May 26, 2025 • 52 mins
On this episode, Granger sits down with pastor and author David Platt for a deep, honest conversation about something every believer wrestles with: How do you actually hear the voice of God? David unpacks why the Bible is unlike any other book, how it’s not just a rulebook but a personal love letter from God, and how reading it transforms the way we live, pray, and relate to others.
They dive into practical steps for making Bible reading more than a checkbox—how to meditate on Scripture, memorize it, apply it, pray it, and share it with others. David shares stories from his own life (including how his “taste buds” for God’s Word have changed over the years), and Granger opens up about the struggles we all face with consistency and distraction.
Whether you’re a brand-new Christian or you’ve been in church all your life, this episode will encourage you to rethink your approach to God’s Word, pursue real intimacy with Jesus, and experience the life you were created for. Plus, there’s a powerful challenge at the end about leaving a legacy of faith—one day and one verse at a time.
Plus, check out David's new book How To Read The Bible.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, it's just like taking me back. I think that
was probably one of my first exposures to like reform theology.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
So anyway, well, I know that you're you've got so
much going on and you're literally going to speak at
this conference at some point, and you somehow made time
to come back in here to the hotel room and
and do this podcast. So thank you, man, bro.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yes, thank you man, thank you for yeah making a slot.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, so I have a question for you. Yeah, how
could I hear God's voice?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Oh? Wow?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
All right, we're diving in, We're getting right into it.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yes, that's the beauty of the Bible, like we we
have like I got to wake up this morning and
open a book and know that I'm hearing the voice
of God. That how amazing. And I don't have to
like I look for some mystical sense like yes, I
(01:05):
want to be really careful even in saying that, because
it's it's a spiritual, spirit led activity opening the Bible
in a saw one nineteen kind of way open my
eyes that I may see wonderful things happen and wonderful
things in your law. So it's it's definitely it's spiritual,
(01:26):
but it is objective truth on a page. Every word
I'm reading here is inspired by God himself to draw
me closer to him. Like that's so I don't I
don't I get to do that every morning and all
day long, anytime I want hear the voice of God
and in a relationship with God. That's not just a
(01:50):
mechanical thing. I'm reading words on a page, but this
is That's why in this book I try to like
put reading the Bible in the context of love relationship,
like this is intimacy with God through his word. So anyway,
that's the privilege any one of us has who has
(02:13):
the word of God, that is to say, in our language.
So yeah, everybody, every single person watching listen to this
right now? Can hear the voice of God by opening
up that book and saying, God speak to me.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Why is that such a revolutionary idea? I mean, why
why can you answer that quickly? When I say how
do you hear the voice of God? I mean that
sounds like a huge, crazy question. That's that's unanswerable. And
why could how could you sit there and just quickly
go oh with the Bible?
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Yeah, yeah, well, I mean that's the it's the beauty
of the Bible. I mean, it's unlike any other book
in the world. And uh, and we could talk about
all the reasons why we know this is not just
I mean, how do we know. I mean, there's tons
of religious rights in the world, right, so how do
you know this is God's word? And I mean my
(03:05):
short answer to that would be the Bible testifies itself
to its supernatural authenticity. Like forty plus human authors, written
over the course of centuries, in different language, from different perspectives,
all telling one consistent story, the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
(03:29):
and nobody nothing in the whole book contradicting that story.
I mean, if I were to put forty people together
friends of mine, to say, give me a story about
how we got here, what's wrong in the world, how
it can be made right, those people couldn't all agree
on that. And they're all speaking the same language at
(03:50):
the same time. In history, like all the pictures of
Prophecy fulfilled the historical verifiability of the Bible, the fact
that the more researchers dive into the details, like the
facts the history. This isn't just like thoughts put down
on paper about the world. It's it's history with facts
(04:11):
that you can determine see are they true or not?
And the more you dive into you see they're all true.
Like so you put all that together, you realize, Okay,
this is a supernatural book. So I got off on
a little bit of a tangent there, But I mean,
I think it's important. I don't want to just like, yeah,
I don't. I don't want to bank my life on
just what some person said, Like, I want to know
(04:35):
this is actually the word of God. But that that's
where I do think now, especially for followers of Jesus.
