By Pastor Dave Holland
As a 16-year-old new Christian in 1970, I was expected to go to the new youth group Bible study on Friday night. Our church leadership was oblivious to the real world and didn’t realize that anybody who mattered went to high school football games every Friday night.
My high school team was undefeated and scheduled to play the highest-ranked team in Los Angeles the night our youth Bible study was to begin. I struggled with my sense of priorities. But I put Jesus first and went to the youth group. Revving up my Honda 90 motor scooter, I braved the cool evening air to ride five miles to the home Bible study.
Arriving late for the meeting, I discovered there were no seats left. So, I plopped on the floor next to the door. Our host was a single, middle-aged woman named Melba. Her place seemed overly warm and for the first time, I got a good look at her. She had graying hair back in a bun and very thick eyeglasses. I recognized her from our church as she played trombone in the church orchestra. Melba worked as an operator for the Ma-Bell Telephone Company back when live operators had to connect callers to their party. There just wasn’t anything about Melba that was cool–all the cool people were at the game anyway.
She got the Bible study underway with some over-the-top enthusiasm as I was fading into slumber. I drifted back into consciousness to hear Melba say, “Please turn to Romans 12.” Somebody bumped my elbow and handed me a New Testament.
As I fumbled with the pages, I’m thinking, “Matthew…Mark…Luke…Romans 12…Yep, found it!” At that moment, a God-thing happened.
As I looked at the words on the Bible page, they swelled to about five inches tall, and the letters pulsated with life. Now, THAT is cool! How does she do that?
The Word of God grew before my eyes, because a pure-hearted saint shared her life with me, a self-absorbed and egotistical teenager, and changed me forever. It was as if God were shouting at me through a bullhorn.
The Bible is a tool God uses to show us the revelation of Christ. May Jesus cause the words of the Bible to grow in your eyes and breathe faith into your heart.
The Word of God is the authoritative and unalterable truth given to us to point us back toward God. Sit down with the Bible and ask God for a reading plan and listen for listen for the Holy Spirit to draw near.
Picture yourself in the Bible passage as if you are sitting at the feet of Jesus, Moses, Paul or Luke. Look at the faces of the audience in the story. What is God saying to them? What is God saying to you about Christ? Embrace the Jesus the Word of God reveals.
As I write these words, I pray God will enlarge your vision of Christ. I wish we could sit down in comfortable chairs at Starbucks, drink coffee and share our thoughts about this amazing man who came to reveal our loving Father. Let’s revisit together the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, King of all the nations of the earth. May God use His word to stir great change in us—a change that alters us into the likeness of Christ. I learned at Melba’s Bible study in Romans 12:2, NIV, “Don’t live the way this world lives. Let your way of thinking be completely changed (altered, transformed). Then you will be able to test what God wants for you. And you will agree that what he wants is right. His plan is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Dave Holland pastored churches for thirty-eight years before retiring in Destin, Florida. He recently released his devotional-Bible study based on the Gospel of Luke titled “Prodigal Jesus, Journey Back to the Father” You can get a copy of this book from his website, DaveHolland.org, or at Amazon.com. Pastor Dave is available to preach and teach at churches and conferences. Contact him at DavidvHolland54@gmail.com.
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