Your
mouth is watering big-time as you sit down to the dinner table. The
smells of all your favorite foods give promise of really good things
about to be enjoyed. Your mind can hardly squeeze in reminders of
proper table manners and rules of the road. Way off in the distance
your racing thoughts try to warn you what happens when you eat too
much of this or not enough of that. Your eyes tell the hands to pick
up the spoon over here and the fork over there and dive in.
But
then… reality grabs control of you. You admonish yourself with,
“Hey! Wait a minute. I need to thank God for all this tasty food,
the work that went into preparing it, and a wonderfully designed body
to enjoy it. Then I also must ask God to lead me in using its energy
to glorify Him.”
Table
grace has become an important prelude to our meals. It is a
systematic reminder to us and the rest of our family of our gratitude
for God’s provision. We practice table grace because Jesus Christ
did. He taught His followers this crucial beginning to every meal.
Take a moment and review the reasons why you practice table grace.
Now.
For the very same reasons, and more, we MUST practice Bible
Grace. We must first establish the meaning of what we are about to do
– which is NOT to READ scripture. But we are to FEED on what our
eyes drink in, from the Bible pages.
In
my many years as a corporate computer programmer, I understand well,
the power of technology in doing Bible research and creation of
God-honoring resources of many kinds. But there is nothing like
sitting in front of my Bible and slowly run my fingers over its cover
and yellowing frayed pages that have carried me through many stormy
days. As I leaf through its pages, I see my hand-written notes of joy
and trials across the years. In my mind I can almost picture tears on
those pages as I've experienced God's promises fulfilled.
All
throughout my Bible's pages are hand-drawn stars, circles, large
periods, and others symbols that I've used as bookmarks in my daily
Bible readings (oops! - FEEDINGS .grin.)
Choose
any Bible page and lightly hold it between your fingers. Now imagine
a father or mother somewhere that is starving to have just that one
page for their own – to devour its peace and promises in their
chaotic life. Now imagine that individual with that page in their
hand, but in a language they don't understand. But you and I have
both the scriptures and that are in our own language. Does God
provide, or what?
A
simple but powerful promise is listed in Matthew 6:33
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Next we'll be looking at the dangers of Scripture Snacking.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Next we'll be looking at the dangers of Scripture Snacking.