But this is where even I should say, for not
those who are not followers of Jesus. It is the
most like published read book in the history of the world.
So I think it's that we're at least worth diving
(04:55):
into and read one time, just to see what it's
all about and why so many people have embraced this book.
And for those who do believe the Bible is the
word of God to realize. So second tivity three would
be what is driving my thoughts here? All scripture God
breathes useful for teaching, correct and rebuking, training and righteousness,
(05:20):
so that the person of God, so that we might
be fully equipped for every good work God has for us,
Like this book is unlike any other book. There's so
many good things we could read. I mean, I just
wrote a book on how to read the Bible. So
there's all kinds of books we could read, but there's
only one that is supernaturally inspired by God to help
(05:40):
us know Him, know who he is, know who we are,
and how to experience life in this world. And so man,
that's infinitely more important than that hours of things that
we might scroll through on our phones today. And so
why I think that comes back to your question, why
do we not just like soaking this thing all the time?
(06:02):
And I think that's that's what I want to say, Yeah,
this thing.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Amen, Amen, And I want to I want to get
to that, and I want to I want to comment
briefly on contradictions in the Bible. You went quickly, you know,
how could these forty different authors not contradict each other?
But what you're not saying is you're not saying they
all wrote the same story because in co authorship, which
(06:28):
which once again is something the Bible testifies of itself,
human authors under divine inspiration leaves room for the human
authors to give their version of what they're seeing. So
that that's why it would not be a contradiction to
have four different gospels that some have sometimes have a
story with a nuance in it because of the human authorship.
(06:50):
So you're not saying, and no one is saying that
the Bible is everyone is writing the exact same thing
like mechanical robots.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yes, that's that's so good. I'm so glad you point
that out. I just did like an intensive teaching like
one night, like six hours through Matthew and that was
one of the which is one of the four Gospels
accounts of Jesus life and death and resurrection. And yeah,
that was It was so good to see because he
he arranges things even in a particular order, and he's
communicating to a particular audience, and everything that he writes
(07:22):
is true, and at the same time, he arranges it
different than than Mark or Luke or John. Like Mark's
writing to a predominantly Gentile audience, Matthew is writing to
a predominantly Jewish audience. So Matthew does all this background
with a lot of Jewish history that Mark doesn't do
as much. And and so that's that's the beauty though,
is how and then you you kind of expand that
(07:44):
out to all these people in the Old Testament, Like
I'm reading Isaiah this morning, and like where I'm at
in Isaiah right now, it's talking about promises Isaiah chapter
nine of Jesus to come. Now, Isaiah had no idea
the full grasp of what Matthew would have realized. But
they don't contraed it like they totally align with each other.
(08:07):
But it's prophecy seven centuries before words that God was
speaking through Isaiah that came about in Matthew's day that
he's now writing about, and he's able to point back
to what he said is right here. And it's not
like he organized the events of jesus life to make
it fit it, just as showing this is what Isaiah
(08:27):
was talking about.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Incredible. So what the book you referenced earlier, It's called
How to Read the Bible, and this is actually this
is a fantastic book for all reading levels. Really, I mean,
you could be a seminary scholar, you could be a
brand new believer. This book is under one hundred pages.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
It is.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Super easy to read, yet yet theologically rich. And I
know you did that on purpose, But I have found
so many things helpful. This is you kind of mentioned
this a little bit earlier. But when thinking about should
we read our Bibles every day? Like should I engage
with my Bible every day? I don't know. I mean,
(09:17):
right off the top of my head. I think I'm
just really busy. I don't know if I could actually
look at something like that and think about it every day.
I could do it on Sundays. Sure. But you say
something interesting, you say, we can hardly fathom this picture
amid everything going on in our lives today. We can't
imagine from the moment we rise to the moment we
(09:37):
go to bed, and in moments throughout the day spending
so much time looking at well, wait a minute, we
can imagine this, can't we? Is this not what we
do with our phones? That's what we do with our
cell phones?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yes, bro, and you we fill our mind with so much.
And that's one of the things. I can't remember what
all I talked about. You mentioned it being short, because yes,
I did that really intentionally. I wanted to make accessible.
