God desires for us to be diligent students of the Word of God, so that we can experience more of what He has in store for us. Colossians 3 states:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
God wants us to take the reading of and instruction from the Word and develop wisdom - so that we may apply His truth to the decisions we must make on a consistent basis. I believe we are called to go beyond just knowing Scripture, but really allowing that truth to become part of us. The Word is alive, and by study, memorization, and meditation, we can discover how it will operate through us, so that we might be conformed to the image and will of the Lord.
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God's words to Joshua as he prepared to lead the children of Israel can be instructive for us. Let's go
to the first chapter of the book of Joshua:
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
How good of a speller are you? Well, maybe you could give 12-year-old Ananya Vinay of Fresno, CA a run for her money. She is the most recent Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. According to SBNation.com, she defeated 14-year-old Rohan Rajeev of Edmond, OK in the 20th round of 25 possible championship rounds. The final words she spelled included "gifblaar” and “marocain."
By the way, "marocain" is defined at Dictionary.com as: "a crepe fabric made of silk, wool, or rayon, or a combination of thesefibers, and distinguished by a strong rib effect, used in the manufactureof dresses and women's suits; a heavy Canton crepe."
Recently, there was an article that appeared on the Reader's Digest website, highlighting a Google Trends study about the most searched-for words in each state. The word was paired with the telling phrase, "how do you spell...?"
The results are rather interesting, and in some cases, humorous. The story says:
“Pneumonia,” with its silent p, was understandably tricky for residents of Alabama, Maine, and Washington. “Beautiful” stumped Californians and New Yorkers, as well as Kentuckians, Minnesotans, and Ohioans. Even words with less than five letters, like quote, sense, and liar, seemed to baffle Americans from Rhode Island to Oregon.
The real puzzle in this social experiment, however, was Wisconsin. Its residents needed the most help spelling their own state’s name. Really?
At least people living Connecticut and West Virginia can walk away with their heads held high. Both searched how to spell “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” the most often. Now that’s a real tongue twister.
The story included the Google Trends map that was posted on Twitter. Some other notable spelling searches included: "gray" with an "a" in Georgia, "receipt" from Florida, and a couple of Bible-related words: "hallelujah" in Delaware and Indiana and "angel" in North Carolina.
This is a fun and informative exercise. Also, I did think it was interesting that the Spelling Bee was broadcast live by sports network ESPN.
And, you may can learn about the meaning of certain unfamiliar words if you were to watch the Bee.
So, are there some takeaways for us as believers here? Oh, sure...first of all, I think we can always stand to grow in our thirst for knowledge. God wants us to use our minds, and training our minds and sharpening our skills can always be beneficial. I think it can always be helpful to expand our vocabulary, especially with regard to words from the Scriptures.
And, as we learn more concepts and principles from the Bible, we recognize that God doesn't merely call us to know a word, spell a word, or know its definition. Reading and memorizing Scripture can certainly stimulate the brain. But, I believe that He wants us to take those foundational skills and build upon them. We can strive for meaning more than mechanics - we can read, but we can also be motivated to study; we can memorize - and that's good - and He would also be pleased as we meditate, allowing the Spirit to show us how to apply His truth in our lives.
We can also be reminded that God's Word is powerful. Hebrews 4 tells us that it is living and active - Jesus was the Word become flesh. If we want to know Jesus more deeply, we discover more about Him through the Word. As we meditate on and apply the Scriptures in areas of our lives, we can connect with the resources we need to live an abundant life.
By the way, a different type of Bee is on Facebook Live tonight at the ChristianCinema.com page - the National Bible Bee finals in the junior division.
This is a fun and informative exercise. Also, I did think it was interesting that the Spelling Bee was broadcast live by sports network ESPN.
And, you may can learn about the meaning of certain unfamiliar words if you were to watch the Bee.
So, are there some takeaways for us as believers here? Oh, sure...first of all, I think we can always stand to grow in our thirst for knowledge. God wants us to use our minds, and training our minds and sharpening our skills can always be beneficial. I think it can always be helpful to expand our vocabulary, especially with regard to words from the Scriptures.
And, as we learn more concepts and principles from the Bible, we recognize that God doesn't merely call us to know a word, spell a word, or know its definition. Reading and memorizing Scripture can certainly stimulate the brain. But, I believe that He wants us to take those foundational skills and build upon them. We can strive for meaning more than mechanics - we can read, but we can also be motivated to study; we can memorize - and that's good - and He would also be pleased as we meditate, allowing the Spirit to show us how to apply His truth in our lives.
We can also be reminded that God's Word is powerful. Hebrews 4 tells us that it is living and active - Jesus was the Word become flesh. If we want to know Jesus more deeply, we discover more about Him through the Word. As we meditate on and apply the Scriptures in areas of our lives, we can connect with the resources we need to live an abundant life.
By the way, a different type of Bee is on Facebook Live tonight at the ChristianCinema.com page - the National Bible Bee finals in the junior division.
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