“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a
light unto my path.” –Psalm 119:105
In June of 1944 US Admiral Marc Mitscher entered into a major
naval battle with the Japanese fleet. On
the second day of battle the US had the Japanese on the run, so Mitscher sent
out 216 airmen to pursue. The late hour
of their departure resulted in a flight home in total darkness, Mitscher,
fearing that his boys would be lost to the Pacific, chose to take a bold step
and instructed his aircraft carriers to turn on the lights. He did this at the risk of Japanese subs
being able to see them and sink them.
His faith however was not ill placed, and the decision to turn on the
lights helped to saved many of his men by guiding them safely home. Sometimes the need for light, is also met
with the need for sacrifice.
During the dark ages, a
vast majority of Christians had no Bible.
To make matters worse, those that did, were not good stewards of this
knowledge. In fact, the Catholic Church
used this monopolization of the scriptures to maneuver themselves into becoming
the most powerful institution in the world.
The church was corrupt and the world was at its darkest. As mentioned, the Bible was not readily
available. There was typically one per town,
in the local church, (it is said) chained to the pulpit. Even if by chance, you were able to get your
hands on a Bible, it is highly unlikely you would have been able to read it because
they were all written in Latin and most people in that day couldn't read, much
less read Latin. By and by the Bible was
translated in to common vernacular and people began to read and
understand. Many embraced the Word of
God and as a result of devoted men and women the truth of the gospel swept the
European continent and a revival broke out that crossed the Atlantic Ocean to
find root in the “New World.” This
country was built by men who believed the Bible. When men and women understand and commit to
live the teachings found in God’s Word it has an immeasurable positive effect;
time and time again we have examples of this both individually and
collectively. The Word of God can give
light and will give light in total darkness.
One of the greatest threats we face as a nation today is a lack
of Bible literacy, and by extension dedicated Bible reading. A study done by the Barna group (one of the
nation’s premier survey groups with regards to faith and culture) in 2014
states that 88% of American households own a Bible, and the average number of
Bibles per household is 4.7. However,
only 37% of Americans read it once a week or more. Furthermore, 81% of Americans believe that
values and morals are declining, but now folks are more likely to blame that
decline on TV and movies than on a lack of Bible reading. I will let you take a moment to digest
that…….Ok, now here is the really alarming statistic: 74% of Americans turn on their TV every day AND 30 % of them watch it
for more than 5 hours a day. This
means that Americans will watch more TV in a given day than they will read
their Bible in an entire month! Is there
anyone out there currently hoping that these numbers are false? I know I am.
However, deep down, I know there not.
We as a Nation recognize that there is an obvious moral decline. Our government is farther from godly
principles than it’s ever been, and the one thing that we know can and will fix
these problems that we have as a nation, we have figuratively and literally
shelved.
A very wise woman said to me recently when we were discussing
what Christians can do to further the kingdom of God: “If we all do what we
know to do, when it’s all said and done, we will have done enough.” We know that we can pray and we know that we
can: read, study, and live the Bible on a daily basis. The Word of God flowing through our lives
will light the path and cast out the darkness.
The devil would have us believe that we don’t need as much of God’s word
as we think we do. He would have our
lives encumbered and busy with, whatever.
When you read and live the teachings of Jesus Christ, you lift him up in
your life, and Jesus said “If I be lifted
up I will draw all men unto me.” The
devil wants to rob you of every possible second you could have with God. He is not going to tell you NOT to commune
with Jesus, he is going to give you a seemingly more attractive opportunity; but
what if we embraced the Word of God?
What if we sowed more of our time in the fertile soil of God’s
word? Think, what would our country look
like if 100% of American households owned a Bible and 100% of them read it
every day? The light of God’s word lived
out through the lives of God’s people would change the nation. It has before, and it can again, but sometimes the need for
light, is also met with the need for sacrifice.
It starts with me and it starts with you.
Sources: https://www.barna.org/barna-update/culture/664-the-state-of-the-bible-6-trends-for-2014#.VRHHWfnF_68