I remember when I showed it to my wife, I
was like, man, it's just not as much I had
(10:13):
so much more I wanted to say. She was like,
I love books this side, thank you for a book
this side. I want books the size. So but I
don't think we should be surprised that many, even professing Christians,
don't have like hunger to be in God's word because
our stomachs are so full on the stuff, the drivel
(10:36):
that we take in all day long. I use an
illustration oftentimes, and again I can't remember exactly if it's
in the book, but when when my wife and I
were first dating. I grew up in a family where
we my dad didn't like seafood, so we never eat seafood.
So but my first time I went over to Heather's
(10:56):
house for dinner, her family is making seafood and its
smell like horrible, Like I just hated seafood because my
dad did, and so but I faked it and I
and just just like, oh, this is amazing, thank you
so much for this meal. The problem is they bought it,
and so then they were like, oh, next time I
came over, They're like, ah, David's coming over, We're gonna
have seafood. He loves seafood. So I started every time
(11:17):
i'd go on vacation with our family. They were like, Hey,
let's go to the best seafood restaurants. Like, oh, that's awesome. Well,
the end of that story is like, now I love
seafood today because I had to love it to get
a wife. But the whole picture is my taste budgs changed.
That's the point. My taste budgs changed. And if we're
just drinking in like literally hours of DRIVELL on our
(11:37):
phones all day, then of course our taste buds are
going to be for that. But once we taste something
that is and I don't mean this to sound dramatic
or overstated, but I don't think I can overstated it,
it's infinitely better. It is infinitely better. Then our taste
buds will change and we'll realize we make time for
what's valuable, what we love, what's important, and we need
(12:01):
new taste buds so that we value the importance and
we love God's word.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Now, anyone could understand that argument. An atheists could understand
what you're saying. And if they're thinking about changing their
diet and they think, man, I've even eaten fast food
for so long, I've been eating candy for so long,
and then you get off of it and you start
eating steak and potatoes and you have an apple in
the apple now tastes sweeter than any candy bar did
(12:28):
because your tasteboats have adapted to what real food is.
And what you're saying is we have gotten so used
to appetizers. Devotionals are appetizers, by the way, Yeah, which
is great thing.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
There are imitation. I mean it's like my kids when
especially my younger kids, some of our older kids are
trying to figure it out now. But when we're like, Okay,
it's your birthday, you can go anywhere you want to eat,
and they're like, oh, McDonald's, and it's like really, like
I would take you anywhere. Yeah, they want like a
processed patty. It's like that it's because they don't know
(13:03):
there's something better. And so yes, I think even devotionals
or and it's not that they're all bad, but it
is are are we missing out? Like on the wonder
like Saw one nineteen verse one sixty two, I rejoice
at your word, like one who finds great spoil like treasure.
Now you don't get the treasure, but I just kind
(13:24):
of dipping into a little bit of the ground like
you dig some like you spend some time and there's
something there that is so valuable that is worth the
time to get there.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
And uh.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
And so that's that's the question, Like are we willing
to take the time again for our good not because
we have to, not because we got to check off
a box because we're supposed to, but because we want life.
This word is designed for our life and uh. And
it's a picture of His love for us, and it's
how we grow. And I love relationship with God. I
(14:00):
think that one of the challenges greature is I think
many Christians whin even when they try to read the Bible,
they still are They're like, Okay, I'm not getting it,
Like I don't. I'm not experiencing treasure like you're talking about.
So that's art of why I wanted to write this book,
is just a simple practical way to say, Hey, here's
a way that I hope would be helpful for you
to experience that treasure on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Yeah. Amen, And there are a lot of people listening
right now that that think. Amen, Brothers, I read my
Bible every day, and I've talked to these guys and
and I say, They say, I read my Bible every day,
but but nothing really changes. And I say, can I
ask you how you're reading it? And they'll say, uh,
it's it's I read it on my phone. Can you
(14:42):
show me? Can you show me what? And they'll pull
up a Bible app and it's a it's a suggested verse.
I said, brother, that's that's not reading your Bible. And
you have now written a book to answer that exact question.
