacher, Adrian Rogers, called "Welcoming the Word"

In it, he talked about how there are 4 ways/steps to welcome the word and make it come alive in your life. Using James 1:21-25 as his text.


1. Repentant Heart.  
We must come before the Lord clean in order for us to hear him.  In the book of James, it translates in Greek that the sin in our lives is like wax in our ears.  It must simply be removed in order for us to hear anything.
He also made the illustration, that before you plant the seed for a garden, you weed the garden first. Same with us in our spiritual lives.


2. Receptive Heart.
God wants you to be meek, to be sensitive to His commands.
First clean, then meek. 
The minute you open your heart, God displays Himself.


3. Responsive Heart
Once clean, surrendered, you must begin to obey.
So many church goers sit, soak, and sour. They never apply the word.
BE DOERS!


"The best way to understand the part of the bible you don't understand, is to follow the part of the bible you already understand"
He makes the point, "Why should God show anybody understanding if they aren't acting upon what He was already shown them?!"


Study of the bible gives you knowledge about God, obedience gives you knowledge OF God.


4. Reflective Heart
James 1:23-25


Don't just glance at the Word, see the problem but not do anything about it.
That is just like a man seeing a dirty spot on his face in the mirror, but then leaving without wiping it off.
its absurd.  See the problem, and wipe it clean.


Apply it to your life.  Reflect upon it.  Look intently into yourself.
Read the word of God, and let the word of God read you.


Bring your heart, mind, everything to the bible when you are reading, and it will become real to you.




This gave me so much comfort, such a boost I needed.
I suggest printing out these 4 ways to welcome the Word and remind yourself daily.
We forget things O so quickly.  How we need not forget the importance of actively being in the word of God!!