Read: I Peter 3:15; Romans 8:9-11
Think: Many believers live in fear that they may have to verbalize what they believe about God. This week’s sermon challenged us to KNOW, LIVE and SHARE what we believe. All activities require practice to bring mastery.
I SCUBA dive. My first few ---no my first 30 dives --- focused on learning the concept of controlling my buoyancy. I resembled a missile sinking to the depths of the sea then rocketing to the surface. Buoyancy is the key skill to establishing the correct form while diving. I had to learn to exhale completely to become negative and sink, then inhale to become positive and rise. It seemed the more I thought about it the more I resembled the out of control missile rather than a well-managed diver. Up, down, down, down, up, down, up, down leaving a hazy fog of silt to mark where I had been. The day I felt most in control happened on a dive where I was comfortable. The visibility was good, the sea life abundant, the terrain was familiar. And I was confident and totally engrossed in my surroundings, fully present, not giving a thought to the mechanics of proper diving. I was interacting with my environment in peace and confidence that I had the acquired knowledge to confidently participate in this experience. How does this relate to knowing, living, and sharing what we believe?
It starts with immersion. To know what we believe we must go to the source of what we believe……The Bible. To know what it says we must read it, meditate on it and commit its words to memory. When we believe it contains the Truth as to how to live, we will begin living out the instructions it contains beginning with what Jesus calls the greatest of all commands, “ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
That kind of love should exude into proclamation. The more we share what we believe the deeper we believe it and the easier it becomes to put into words. The distance between the ups and downs in life becomes less and we find ourselves comfortable in otherwise uncomfortable situations fully present, engrossed in loving others through loving God.
Do: Choose today to learn more about God through the Bible. If you haven’t read it very much commit to reading at least a chapter each day. If you already read daily, then increase the number of chapters you read or add memorizing a verse each week. Then be reading to share the Truth you know by speaking words seasoned with love.
Pray: Dear Jesus, help me to become so engrossed in You that my very breath exhales Your name. May I be a refreshing person who gives life to others through my words and by how I live and may I be obedient to spend time with you daily. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.