The Essence of Evangelism - TEE

The Essence of Evangelism - TEE Producing Heaven-bound souls.

26/02/2025



We thank God for the 10,669 that were reached through the different outreaches; free medical camp, prisons outreach, food distribution, school visits, basketball tournament and Anti-FGM Initiative. The initiatives cut across 4 counties; Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu and Kajiado. Our team from Spread Truth joined us for this impactful mission.

This was a coordinated approach and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our partners who made this a success; HOPE Citadel Foundation - The Missioners of HOPE, National Youth Council Kenya, County Government of Kajiado, Midwest Food Bank, Midwest Food Bank East Africa (KAPU AFRICA), FAR EAST BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION and Illaramatak Community Concerns

Most importantly, we thank God for the 235 that accepted Christ and received salvation. Psalm 126:3 ~ "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."




Hamisi Kirenga HSC

04/10/2024

It’s okay to not be okay, but we cannot stay that way. If we don’t learn and grow in a true relationship with God while going through our trials, then we will live without hope and the enemy will win. Would we prefer a comfortable, content, trial-free life? Of course! We’re human.

When we still persevere in what the Lord has called us to do despite our trials, we develop confidence and habits that change the way we think about our struggles. We want to sprint through life instead of treating it like the marathon that it is. We want whatever we want now, and if now takes too long to get here, we may look for another route to get to what we want instead of waiting for God’s direction. If I’m going to run a marathon, I’m not going to make it very far if I bust out into a full sprint from the start on the day of the race! However, if I pace myself, I’ll do much better. My training would begin months before the race day with conditioning, practicing, and learning how to keep running even when my legs feel like they can’t make another stride forward. Training may not feel great, but the preparation would increase my chances of successfully completing the marathon on race day. When we are not okay but want to be, we have to push ourselves to work through challenges, even when they are hard, knowing that God’s got us.

Wanting to be okay when we are not okay is a testament of our hope in Jesus Christ. God has assured us that our trials will not overtake us. Our trials are an opportunity for us to grow spiritually. They are an opportunity to strengthen our dependence on Him. Trials put God’s power on display, and they give us the honor of introducing others to Christ’s character as it is being formed within each of us. What a humbling thought knowing that God is working in us and through us.

When we find ourselves going down the familiar path of hopelessness, it’s imperative that we intentionally choose a different and better path. As we roll up our sleeves, put our mind in action, stay disciplined, and accept the Lord’s grace, our prayer is that others would conclude that they need God, too. God alone is our source of strength. He is our Provider, and He is our Protector. My prayer for each of us is that God will supply us with grit and grace to walk confidently through our trials. Even though life may be hard, He is ALWAYS good. And that makes us okay.

1 Peter 1:6-9 NIV
[6] In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. [8] Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, [9] for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
[13] No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted , he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
[16] Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. [17] For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [18] So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Not being okay when you want to be can really drag you down and steal your hope. The enemy would love for us to believe ...
28/09/2024

Not being okay when you want to be can really drag you down and steal your hope. The enemy would love for us to believe that it’s never going to be okay and that our trial will never end. That’s why it is so important to stop believing that lie and instead do as Peter says in 1 Peter 1:13 – we set all our hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring us when He is revealed. We position ourselves with confident expectation that God has good things in store for us. To set our hope is to live in such a way that through the good and bad, we know that God’s goodness and unfailing love will pursue us all the days of our lives (see Psalm 23:6). When we keep the reality of heaven in mind, we can boldly walk with confidence through any trial knowing that no matter the outcome, we win. We are not victims; we are victors.

I used to work as an elementary school teacher. In math, one of the practices that I continuously reminded my students of was showing their work when solving math problems. By showing their work, I could see the process they used to solve the problems. Even if they didn’t come up with the correct final answer, I would still give them credit for showing me how they arrived at an incorrect answer instead of guessing or not attempting the problem at all. I could see where mistakes were made so that we could fix them before the next graded assignment. My students needed to feel successful even if they made mistakes. That’s how grace works for us as believers in Jesus Christ. We may respond to our tests and trials in the way that the world responds, or we may not respond at all, but thank God for His kindness and unmerited favor! We learn to not rely on our own strength and to look at our trials through God’s Word, His promises, and His purposes. When we are not okay but we want to be, God gives us hope and grace.

When I’m not okay, I choose to live every day in confident expectation of God’s goodness through Jesus Christ by closing my morning prayer with, “Lord, help me to remember that nothing can happen today that You and I together can’t handle.” It’s my daily reminder that come what may, God will take care of me.

