- Jul 13, 2004
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We don't Know everything
While we don't know everything that's in the Word of God, we may have a good grasp of the facts it contains and the doctrines it teaches.
But we often find it hard to translate the printed page into practice. We may be like the man who would sometimes jot in the margins of the book he was reading, "YBH?" meaning, "Yes, but how?"
When asked what those letters meant, he explained, "I agree with what the author says, but I don't know how to get that truth off the page and apply it to my life."
Do you have a problem applying what the Word says to your life? If so, don't be so discouraged that you quit reading it.
There was once a great actor who could no longer remember his lines. After many years he locates a theatre that is prepared to give him a chance. The director says, "This is the most important part, and it has only one line. You walk on to the stage at the opening carrying a rose.
You hold the rose to your nose with just one finger and thumb, sniff the rose deeply and then say the line 'Ah, what a sweet fragrance.' "The actor is thrilled.
All day long before the play, he's practicing his line over and over again. Finally, the time came. The curtain went up, the actor walked onto the stage, and with great passion delivered the line, "Ah, what a sweet fragrance." The theatre erupted, the audience was screaming with laughter but the director was steaming! "You have ruined me!" he cried, The actor was bewildered, "What happened, did I forget my line?" "No!" screamed the director. "You forgot the rose!"
Remember now, reading and memorising your verses alone is not enough. It is the application of the Word upon the leading of God's Spirit that ensures results.
As it is written: not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life [2 Cor 3:6]. Billy Graham once said, "No greater tragedy can befall a man or a nation than that of paying lip service to a Bible left unread or to a way of life not followed.
While we don't know everything that's in the Word of God, we may have a good grasp of the facts it contains and the doctrines it teaches.
But we often find it hard to translate the printed page into practice. We may be like the man who would sometimes jot in the margins of the book he was reading, "YBH?" meaning, "Yes, but how?"
When asked what those letters meant, he explained, "I agree with what the author says, but I don't know how to get that truth off the page and apply it to my life."
Do you have a problem applying what the Word says to your life? If so, don't be so discouraged that you quit reading it.
There was once a great actor who could no longer remember his lines. After many years he locates a theatre that is prepared to give him a chance. The director says, "This is the most important part, and it has only one line. You walk on to the stage at the opening carrying a rose.
You hold the rose to your nose with just one finger and thumb, sniff the rose deeply and then say the line 'Ah, what a sweet fragrance.' "The actor is thrilled.
All day long before the play, he's practicing his line over and over again. Finally, the time came. The curtain went up, the actor walked onto the stage, and with great passion delivered the line, "Ah, what a sweet fragrance." The theatre erupted, the audience was screaming with laughter but the director was steaming! "You have ruined me!" he cried, The actor was bewildered, "What happened, did I forget my line?" "No!" screamed the director. "You forgot the rose!"
Remember now, reading and memorising your verses alone is not enough. It is the application of the Word upon the leading of God's Spirit that ensures results.
As it is written: not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life [2 Cor 3:6]. Billy Graham once said, "No greater tragedy can befall a man or a nation than that of paying lip service to a Bible left unread or to a way of life not followed.