Hearing/Listening
“Reading Scripture is an essential way that we allow God to speak to us. We hear His voice in sermons in church. We may hear His voice coming through the encouragement of others. However, the Bible is a way that we can hear His voice at any time, and hear it most completely. A sermon is on a specific passage of Scripture and is heard in church. And a word of encouragement requires another person’s input. The Bible is something we can pick up at any time and at any place to he
Christianity
“Reading the Scriptures, studying the church fathers, attending worship, praying, and meditating are all good and godly things. But they are not ends in themselves. When we engage in these holy activities, our sincere and fervent goal should be to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ. We may be the most informed and even enthusiastic students of the Word. We may be devoted to the teachings of the church. We may excel in Christianity as Paul excelled in Judaism. But all that we thi
Readiness
“To guard a nation against attack requires constant surveillance and early detection. The armed forces of our nation remain ready for deployment at any time, but without the gathering of intelligence such preparedness is of little value. The same is true of our life in Christ. Prayer, worship, and the sacraments help us but little unless we are trained in the use of these spiritual weapons, employ them regularly, and stay aware of developments around us.” (Dynamis 6/3/2014) "