Let me encourage you to live each day in confident expectation that better is coming. Your testimony is being developed. Healing is coming. Joy is ahead. Wholeness is being restored. Keep going! It’s going to be okay.

1 Peter 1:13 NIV
[13] Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.1.13.NIV

1 Peter 5:10-11 NIV
[10] And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. [11] To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.5.10-11.NIV

On our journey to being okay again, we also need to discipline ourselves by exercising self-control. There are so many c...
27/09/2024

On our journey to being okay again, we also need to discipline ourselves by exercising self-control. There are so many circumstances that are out of our control, but we can control our response to them. No one gets excited about being disciplined, but it is necessary.

Discipline is an effective habit that establishes what we do over and over, even when we don’t want to, until it becomes a lifestyle. Peter tells us to discipline ourselves, or to make it a habit of being okay even when our circumstances are not. Someone who is successfully living a healthy physical lifestyle would probably say that they have intentionally worked hard at exercising no matter what, eating right no matter what, and getting enough rest no matter what. Vacations, holidays, and the weather cannot deter them from maintaining their healthy lifestyle because they have disciplined themselves in the different areas needed to maintain physical health. Becoming disciplined at anything requires sacrifice and intentional work. Most importantly, discipline requires the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

When we are not okay but want to be, we have to study the Bible no matter what, pray no matter what, and spend time communing with our Lord no matter what. Our spiritual lifestyle matters if we are to endure trials of any kind, no matter the season. When we establish a routine of meeting with Jesus daily, anything that tries to disrupt that precious time will not succeed. We need to grow our relationship with Him until we crave it so deeply that we aren’t okay with going moments without Him. We need to get so intimately close to Him that our day just doesn’t seem to go right or feel right when we haven’t taken the time to spend with Him. Anything else will keep us living defeated and hopeless.

Job demands zap our energy. We work as free Uber drivers for our children. It’s so easy to get caught up in a Netflix binge or to scroll through our Instagram feed for the 100th time in a day and miss out on making our spiritual life the priority.

In what areas of your life could you use more discipline, so that day-to-day activities and challenges aren’t distracting you from spending quality time with Jesus?

1 Peter 1:13 NIV
[13] Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.1.13.NIV

Hebrews 12:11 NIV
[11] No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.12.11.NIV

HOW DO WE BECOME OKAY AGAIN? We must prepare our minds for action by first acknowledging that we are not okay and that w...
26/09/2024

HOW DO WE BECOME OKAY AGAIN?
We must prepare our minds for action by first acknowledging that we are not okay and that we need to do something about it. When we don’t take the time to acknowledge that we are not okay, we find ourselves running away from God instead of toward Him. We have to acknowledge that the situation is overwhelming, and we cannot handle it by ourselves. The Message version of 1 Peter 1:13 says that we have to roll up our sleeves and put our mind in gear. We have to take every thought captive to obey Christ. We must take control of what we allow our minds to dwell on. We should prepare our minds to be hopeful of what is to come and of Who is to come.

Peter doesn’t allow the early church to wallow in their current situation, and that still applies to us today. In order to shift our thinking, it’s time for us to get to work. As God’s children, we know that we are in this world, but we are not of this world. We are in the world, so it’s okay to acknowledge that these trials are bothering us and weighing us down. We may not want to go through these challenges, but we have been called to represent Christ and to represent His Kingdom even in the midst of trials. Our desire is for Him to be known through our work, our families, and our lives. It’s all right to say that the trial hurts. It’s okay to be scared. Our human reaction is real and has to be acknowledged.

Even after we acknowledge that we aren’t okay, we still prepare our minds. We don’t stay stuck in the way the world sees the trials we face. The preparing of our minds gets us to move toward action – to move toward what we’re called to do. Peter is aware that the people and the church are persecuted, but he doesn’t allow them to stay stuck with the “persecuted” label. He shares with them in 1 Peter 1:6 that there is wonderful joy ahead, even though they must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that our faith is genuine. There was still life and leadership that had to happen during their suffering. And there is still life and leadership that we are called to do today, no matter what trials we face. Peter tells the early church, and us today, that it’s time to roll up our sleeves because we still have work to do.

1 Peter 1:6-7 NIV
[6] In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:13 NIV
[13] Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.1.13.NIV

Who among us would gladly volunteer for or jump at the opportunity to go through a trial? And not just one trial but sev...
26/09/2024

Who among us would gladly volunteer for or jump at the opportunity to go through a trial? And not just one trial but several at the same time? Nope, not me either. Unfortunately, some of us know this feeling all too well. Maybe you are trying to walk with a child who is struggling at school, drowning under deadlines at work, worrying about aging parents who need additional help and attention, worn out by the former friend who keeps lashing out, and struggling with your own mental health challenges. The trials seem endless. It would be great to not have any trials at all. Who wants to be tested? It’s not okay. We’re not okay, but we want to be.

