Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Abba, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Abba, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
John 5:39–40 ESV
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
CONSIDER THIS
Several weeks back, I was over at my mom and dad's house. This is one of the great blessings of living in Gillett, Arkansas, where I serve as the pastor of the Gillett Methodist Church. They live just across the Arkansas River from me, only ten miles away. I am able to see them on most days. Anyway, while there, I noticed a little printed card next to his Bible on the table. As I began to read it, it felt familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place it. I said, "Dad, where did you get this?"
He said, "I'm not sure where it came from. Your mother printed it out for me." Then he added, "John David, I want this little card read at my funeral and printed out and given to everyone who attends."
As I continued to read the card, it became clear to me where it had come from. I said, "Dad, I wrote this!"
He said, "You did? Well, I'll be!" And we had a good laugh.
Years back, I sat down and tried to hammer out what I called a Bible Creed. I wanted to collect and capture the things the Bible says about itself and weave them into an affirmation of sorts. We do not worship a book, and yet without this book, we know next to nothing about the God we do worship. This book is fundamental and foundational to our faith. It is the source and subject of what I write every single day. I included the creed at the close of a book I wrote some years back titled First Word. Last Word. God's Word. I suspect Mom lifted it from there and formatted it for the little card.
I am including the creed below. I want you to pay particular attention to how it begins—with Jesus, whom the Bible calls the Word made flesh. Every page of the Bible, either explicitly or implicitly, points us to Jesus. He himself makes this quite stark yet nuanced point in today's text, and we must grasp it.
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
We would not know Jesus without the Bible, and yet we cannot understand the Bible apart from Jesus, and so with him, the Scriptures begin and end. From the first day to the present day, history is littered with false teachers of the Word of God. We follow them at our peril. We follow Jesus—the way and the truth and the life. He is our Bible teacher. In fact, in my way of seeing it, Jesus is the only true teacher of Scripture. As we receive Scripture from and through him, they become to us life and salvation.
I thought it might be helpful to share my (work-in-progress) Bible creed here in the early days of this New Year—New Word series. Perhaps you might print it out and affirm it aloud as we move through the month. You have my permission to make your own card. Perhaps you might have a suggestion to improve it. I'll include a list of the Scripture references below.* And so, without further introduction, I humbly present to you the Bible Creed.
I believe in the living Word of God,
who is the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
And I believe in the written Word of God, the Bible,
the Holy Spirit–inspired authority of the people of God.
God’s Word endures forever,
is sweeter than honey,
more precious than gold,
sharper than a double-edged sword,
judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
This Word is perfect, trustworthy, right,
radiant, pure, firm, and flawless.
It refreshes the soul,
makes wise the simple,
gives joy to the heart,
is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
God’s Word teaches, corrects, rebukes, and trains.
It cleanses and prunes, feeds and nourishes,
is purposeful and powerful.
It burns like a fire in my bones.
It always accomplishes the purposes for which it is sent.
God’s Word will be on my heart,
on my gate, on my doorpost.
I will talk about it when I lie down and
when I wake up and when I walk along the road.
On it I will meditate day and night, as I hide it in my heart.
I will build my life on the rock of God’s Word.
Indeed, “the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God endures forever.”
It will be the first Word.
It will be the last Word.
This is God’s Word.
*This Bible Creed is inspired by the following Scriptures: John 1:1; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Isaiah 40:8; Psalm 19:10; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 19:7–9; Psalm 119:105; John 15:2–8; Isaiah 55:8–9, 11; Jeremiah 20:9; Deuteronomy 6:4–9; Psalm 1:2; and Psalm 119:11.
THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Lord Jesus—Word of God from before the beginning—our Great Teacher,
Would you be my Bible teacher? Master teacher, would you teach me the Word of God until it is fulfilled in me, until I have become true with its truth, until I have become like you—the very image of the very God who imagined and imaged me?
It will be for your glory, for others' gain, and for my good.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. World without end, amen! Amen!
