Dave's Diary

Prayer

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 138:1-2

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before this world’s idols I will sing your praise.
I will bow down in Your holy presence,
and I will praise You
for Your unfailing love and Your faithfulness.
Amen.

Reading

Mark 4:21-25

As followers of Jesus we are so privileged! It’s true that we were not present when Jesus walked the earth physically (and so we did not witness Him revealing God in His deeds and with His spoken words), but He has given us the most precious gift of the Bible. We hold in our hands the magnificent, written self-revelation of God. Both the Old and New Testaments show us the glories of God; and nowhere is this more clearly the case than in the four Gospels. It is as though a wonderful lamp has been carried into the room of our lives in the form of this Book.

What do you do with God’s Word, the Bible? Do you “put it under a bowl or a bed” (v.21) by allowing it to gather dust and have no say in your life? Or do you “place it on a stand” (v.21) by reading it, studying it, memorising it and applying it diligently, so that every corner of your life is exposed to and affected by its life-giving light?

For most of us reading this blog, it’s probably somewhere in between those two. But as disciples we are called to do everything we can to allow the light of God’s Word to shine into every corner of our lives, to expose the sin of which we need to repent, and to inspire us to greater heights of Christlike living.

And when we do that, Jesus gives us the wonderful promise that the more effort we put into this process of exposing ourselves to the light of His Word, the more revelation He will grant us to understand and apply. “‘With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more.” (v.24)

Here’s how the great Charles Spurgeon put it,

“The hearer of the gospel will get measure for measure, and the measure shall be his own measure.”

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn one or more of these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ:

• I will diligently read, study, memorise and apply His Word to my life in increasing measure.
• I will seek to live daily in the light of His Word.

Holy Spirit, take my everyday reading of the Bible and bring it to life for me. Show me the glory of the Father and the Son in increasing measure every day on the pages of the Bible, and empower me to live in the light of its revelation. Amen.