The apostle Peter was considered by some to be the apostle of hope, and we get a glimpse of this in 1 Peter 1. The early church was facing intense persecution and suffering through many trials that tested their faith. Trials that, perhaps, caused them to question their faith. Trials that surely caused them to feel not okay even though they wanted to be. Peter assured the early church, and he assures us today, of Christ’s presence in our sufferings and trials.

Our trials become resources for our witness and for our ministries. God has provided us with the ability, the purpose, and the calling of being able to minister out of our “not okayness.” Instead of focusing on our challenges, we can fixate on the fact that we can still be okay even if our trial doesn’t go away. Instead of focusing on when the hardship is going to end, perhaps we should be asking God how we can prepare ourselves now, in this context of not being okay, especially when it feels like the entire world is watching and we just don’t appear okay. As believers in Christ, we must have the mindset that we are going to be okay even if the trial doesn’t end the way we think it should. We must shift our mindsets and place our hope in God. We cannot stay in a place of hopelessness.

Over the next four days, we will learn how to focus on God and place our hope in Him as we walk through life’s trials. We may not be okay, but we can be.

1 Peter 1:6-7 NIV
[6] In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

http://bible.com/r/79J

‭Mark 6:31-32 NIV‬[31] Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, h...
13/06/2024

‭Mark 6:31-32 NIV‬
[31] Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” [32] So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by t

Great Bible Study is HabitualWe become what we repeatedly do. – Sean CoveyWhether we know it or not, our lives are based...
13/03/2024

Great Bible Study is Habitual

We become what we repeatedly do. – Sean Covey

Whether we know it or not, our lives are based around our habits. What we eat, how we react to stress, whether or not we snooze the alarm – these are all dictated by the habits we have allowed into our lives.

Author Charles Duhigg writes that approximately 45% of everything we do in a day, every day, is habitual. If you have good habits, then this is encouraging. But if your habits aren’t what you want them to be, then that means half of the decisions you had the opportunity to make were already chosen for you (and poorly chosen at that).

I’m telling you this because I want you to grasp how important it really is to regularly get into God’s Word.

Why were the giants of faith we see in Scripture so effective? Because time with God and time in His Word were non-negotiable pieces of their every day.

Despite all the mistakes King David made, he kept coming back to God’s Word, readjusting his life according to what it said, and impacting Israel’s history because of it.

Paul grew up a passionate Pharisee who lived and breathed the Scriptures. And once Jesus upturned his life, he approached God’s Word with a whole new confidence and fulfilled his life’s purpose because of it.

If anyone could have taken a pass at a daily Bible habit, it was Jesus. Yet time and time again we see Jesus sneaking off to read and pray in quiet. He understood, better than any of us, how deeply our humanity needs to be fueled by encounters with the divine.

Pro-Tip: Struggling to consistently read your Bible? Leave it open and placed near either the entrance to your bedroom or kitchen. This way, just by going about your normal daily routine you'll read at least 1 verse as your walk by. The goal of creating a solid Bible habit is to make it simple (1 verse) and visual (already opened and in your path).

‭‭Psalm 119:44 KJV‬‬
[44] So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.

🌟✝️ Embracing the Essence of Evangelism in Christianity ✝️🌟Hey, friends! 👋🏼 Let's take a tour a little bit into the hear...
06/03/2024

🌟✝️ Embracing the Essence of Evangelism in Christianity ✝️🌟

Hey, friends! 👋🏼 Let's take a tour a little bit into the heart of evangelism – the profound joy of sharing the "good news" of Jesus Christ and his transformative message of salvation. 📖✨

🔍 Key Points from the Bible and Christian Faith:

1️⃣ Sharing the Gospel: 📣 The term "evangelism" springs from the Greek word "euangelion," meaning "good news." It's all about proclaiming the message of Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and the promise of eternal life through faith [Romans 10:14].

2️⃣ Love and Compassion: ❤️ The driving force behind evangelism is love for God and compassion for others. Christians believe in God's desire for everyone to experience his love and forgiveness [John 3:16]. Evangelism is the pathway to share this life-changing message.

3️⃣ The Great Commission: 🌍 Rooted in Jesus' teachings, the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 urges Christians to go, make disciples of all nations, and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's a divine command to spread the gospel far and wide.

