The Lord commands us to hear, remember, and obey carefully His Word (see Dt 4:1, 9, 6). We are to obey even the smallest part of the letter of the law (Mt 5:18ff). This assumes that we know God's Word not just in general, but in detail. If we don't know God's Word in detail, it is unlikely we will obey it in detail. To be doers of God's Word, we must first be hearers of the Word (see Jas 1:22).
However, the Lord is not necessarily calling us to be Scripture scholars. Our obedience to Him is not based on our intellectual ability and educational background. The Lord is simply calling us to try our best to know His Word. We should study the Scriptures each day for at least a few minutes (see Acts 17:11). Through daily Bible study, we will build up over the years a rich treasury of Biblical wisdom and truth. Thus, we will better know what the Lord expects of us and be better able to obey Him. On Judgment Day, the Lord will not ask us how much of the Bible we know, but how much we tried to know. All He asks of us is our best. Consequently, repent of not trying that hard to know God's Word, ask for God's grace to study the Bible daily, and do the Word that you already know.
| PRAYER: | Father, by Your grace, may I study the Bible every day from today till the day I die or Your Son returns. |
| PROMISE: | "Whoever breaks the least significant of these commands and teaches others to do so shall be called least in the kingdom of God." –Mt 5:19 |
| PRAISE: | Ken and Cleve received prayers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. During the next week, they discovered that they had a new ability to understand the Scriptures. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College