“EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY!”

Acts 17:10-11                                           (ESV)

“10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

11 Now THESE JEWS WERE MORE NOBLE than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, “EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY” TO SEE IF THESE THINGS WERE SO.”

My school years were not the most productive days of my life.  I didn’t have the discipline to develop study habits that would benefit me in my later life.  There was always the feeling of urgency that I had to get tasks completed as quickly as possible. When it came time for an EXAMINATION, I usually was unprepared for the test before me.  The term or condition of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) was treated with a switch or a paddle in those days!!

The JEWS at Berea were more noble than the JEWS in Thessalonica in that they constantly were “EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY” to SEE if what they were being told at the synagogue was TRUTH!  “EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY” was not for the people with ADD!  My younger self would have been content with hearing and ACCEPTING whatever I was told, and suffering the consequences of living in error whenever the process of APPLICATION came about.  The JEWS at Berea weren’t afflicted with ADD though!  

As a child, that method of living was sometimes painful as I didn’t heed the alerts that were being given to me by those assigned to teach me.  Allowing the WORD OF GOD to be “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12) can be even more painful though!  That “piercing to the division of soul and of spirit” has proven to be something that is good for me, but not always enjoyable!

“EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY” does not always bring smiles and laughter to a life.  My life is so far from what I find when I “EXAMINE THE SCRIPTURES DAILY” that I find myself cringing at times as to why JESUS sacrificed so much for me!  But there is a DRAWING TO, almost an addiction to, Scripture that I MUST be “EXAMINING THE SCRIPTURES DAILY” to conform to what GOD has called me to be!