4️⃣ Transformation and Discipleship: 🔄 Evangelism goes beyond conversion; it's about transformation. Our goal is to help people not only believe in Jesus but also grow in their faith and become disciples [2 Timothy 2:2]. It's a journey of mentorship and guidance.

5️⃣ The Holy Spirit's Role: 🕊️ The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in evangelism. Through the Holy Spirit's work, hearts open to the gospel message, and people are convicted of their need for God [John 16:8].

As we continue this incredible journey of faith together! 🚀 Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences with evangelism. 🙌🏼

MYSTERY  #4: SERVICEIt’s not like Christians don’t know that we are biblically obliged to participate in acts of service...
19/05/2023

MYSTERY #4: SERVICE

It’s not like Christians don’t know that we are biblically obliged to participate in acts of service. We know!

But let’s be brutally candid with each other—serving others is messy! It takes a lot of time. And sometimes people smell. And then, worst of all are the ones who don’t even show gratitude for what we did for them! Plus, there are experts who do Christian service for a living, and they can do a much better job than we ever could.

All of that is 100% true. It’s much easier to farm out the work of service to a professional charity or ministry organization than to get our hands dirty. But as we continue exploring these Biblical mysteries, the louder we hear Jesus’s call and personal example to serve others. Henri Nouwen, in The Selfless Way of Christ, puts it this way:

“It’s not enough to try and imitate Christ as much as possible; it is not enough to be inspired by the words and actions of Jesus Christ. No, the spiritual life presents us with a far more radical demand: to be living Christs here and how, in time and history. We will never know our true vocation in life unless we are willing to grapple with the radical claim the gospel places on us. . . . Regardless of the particular shape we give to our lives, Jesus’ call to discipleship is primal, all-encompassing, all-inclusive, demanding a total commitment. One cannot be a little bit for Christ, give him some attention or make him one of many concerns.”

This quote by Henri Nouwen has explosive implications. When Jesus says in Matthew 20:28 that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,” He means that when we help someone, we’re actually taking on the character of Christ. Suddenly, “service” isn’t what it looks like on the outside at all!

So the teenager helping in the church nursery, the dad coaching in a local youth sports league, the recovering alcoholic providing loving guidance for someone struggling with drugs—they are becoming living examples of Christ through service. The janitor cleaning the church, the woman bringing lunch and friendship to a shut-in elderly couple, and the usher who anonymously sets up the chairs in the prayer room are becoming more like Jesus with every deed.

And history has proven time and again, service not only helps us but also transforms entire cultures. The early Christians attracted the attention of the Romans by racing to the heart of places hit by the plague when well-to-do Romans were racing in the other direction. Throughout history Christians have built l***r colonies, hospitals, and schools in the most challenging places and with people of other religious and cultural beliefs.

Self-centered, self-absorbed Christians are capable of such world-changing actions only when they are willing to surrender, willing to follow the commands of Scripture, willing to submit to authority, and willing to serve others. Then, and only then, do we find ourselves mysteriously transformed into the image of Jesus.

*************************************************

SCRIPTURE:
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:9‭-‬11 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.4.9-11.NIV

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
Galatians 5:13 NIV
https://galatians.bible/galatians-5-13

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:26‭-‬28 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.20.26-28.NIV

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
2 Corinthians 9:12‭-‬13 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2co.9.12-13.NIV

*************************************************

PRAYER:
God, those who don’t sit and write aren’t writers. One can’t be a golfer if one never swings a club. And I can’t become like You unless I’m willing to roll up my sleeves and serve others. Lord, You know better than anyone that my reluctance to volunteer is because I’ve been too busy serving myself. Break this in me. I don’t want to be just a little bit for You anymore. I want to be all-in. Amen.

Mystery  #3: Submission     Perhaps no other word offends the modern ear more than the idea of submission. It seems like...
18/05/2023

Mystery #3: Submission
Perhaps no other word offends the modern ear more than the idea of submission. It seems like one of those long-abandoned notions—like indentured servitude or leeching—that was left in the dustbin of history for good reason.

Submission offends us because it presents a direct challenge to our philosophy of self-importance. Yet if you’ve yielded to surrender and finally seen the importance of Scripture in your life, then submission is the next critical step.

