Acts 8:30-31 - Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" The man replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
Understanding God's Word can be challenging. It's not just a book that can be opened up at Chapter One and read from cover to cover like some novel. And it isn't just a textbook that we can study and memorize to understand. It takes careful study, prayer, and most importantly, solid teaching.
I remember when I first started to take my relationship with Jesus Christ seriously. I had been saved for almost 10 years, but I never developed any sort of relationship with Him, nor had I really read the Bible much. I was very much anti-church at the time, because I believed that I didn't need church to believe in Jesus Christ. While this is true, I was very much misguided in my understanding of my Savior.
Jesus calls us to know Him. The best way to start to get to know Him, is through the Word of God. But just reading it, isn't going to work. We must have good solid teaching to go with it. That is where Church comes in. A good Pastor teaches from the Bible so that it can be understood and applied to our every day lives. Just telling stories with the occasional Scriptural reference doesn't do the trick.
When I first felt the tug at my heart to develop that relationship with Jesus after 10 years of kidding myself, I decided to wipe the dust off my Bible and crack it open. I read, but I didn't understand. I very much felt like the Ethiopian Eunuch. How could I understand unless someone instructs me?
Looking back on that time, I see that it was God's way of getting me to church. He didn't want me to have some misguided and misunderstood relationship with Him. He wanted me to have a thriving and dynamic relationship with Him. That required good teaching that I could only get from a good teacher. I have been blessed ever since I started attending the church I go to currently, because I got exactly what I was looking for. I learn new things about our Lord and Savior every week, as well as the practical application of the Bible in my every day life.
Looking back on all of this over the last 5 or 6 years, I see that it wasn't that I wanted to have that relationship with Jesus. It was He that was pursuing me. He wanted it more than I did, and He used His Holy Spirit to soften my heart and open up to Him. He didn't leave it to me to just figure it out as I went along. He moved me exactly where He wanted me to be, so that I would be closer to Him. So that I would grow closer to Him every day. I love His handiwork.
Dear Father, thank You for pursuing me. Thank You for softening my heart by the power of Your Holy Spirit, so that I would have a close and intimate relationship with You. Thank You for saving me from myself, and my misguided understandings. Thank You for showing me Yourself in Your Word everyday. Father, today I pray for those that don't know You. I pray for those that think they have it all figured out on their own, and don't need anything that You have to give. My prayer is that they will feel that tug on their heart from You, and realize that they are wrong. I pray that You will guide people into their lives that can share the Good News of Your salvation, and that they will be saved. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen!
God Bless!!!
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