This is I know, this is true, that this reading
your Bible is the most foundational, fundamental spiritual discipline that
(15:08):
without it, no other spiritual discipline works. They all crumble
if you're not engaged with reading your Bible.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yes, yes, one hundred percent. And in fact, I would say, yeah,
we cannot experience, we can't experience like faith in God
apart from the us, Like this is, faith comes by hearing,
hearing by the Word of Christ Romans ten. Like this is,
I mean, I love being in creation. I love seeing
the glory of God in creation. This part of what
(15:39):
I love about Psalm nineteen is the picture we have
of God the heavens revealing the glory of God. I mean,
I think just trekking through the mountains and seeing the
glory of God, the grandeur in a sunset or a sunrise. Yes,
all of that, but then Psalm nineteen says even more
than that is what you see about God on the
pages of this book, Like it's more grander and wonder
(16:02):
and majesty than even what the Grand Canyon can show
you or anything else in creation. Like, that's what we
have here two experience. And that's why part of what
I try to emphasize in this book is even more
than like commands to read the Bible that we see
in scripture, it's meditate, like it's really let it soak in,
like linger with it. So instead of kind of going
(16:25):
back to what we were talking about earlier, instead of
like a fast food restaurant view Bible reading like fine dining,
like this is a meal to be savored and enjoyed,
not just to get your quick verse for the day,
because that's that's not gonna it's not gonna satisfy your
soul the way your soul is designed to be satisfied.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So let's go over you mentioned meditate. Let's go over
some of the things that you're that you laid out
in this book, because like you said earlier. If we
are to believe that the Bible testifies to itself that
all scriptures breed that by God improfitable for teaching or
proof and correction, for training and righteousness, that the man
or woman of God may be complete, equipped for every
good work. If that's what we believe, and that's what
(17:08):
it says, then why in the world would we not
be in it every single day? Right? That is that
is the most practical reasonable statement I could possibly make.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
That that is the question, Like well, and it just shows,
I mean, this is our our sinful nature. We're prone
to do that which is not good for us. And
so this is I mean, when you just mentioned second
Timothy three sixteen seventy like to be complete? Who doesn't
want to be fulfilled? Who doesn't want to be complete?
To experience life to the full? And obviously I want
(17:44):
to be really careful not to say that means everything
is going perfect in this fallen world, Like that's that's
not a reality in it.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
That word doesn't mean flawless. It means mature.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Yes, right, who doesn't want that? Like we certainly we
want that. This is where it's where I even go
back to old one of my favorite CS. Lewis quotes like,
we're half hearted creatures, fulling about drink and sex and
ambition when infinite joy has offered us, Like ignorant children
who go on making mud pies in Islam because they
(18:14):
cannot imagine what's meant by the offer of a holiday
at the sea. We're far too easily pleased. So when
we just scroll through stuff on our phones and we
ignore the Bible, it's not because our desires are too strong.
It's because our desires are too weak. It takes so
little to satisfy us like we there's so much more
that God is offering us, holding out for us for
(18:37):
our good again, completion, knowledge of God, relationship with God,
life to the full, the way that God has designed
us to experience life like this book is guaranteed, guaranteed
to bring us those things if we'll walk through it,
if we'll read it correctly, meditate on it, walk through
these the kind of things that I talked about in
(18:58):
this week. If we'll do that, it's guaranteed to lead
us to that. So, yes, for the joy set before us,
Let's do this.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yes, Yes, I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I want to keep
on wanting to get to meditate because you said that,
But I want to first lay out that what what
you've done here, You've You've created a system maps is
is the is the system here? Meditate and memorize, apply, pray,
and share. Super easy to remember this, Like I said,
(19:27):
this book is is easy to remember. But let's start
with meditate. That's the that's the meditate and memorized. We're
not We're not talking about sitting with your your needs,
you know, crossed and your watching the sunset. That's not
what you mean by meditate. So what do you mean
by this?
Speaker 1 (19:42):
So what I mean by meditate is like linger over
a passage and just let it, like soaking it. The
illustration I used is when uh, my wife, she's the
first girl I ever dated, uh and uh she which
may sound noble, but I was just super socially awkward.
He provided someone who's attracting my social awkwardness. But she
(20:05):
started writing me letters. This is before like texting or
anything else. So she would write me a lot. And
I remember the first letter I would get, first letters
I would get from her, I was like, this is amazing,
and I would read like dear David, I go dear,
that's a good start. And I'd read and she'd write,
I'm praying for you, and I'd be like, I wonder
what she means by that, Like she prays for me,
(20:26):
like is for anybody, or like when she's praying for
her future husband, maybe she thinks of me, like she
put a smiley face, and be like, why smiley face?
