May 11, 2021
Richard Verdery
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” – John 18:38a
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. – John 17:17
One of the core truths at East White Oak Bible Church is that we, as growing and maturing disciples, would be Rooted in Scripture.
As a young believer, I developed a love for the Word of God that has, I believe, only grown deeper with each passing year. God’s Word has been an integral part of my discipleship from my earliest days and God has given me a deep faith in its truth, reliability and relevance.
I grew up in an age where there were accepted “truths” in many different areas of life, but those days seem to be a distant memory. We, as a society, have drifted to an era where each individual wants to determine what’s true for them. What’s true for you may or may not be something that’s true to me.
Imagine, if you will, what Pilate’s question to Jesus would be in our day. Can truth be found in our newspapers, network news, social media, educational systems or, in some of our churches?
Why is the search for truth important?
Each of us develops a worldview that influences the decisions and choices we make in virtually every facet of life. Many are trite or mundane, but some are much more monumental, and there are others that carry serious consequences for this lifetime or even for eternity. That being the case, why would I want to take a chance on living based on what others have determined is true for them but may not be true truth?
God’s Word, The Bible, provides the truth we need for successful living. I love Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (ESV) I love that there is light for my daily steps (the lamp to my feet) and there is light for my ongoing walk through each stage of my life down the road (a light to my path). Sadly, when I have neglected to go to God’s Word or, worse yet, rebelled against it, I have found another truth. Psalm 107:11-12 says, “for they rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So He bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.” (ESV)
In our core beliefs statement, I love the wording “being ROOTED in Scripture”! I’m no master gardener but I know that if I want to have my homegrown tomatoes this summer, I will not succeed by planting them, removing them, and replanting them, ad infinitum. To grow, my tomatoes need to be planted in good soil (TRUTH) and allowed to become ROOTED. That is the secret to growing a homegrown tomato and it works even better for us when we plant ourselves daily in God’s Word, making it a daily part of our life. It cannot be a hit or miss thing if we truly desire to become rooted. For me personally, it is my morning routine. I get my mug of coffee, settle down in my favorite chair and begin my quiet time. First of all, I seek to confess any unconfessed sin so that my fellowship with God and His Word is unhindered. I pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give me “eyes to see and ears to hear” and a will to obey what the Lord wants to reveal to me in His word. Like young Samuel, I like to say, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears” 1 Samuel 3:10 (ESV).
I am in my third year of using the Bible app to read through the Bible in a year, my second time going chronologically. I also use the Our Daily Bread app, Today in the Word app (from Moody Bible Institute), and the Solid Joys app by John Piper. At this point I go over my Scripture verses I am memorizing with the Bible Memory app. This is a phenomenal tool for helping my pea-brain memorize God’s Word! I then move on to devotional readings from Experiencing God Day-by-Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby (a favorite of my mother and handed down to me), In God’s Presence by J.I. Packer and Knowing and Doing the Will of God by J.I. Packer. I then use a prayer from The Valley of Vision to transition to my prayer time.
I have been so richly blessed spending time and fellowshipping with God through His Word.
If becoming a disciple rooted in Scripture is something you aspire to do, take a first step! Make a commitment to spend some amount of time DAILY in God’s Word. It may mean setting your alarm clock 10 or 15 minutes earlier or using the time before you go to bed but I can assure you that God will honor and bless your commitment!
About Richard Verdery…
Richard Verdery serves as the teacher in the Builders ABF. He is married to Beverly. They have three grown children and 6 grandchildren. He retired from the Illinois Farm Bureau where he was Advertising Sales Director of FarmWeek Newspaper. Richard is an avid cyclist and volunteer at Carle BroMenn Medical Center.
