January 5, 2024 – the Twelfth day of Christmas —“Studying the Teachings of the Lord” — The Twelve Days of Christmas

“So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did with regard to the Baal of Peor—how the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” Deuteronomy 4:1-6

I go through ups and downs in how I study the Bible. Sometimes I participate in a group Bible Study, and other times, I study with some pastor friends of mine, or by myself. And yes, there are times I don’t study at all. I think my eighteen year commitment to the ministry as a pastor has taught me that the more disciplined time of study I can commit to, the more I also find that I hit a dry spell. During this time every year, many people will make a list of goals for the upcoming year. Being a list-maker by nature, I try to set goals I can accomplish by listing them out – so that I get the occasional good feeling that I have finished something.

On this twelfth day of Christmas, take time in the beginning of 2024 to set some goals for your spiritual enrichment. Look for opportunities around you to increase your daily time with G-d’s Word.

Let us pray:

Lord, we all need some encouragement to dig into your Word – to study it and to pray upon it. Help me this year to not let another year go by without setting time aside daily to increase my spiritual health.

Pastor Dave