Right there? So that's what I would say is meditation.
It's like why this what? Because if every word is
breathed out by God, then what are these words? Like
how do they fit together? And so that's where I
try to talk in the book, just about just questions
(20:47):
to ask to really meditate, let it soak in, even
even this morning, like I think about and this leads
to memorize, like I was in Psalm one twelve this
morning and there's I think it's the first seven. Uh,
it's around there, but he said it's talking about just
the security we have in God. And it says he
is not afraid of bad news. His heart is firm,
(21:11):
trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady, like I
just so I'm stopping at that point and I'm like, oh,
like I just had a nightmare last night that just
related to something in my family, and it was like
it just revealed like a deep fear me and and
(21:33):
it was so good just this morning read that and
God just saying you have no need to be afraid
of bad news, like your your heart can be firm
through trust in me. You can have a steady heart.
Just trust in Me. And so instead of just reading
that and moving on and checking off a box, I'm
reading that and like soaking it in. Okay, how what's
(21:56):
bad news that I'm I'm afraid of? And how do
you a fear of bad news? Fear, worry, anxiety? How
do you count that the heart that's firm? Oh? I
want that? How is that possible? Trust in the Lord? Okay, God,
I want this kind of faith. Got to help me
to trust in You and then delay that specific even
fear before him, so that that would be an example
(22:17):
of meditation. Now that's getting into some of the other
things that we're talking about with apply and pray, but
the key is not just reading it but really soaking
it in.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah. So let me pause right here because you said
earlier that you were in Isaiah this morning, and then
you just now minished you mentioned you're in psalms this morning. Yeah,
but I know that you read the McShane Plan because
you say in this book, and I've heard you say
that before. I'm also a huge advocate for McShane plan.
I wish I had started it twenty years ago. I'm
(22:47):
on my fifth year and love it. My wife's on
it as well, and we have great discussions. I'm I'm
always amazed at how some of these chapters will line
up so beautifully and speak to each other in a
way that I didn't see last year or the year
before that. So I know that people listening have heard
(23:09):
me say this before, but what a beautiful, what a
beautiful way to read through the Bible every morning. That's
apart from whatever you're going to speak at at the
conference today. It's apart from whatever you're going to preach
your your senior pastor. It's it's apart from that. But
this is your own David's own nourishing time.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Yes, and what I love about. And it's one of
the things that Yeah talk about in there, whether whatever
plan like, have some kind of intentional way through which
you're reading through the Bible. And uh, and I'm I
definitely want to give off the impression to anybody that
every morning is like revival, Like oh that was like
(23:49):
there's some texts where you're like, okay, but that that's
the beauty again. That's the beauty of God's word is
that it's all inspired by God. So even if I'm
reading through Leviticus or this story in the Old Testament
that it's like, I don't even know how this applies
to me. I'm reading inspired. I'm reading words inspired by
God that show me who he is, like they give
me opportunities to reflect on It's part of what meditation is,
(24:11):
like all right, what is this passage? Yeah, teaching me
about who God is, which is important. Sometimes we just
jump into the Bible like okay, what can I get
out of this from my life today?
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Which is what you cover. You cover that in chapter
number two how not to read the Bible, And every
time you mentioned a point in chapter number two it
ended with me something something for me, it's.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
All of us, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and and and
it's and that's so important. That's part of why I
started with that, because yeah, there are actually ways to
read the Bible that are unhelpful for yeah, and uh uh,
and so to be careful to avoid those. But even
there two uh to even if I read something, I'm like,
(24:53):
I don't even know what how this would apply or
anything like, there's still value in this, like you're hearing
to go back to the very first question you asked,
the voice of God? Which is our greatest need? To
be in tune with his voice in every fast in
my life? Like I think about my life as a dad,
as a parent, as a dad of six kids, as
(25:15):
a husband, as a pastor, and just a job, or
as a friend, whatever, Like my greatest need in all
those facets of my life is to be walking in
step with God and his spirit according to his voice. Now,
Leviticus may not have given me instructions for a parenting today,
but what it did is it made me more in
(25:36):
tune with his voice. So that illustration I often use
is like if I were to get a call right
now on my phone, and if I didn't look down
to see who it is, and I just picked it
up and said hello, and the other voice on the
line said hey, babe, Like I wouldn't be like, who's
this like, and she'd be like Heather, Heather, who And
(25:58):
she'd be like, you know your wife five years and
other of your kids. Oh yes, of course, of course
I wouldn't say that. Why because I know how she speaks.