Submission to God is a key principle in the Bible, and it is made most evident in two areas: community compliance to church authority and personal obedience to Scripture. Today, those concepts are all but lost. In cities across the world, Christians change church attendance and membership with such frequency that the term “church hopper” is now in our lexicon/vocabulary. And vast numbers of Christians have moved so far away from obedience to Scripture that they pick and choose doctrine to suit their own whims. This plague is so ubiquitous now in Christianity that “cafeteria Christian” could describe a significant part of our community.

But what if we decided to honor God by submitting ourselves to church authority and obedience to Scripture? What if we looked at our local church not through the lens of “how does it serve me,” but rather “how can I serve it”? What if we leaned into the Bible verses that challenge and offend us and through prayer, asked God to help us to understand and obey them?

Impossible, you say?

If we did, we’d be modeling ourselves after the Master. Jesus understood what we have forgotten: that we need submission in our lives to achieve God’s desire to restore humanity—and He calls us to follow His example. But ironically, total submission actually leads to more liberty, not less. John Newton, the reformed slaver and lyricist of “Amazing Grace,” once penned the following verse. It explains the mystery of submission at work:

To see the Law by Christ fulfilled

And hear His pardoning voice,

Transforms the slave into a child

And duty into choice.

Could it be that the shackles of addiction and sin are actually loosened by submission?

There’s only one way to know for sure.

SCRIPTURE:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5‭-‬8 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.5-8.NIV

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 NIV
https://james.bible/james-4-7

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:21 NIV
https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-5-21

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, my unwillingness to submit myself to Your Scripture and to Your Church is what I lay at your feet today. We may have pulled out the w**d, but the buried roots of unrepentance remain. Help me to discover the freedom that comes with submission to Your Word and Your bride, the Church. I pray for your Holy Spirit to guide me as I step out in faith. Your will, not mine. Amen.

𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲  #2: 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞    Laid before each of us is a Book. It’s given to us by our Master. Breathed into it are the div...
13/05/2023

𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 #2: 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

Laid before each of us is a Book. It’s given to us by our Master. Breathed into it are the divine secrets of the universe. Through it, He speaks to us. Woven into every page is our Creator’s revealed plan for our daily lives and our eternal destiny!

Yet for most of us, our daily Bible engagement is the length of time it takes to read a devotional while on the toilet.

By contrast, Early Church leaders (people like Ignatius, Phoebe, Polycarp, Clement, and Barnabas) vigorously spent time in the Scriptures, despite not living in a world of any conveniences. Listen to what they discovered, and let it inspire you:

The Word of God is in your heart. The Word digs in this soil so that the spring may gush out.

—Origen (AD 185–254)

You are reading? No. Your betrothed is talking to you! It is your betrothed, that is, Christ, who is united with you. He tears you away from the solitude of the desert and brings you into his home, saying to you, “Enter into the joy of your Master.”

—Jerome (AD 342–419)

Listen carefully to me: procure books [of the Bible] that will be medicines for the soul. At least get a copy of the New Testament, the Apostle’s epistles, the Acts, the Gospels, for your constant teachers. If you encounter grief, dive into them as into a chest of medicines; take from them comfort for your trouble, whether it be loss, or death, or bereavement over the loss of relations. Don’t simply dive into them. Swim in them. Keep them constantly in your mind. The cause of all evils is the failure to know the Scriptures well.

—John Chrysostom (AD 347–407)

“Okay,” the modern believer asks. “But where would I find the time?”

Yes, God knows we are busy. But he also commands us to study the Bible. So consider this possibility: perhaps the Creator of the entire universe reorients your day in real time to fit it all in! Possible?

Look at Joshua 1:8: “The Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night.” The verse concludes with a fascinating—and paradoxical—cause-and-effect: “For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Is it possible that when we daily infuse ourselves in the Bible, there is a new force at work in our lives? The Early Church thought so.

Dallas Willard concurs in The Divine Conspiracy, “The heavens progressively open to us as our character and understanding are increasingly attuned to the realities of God’s rule from the heavens.” Right here, right now, make a commitment to reading more Scripture, and just see if God doesn’t honor your sacrifice in mysterious and extraordinary ways.

If surrender is the key to the lock, then consistent Scripture reading is the mystery that pushes open the ancient rusted gate.

SCRIPTURE :
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Romans 10:17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16‭-‬17 NIV

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 NIV

PRAYER:
For too long, Lord, I’ve used the excuse of “I’m busy” to justify my unwillingness to do as you command when it comes to reading your Word. I’m sorry and seek your forgiveness for my ignorance and arrogance. Lord, I come now, ready and willing to commit my time and energy to You. Please honor my sacrifice. And may the studying of your Scripture transform from something I obligingly have to do into something I enthusiastically want to do. Amen.

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