Deeper

Please read this article I found on the internet in regards to, "Deeper".

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

Have you ever heard the following statement: “I wish the sermons at church would be deeper?” Maybe you have even said it yourself. Many times we feel like our study of God’s word is too superficial and that we need to study “deeper” material. But the question that we should really ask ourselves is, “What is deeper?”

This is an excellent question for those of us who seek to truly know the Bible and follow Christ. Too many times we simply don’t know how to articulate what or where “deeper” is. Often, we are really just looking for an emotional fix to our current life situation. The problem with emotional fixes is their inherent inconsistency. What does it for us one day may not do it for us the next. Our emotional responses change right along with life’s circumstances. What we need to remember when we start looking for something new is that we are often following a shift in our emotions, not necessarily our spirit.

This shift is very important to recognize because Satan can use it as a tool to drag you away from where God wants you to be. If you spend your life looking for a certain emotion, you will merely drift from one place to another, like a ship without a rudder. Eventually you will run up on dry land, trapped by the very shallowness you were trying to avoid.

To avoid drifting we need to follow the true “deeper” journey that is presented to us in the Bible. One of the greatest examples is the command that Jesus gives us in Matthew 22:39, “'Love your neighbor as yourself.'” This command calls us to accept another person, regardless of how we feel about them. Jesus was calling us to get outside of our comfort zone and to do life the way that he did. Jesus didn’t spend all of his time with his closest friends. He ate with prostitutes and tax collectors while others disapproved. He touched the untouchable and loved the unlovable. It wasn’t easy, but it was deep.

The Bible and all of its lessons can take you as deep as you are willing to go – and beyond. But it takes work. You have to take the leap. Don’t follow your emotional tide. Put the lessons into practice – then try it somewhere other than your comfort zone. Take what you already know and apply it to your life. God will take you on a “deeper” journey than you ever knew was possible.

Mark's note: Amen to this! Going "deeper" into the Word of God is going to those who need us the most: our love, our eyes, our hands, our hearts, and most of all - our time. Many of us attend church for many reasons: because we have to, because my friends go there, because my parents says so, or because it is what everyone does. But we attend church to learn to walk like Jesus by studying and listening to His Word. We bring home a verse or verses we learned and chew on it everyday. It feeds the Spirit living inside us and helps us be "Deeper Christians" among our friends and families. This is my prayer for each of those who are "committed" to Him!