Encountering Jesus Through Scripture: Reading for Formation

We often read Scripture for information when Jesus invites us to read for formation. To encounter Him. To be changed by Him. And so, let me ask. How do you read this book? The Bible isn't a self-help guide for a blessed life. It's not a moral checklist for how to be a good person. It's not ancient Scripture like Homer's Iliad or fables with good morals taught like Hans Christian Andersen tales. Now, it may contain wisdom. It may contain poetry and history. But that's not its purpose. The Bible tells the story of God. Of heaven and earth coming together through Jesus. And it invites us to step into that story and live it. [00:31:52] (67 seconds)  #ReadForTransformation

See, our problem isn't that we don't read enough Scripture. At least, that's not some of our problems. It's that we've forgotten how to read it. We come looking for principles to live by. Maybe even power to get through the day. But Jesus offers us His presence. That's what the story is about. [00:32:59] (27 seconds)  #JesusPresenceNotPrinciples

We read scripture to be with Jesus. Because when we open this book, the author is in the room with us. We read scripture to become like Jesus because his words fill our minds and his character shapes our lives and our hearts. We read scripture to do as he did. To live out his way in the world. Bringing a little bit more of heaven, the realm where God dwells, to earth. [00:44:23] (37 seconds)  #WithJesusInScripture

When we read scripture with Jesus, we start to see things and hear things differently. We respond to suffering and conflict with hope rather than despair. So, we join him in setting things right in this world because that's what he's been doing through history and will continue to do as heaven and earth come together. [00:45:00] (26 seconds)  #HopeInSuffering

To read scripture this way means reading differently than how we read a novel, than how we read the newspaper or a textbook. We must learn to read not just for information but for formation. [00:45:54] (16 seconds)  #ReadForFormation

This is not about shame or guilt. It's about acknowledging the desire. Desire to encounter the living one. Desire to hear his voice more clearly. Desire to be shaped by his story. [00:48:05] (15 seconds)  #DesireToEncounter

Imagine what would happen if our whole church began to encounter Jesus in Scripture every day. Our minds soaked in His words. Our hearts shaped by His prayers. And our actions guided by His teaching. Imagine what your lives will look like. Imagine what our city, our world, would look like. How different that might be if we were encountering Jesus. And our hearts were burning like those disciples walking with Him on the road to Emmaus. [00:50:33] (38 seconds)  #ImagineEncounteringJesus

Every day you're reading Scripture, you're coming to have this holy, sacred meeting with the living God, Jesus alive, speaking to you, longing to see you, longing to invite you deeper into His love. [00:51:21] (17 seconds)  #HolyMeetingWithGod

Because reading Scripture, the Bible, as a spiritual discipline, is less about a technique. It's more about a posture. A posture of yielded trust to the one who loves us more than we could ever imagine. [00:51:58] (16 seconds)  #PostureOfTrust

So this week, when you open your Bibles, just slow down, breathe, and pray simply, Jesus, I want to meet you today. Speak. Meet me. And remember, your rabbi, your teacher, the author himself, of the book, he's in the room with you together. He wants to meet you. That's the kind of God that we come to know. [00:52:13] (33 seconds)  #MeetJesusInScripture