When I read God’s Word, first and foremost I pray, then I read, then I pray, then I read again. Sometimes my brain just doesn’t work (frustrating) and I have learned that I have to do this in multiple iterations until I “digest” it. When I use the word “digest” it means that I want to become a permanent part of me. I want to feel completely sated as I would after a perfect Thanksgiving meal. I can close my eyes and smell the turkey, pecan pie, and oyster stuffing (and of course, cranberry sauce from the tin can—the best!). That is how I feel about the Scripture—I want it to become an essential part of my homeostasis, always active. After listening to Pastor Warren, a Bostonian at a graduation event last week, I was deeply moved by his sermon. It was clear to me that he had a deep understanding of brain science to precisely support all of his contentions otherwise he would not have made the points he made. It was a deeply intelligent sermon. His sermon undoubtedly took a lot of prayer to execute due to the severity of his loss. Because of his deeply personal trauma experience, he understood it and eloquently approached the problem with Scripture solutions. I could tell that he had done his homework and prayerfully went into this message. (So, in answer to the queries, I drink coffee and discuss brain science with Him and the application of that to God’s miraculous healing.) Brain science tells us his amygdala was highly inflamed because of the trauma which disables the brain from processing it properly and with immediacy into the frontal cortex. People then remain within the suppression or repression “rut in the brain” like a car running over the same muddy trail made on an old country road—often times living comfortably in the life of the eternal victim. But, and most importantly in processing trauma, if my “mind is stayed on Thee,” then I am mentally and psychologically (the Holy Spirit plays a huge role here) immersed in His Word and can process that data appropriately because God’s Word is all I think of instead of the trauma. If my mind is full of prayer and Scripture, I can handle anything without blaming the world or God. I want the Scripture to be an integral part of my everyday language as I engage the public whether at the store, at the bank, or in counsel 24/7. I always want to speak in terms of the wisdom of Proverbs and always mixed with the deep wisdom of the Gospel message. It is the most important thing in my life—my passion—my deepest love—my all.
This second question people present is interesting to me as I believe the Bible to be the living Word. I see different nuances in it as I continue to read it again and again. I never take it for granted. As I progress in life’s experiences and knowledge gained, the same words I read before have such a different meaning for me. I purposefully revisit old sermons over my lifetime (even back to my teen years when my father would “lend” me his pulpit—after proper vetting, of course) to see how many other dimensions I can present on that same passage of Scripture. It is fascinating and amazing through God’s mercy how I have progressed through the years in knowledge and delivery methods. It has become who and what I am all of the time. Obviously, the Scripture becomes new to me again and again to this day, and I get very excited about it, which drives my fascination in what the future holds on the very same passage. When I was a young teacher and pastor, I thought I knew it…I just knew it. Youthful exuberance and arrogance. And now, when I self-assess and look back, I realize, sometimes embarrassingly, how much I didn’t know (I Corinthians 13:11 is like a throat punch for me). I still don’t know all that I want to know. Thankfully my father and mother were so patient in their after-action critiques—he was critical without being critical or destroying my hunger and thirst to grow in the Word.
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