“They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’”
Luke 24:32 (NRSV)

I have been in the food business my entire career. In my line of work, I had the privilege of eating at some of the best restaurants. I guess you can say I have been eating and tasting food professionally my entire work life. I can remember some of the most memorable meals. The delectable meals stood out for the ambience, experience, and most importantly, the tasty and savory flavor. Admittedly, I have forgotten many of the ordinary meals. Could I have only survived on the memorable meals? 

Have you ever read a Bible passage or listened to a sermon and walked away disappointed and believing that you did not gain anything significant? Perhaps it just felt ordinary, unmeaningful and uninspiring.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”
Matthew 5:13 (NIV Study)

Could you be the reason that something you read in the Bible just did not resonate or create a sense of wonderment? Have you lost that astonishment for God? 

I offer that we approach our Bible study time and sermon time with a sense of awe and wonder. This awe and wonder are to be accompanied by a trembling respect for the sacred word of the Lord.  

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
Isaiah 66:2 (NIV Study)

At AUMC we strive to bring an overall memorable and meaningful worship experience. We work diligently to offer study resources that are timely and inspiring. Contrary to popular worldly belief, not every one of these is supposed to be a mountain-top experience. This is not to say we don’t strive for excellence, but sometimes the ordinary and uninspiring offers us a lesson that will carry us to the next mountain-top experience. 

Can you recall what you ate for supper 40 days ago? Didn’t it provide nourishment for you that day?  

Our astonishment and wonder require our diligent obedience to read and hear the word despite how we are feeling that day. Who’s to say that some heavenly nugget that could easily be overlooked might be a significant building block in God’s plan for your life?

Ordinary reading bridges the gaps between mountains and valleys.

In The Grand Sweep readings of Genesis, we begin to see this remarkable story of imperfect, ordinary people somehow surviving and seemingly prospering despite the self-inflicted mistakes they make. These stories are the inspired and active words of God. God is using His people despite their continual defective thoughts and timing for His grand plan. Savor that thought for a moment… These lessons are timeless for He is speaking to each of us. We are the imperfect people that need obedience to the ordinary that gives us the foundation for our faith. For every mountain-top experience there will be deep valleys of despair and trial. 

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God…..A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”
Isaiah 40:1-31 (NRSV)

Our approach to reading the Bible and hearing the Word is to come with meekness as a child open to learning for the first time. James 1:21 shares with us to “welcome with meekness the implanted word that has power to save souls.” How much different would reading the Bible become for you by really believing that the “Power of the Word” is for your salvation?

^“In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit”
Ephesians 1:13 (NRSV)

Macaroni and cheese. It does not get more ordinary than that. It very well could be a mom’s most popular “go-to meal” for the kiddos. If you ask anyone, they will tell you that they can make a tasty dish of mac & cheese. In the coming weeks we have an opportunity to provide this ordinary and quite important dietary staple for our HAAM food drive. Will you participate? This simple but ordinary dish just might be the only meal a family in need is counting on for some nutrition. 

Ordinary meal bridges the gap to a hungry, empty stomach.

Reading the Bible is a not meant to be an easy, leisurely activity. The Bible is recorded history and lessons for the people of God. It is often referred to as this “mystery” of which a few will understand. Why do the Bible lessons remain a mystery to some and to others they are life transforming? 

^“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.”
1 Peter 1:13 (NRSV)

We are truly blessed that we had the apostle Paul praying for us all those years ago to fully understand what each of us reads in the Bible today. He knew we would first need faith, then hope, and most importantly, love in Christ. As a bonus Jesus left us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us as we read and hear each scripture. 

Paul in the letter to the Corinthians reminds us the importance of love being the center of all understanding. If we can read and study even to the point of being a “Bible Scholar” or a “Prophet” yet not have this burning love in our heart for Jesus, then our understanding will not be complete.

^“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:2 (NIV)

Hear the good news! Ask Jesus to “open the scriptures” to you. The Bible only remains a mystery if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. It is not so much about interpreting but more about understanding God’s words. Reading and hearing with reverence, awe and belief unlocks the mystery on how we can apply our learnings into transforming our lives. It starts with the ordinary that leads to the extraordinary transformation of lives by the “Power of the Word.” 

Do you know what one of the most popular side dishes is on many high-end restaurant menus today? It moved from the kid’s menu to the adult fare. 

Mac & Cheese has been elevated to “gourmet status.” Lobster Truffle Mac & Cheese anyone? None for me, I will stick to the good ole macaroni & cheese that has gotten me this far. 

For the pedestrian reader of the Bible, reading just becomes an exercise to hopefully find something of inspiration. For the humble and contrite reader of the Bible, reading is a quest for salvation. 

Be in awe of God to reveal something out of the ordinary this very day.

How might you approach your reading and studying the Bible?  How might you approach your next worship experience? Have you asked God to reveal something today? Fill my cup, Lord, Fill my cup.

Peace be with you,

Kenny Shortsleeve, Lay Leader

^“For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,from whom every familyin heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:14-19 (NRSV)