My Teachers Bribed Me
As a child, I remember memorizing many scripture verses. We were “bribed” by our Sunday School teachers to learn and quote them by heart. If we did, we’d receive prizes and rewards. Right or wrong, it worked for me, because I know those scriptures from memory and I live by them still today. For any crisis, concern or fear, one will pop to my mind and I will be comforted.
Years ago, I was asked to be a public “Reader”/“Lector” at my church. Joshua 1:8 says “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” I am speaking, meditating and living God’s holy words. I promise you – God’s words have valuable rewards for us. My Sunday School teachers really weren’t bribing us, though the candy and treats were awe-inspiring. They were teaching us Joshua 1:8 and its merits.
Today is Ascension Sunday — the day we celebrate Jesus’ ascension to heaven after He had risen from the dead and appeared to His disciples many times. I’ll be reading various scriptures from Hebrews 9 & 10 at my church. I take it seriously. I rehearse my readings many times. By the time I read publicly, I have become intimately familiar with the words. The more I’ve read them, the more I understood the message of the Apostle Paul. I was impressed to write this blog because of some of the scriptures I’ll be reading today.
In Hebrews 9:24, because of His ascension to heaven, we hear that “Christ intercedes for us in the very presence of God.” How comforting to know that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father – interceding for us! Isn’t that reassuring? He takes our problems, our heartaches, and our everyday concerns to Dad.
And in Hebrews 9:26, we read about the high priests who used blood from an animal to make a sacrifice for our sins. But now, Christ’s one perfect sacrifice of Himself requires no repetition. Jesus paid the ultimate price. He paid a debt He didn’t owe – once and for all! “Whoever believes….will not perish but have everlasting life!” (John 3:16) Thanks be to God! You can tell I’m totally amped up about proclaiming these words today!
The last lines of the reading, Hebrews 10:23, shows us how to live it out: “Let us hold unwaveringly (I like that word) to our confession that gives us hope, for He Who made the promise is trustworthy.” The icing on the cake. I won’t be timid as I read those words because they are words that have sustained me, given me hope for today and tomorrow. He is a promise-keeper and so am I. I promise to serve He Who gave His all for me and live my faith outside and in my heart all the days of my life.
I’ve made these scriptures my prayer for days. Now I pray the words I read from God’s Holy Word today will open the ears of those who will hear me reading. I pray for the strength to put aside my own ego and for the Spirit to speak through me. I pray that as you listen to your pastor, priest, lectors, and readers of God’s Holy Word that your ears and heart are wide open to receive what God is saying to you today, too!