Finding More of God through His Word this Lent - Psalm of the Week - Psalm 25

We live as busy people in a busy world.

We are rushed … pressured … behind. And when we do get time to ourselves, we are depleted. Prayer is left in the dust. Reading from the Bible is the last thing we want to do and will do almost anything else to erase that thought from our minds. It is easier to amuse ourselves … pick up the remote … go back to the DVD that we have seen before … go to the mall and spend some money. The upshot of all that results in boredom … a boredom attached to our soul we have come to accept. We pick at our religion like a kid picking at the peas he doesn’t want to eat. In our we-have-every-need-met-in-our-lives world - we are empty spiritually.

How can we find God in our lives with more of the flavor and energy that we want on the inside?

"Taste and see that the Lord is good!" says the Psalmist in Psalm 34.8.

I have found the following Bible-Prayer technique really helpful, and I pass it on to you.

Psalm of the Week.
Read one of the psalms once a day for one week. At first glance you may be thinking: "Big deal." But it can be a big deal, if you let God make it a big deal. Here’s how this can work …

Let’s say, you make Psalm 25 your psalm of the week. It is only 22 verses long … very manageable, and no weird Bible names (whew!).

Read it. You don’t have to understand every last living concept in this psalm. I am simply saying: "Read it" … just open the book to this psalm and place it before your open eyes (I say this because people never get to this essential step!).

Read it s-l-o-w-l-y, out loud if your circumstances permit … and if there is activity going on at your house, read it sub-vocally, being intentional about the words, but not out loud so as to have people stare and ask you what the heck you’re doing.

I suggest reading it a few times over in one setting. Your time commitment with this may be somewhere between 5 and 7 minutes. Don’t rush it. As you read this psalm, you will get used to it and you will be able to read it with some expression. This not like reading directions to put together your TV stand. This will begin to mean something to you in a way the directions to your TV stand could never rival. By the end of the week, this will be a very different palm and experience than when you started.

Imagine reading Psalm 25 everyday for one week …slowly and meaningfully … and really getting familiar with every little nook and cranny of it. It will not get boring – I guarantee it.

Here’s why I can say this …

Let’s say your attention is drawn to verses 4 and 5. Verses 4 and 5 read: "Make me to know Your ways, Lord. Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth. You are the God of my salvation. For You I wait all day long." You could read this focus verse on knowing God’s way, path, truth a couple of times just by itself and ask the Lord to plant the seed of this verse deep in the soil of your mind and heart and leave it there … and then, experience how God will bring that verse to your mind at various times of the day.

Now - the psalm is starting to be a way the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.

How about verse 14? (one of my favorites): "The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him (that is hold Him in the highest respect); He makes known to them His covenant (the strength, sweetness and commitment of relationship with Him)." Let the verses that pull at your attention do some laps in your brain and experience a greater awareness of God’s presence through His Word. You will begin to respond and talk to God differently. You will have more to share with Him. And … guess what … He will have more to share with you! (… The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him …!)

This way of reading scripture can be easily transferred to other psalms and passages in the Bible.

It is painless … interesting … and enriching. This will definitely help if you are a busy person.

Use Psalm 25 as your Psalm of the Week for the Week of March 4-10 and tell me about your experience on this blog entry.

Thanks.

New Year’s Resolution … a few months late!

It has been seven months since my last posting.

I admit that maintaining this has been a low priority. I find squirreling around with this somewhat time consuming … writing the piece in the first place and then the process of uploading …!

I have made a promise – that I would address denominational issues that are causing some congregations to re-evaluate their participation in the PC(USA). Many church members have asked me why our sister churches in this Presbytery (Stow and Hudson) are pulling out of the denomination. People want to know what the issues are. I want to take a look at them over time.

The issues facing our denomination in particular and the "mainline" churches in general have concerned me for the last ten years or so. I am presently ambivalent about my connection with the PC(USA) and I am sympathetic with those who struggle to stay and with those who have decided to leave in order to serve Christ and His church and kingdom in other, more productive ways.

This blog (short for "weblog") is the one place I have to speak purely as Ross Slaughter. I think it is important for people where their pastor is in his thinking on these matters.

I have been intentional in my preaching and teaching not to "bad mouth" the denomination. I feel that that would be a waste of time. The Word of God needs to be clearly proclaimed and that is where my efforts have been. Besides, the congregation cannot discern truth from error apart from the Word of God and a thorough and working knowledge of it.

Here on this blog I can share my thought, my heart, my struggle, my view.

I compel no one to believe as I do. I am not forcing an "agenda." I am of the thought that if a person logs on to this site, that that action is voluntary on that person’s part. If that person wants to read – fine. If that person does not with to waste time here – fine. This blog is here for people to be informed as to where I am with the issues facing the PC(USA) and why.

Keep me in your prayers. … Thanks!