I recognize your voice. Part of reading and meditating on
the Bible is being familiar with the voice of God
so that when you're in whatever situation today and you
don't necessarily have it. There's so many things we walk
(26:18):
through in this world that are not specifically addressed in
God's work. But the more we know his voice and
are in tune with His spirit, the better equipped we
are for a million situations that are not specifically dressed
in God's word because we've been in His word that morning.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Ay Man John Tan Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice,
and I know them. They follow me. If you need
to get a hold of me for any reason, go
to cameo dot com slash Granger Smith. In fact, I
just literally got a message from Cameo that says a
guy named Ian now has a request for me. So
what I do is I open this up and I
go check out what Ian wants me to say for him.
(26:55):
And for this it is a happy birthday to Melinda.
So I will reach out to Melinda. I say happy Birthday.
It's Granger Smith here. I hope you have an amazing day.
And I'm gonna tell her what else that I have
here on the little list that Ian has given me,
and then I send it back to him and then
he has a video message from me that then goes
out to Melinda. It's really cool. It's super easy. I've
(27:16):
been doing this for about six years now. So if
you want to find me and get a special video
message of any kind, go to cameo dot com slash
Granger Smith. Yeah, this is beautiful stuff. What not to
do is the emotional approach. This is one example on
the chapter of what not to do, the emotional approach.
What feels good to me. So let's let the Bible
(27:39):
dictate and tewod Timothy three to sixteen doesn't say so
that the Man of God may be almost mature or
almost complete in addition to what he gets from the
world or what he gets from other things. It's we
have everything we need right here. Let's go to memorize.
This is the the next m.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
The reason I'm meditate and memorize together on that M
and this acrostic is because well, one I think memorization
is probably the most practical way that we can meditate
on scripture, like to make it so internal to us
that it's just a part of us. Like to memorize
a verse so that it just flows out of you,
(28:20):
like it's hidden in a saw A one nineteen kind
of way in your mind and in your heart at
that point. And so I I mean this is without question.
I mean we've talked about how just reading, meditating on
the Bible is like a core discipline that drives everything
in the Christian life. I would say memorization of scripture
(28:41):
has had more of a formative influence in my life
as a spiritual discipline than just about any other because
I don't want.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
To disconnect that from prayer.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
But it's just for God's word to literally fill your
mind and your heart in such a way that it
is a part of you. It just flows out of you.
It transforms your prayer life, it transforms your relationships to
be able to encourage others with the Word because it's
hidden in you and it just flows out of you.
I mean, that's one of the things when when Deuteronomy
(29:13):
four and six talk about like when you walk along
the road and when you sit by the way and
when you lie down, when you wake up, let's be
talking about the word. Well, how can you do that
if you don't have the word in you, Like, it's
not just when you're carrying the word around you. It
transforms your prayer life. You get into the heart of
the Holy Spirit and a passage when you memorize it.
(29:34):
So I just I definitely want to encourage as we
meditate on scripture. One way too meditate on it is
to memorize and to have an intentional plan for memorizing scripture.
And many people will say, oh, I'm just not very
good at memorization. And that's one of the things I
try to walk through in the book, like you can
memorize Someone nineteen talks about how God's word is more
(29:55):
valuable than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Like if
I gave you a thousand for every verse you can
memorize over the next twenty four hours, I'm guessing anybody
can learn to memorize pretty quick. Because so that's the question,
what's more important us, money or God's word?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
So you make the argument work. You start this this argument.
What you're saying right now, children in Afghanistan and Pakistan
today are attending Muslim schools and memorizing the entire Quran
by the time they're thirteen years old. Many of these
children speak different languages Pashto, Urdu, but they are memorizing
the Koran in its original language, Arabic, and they have
(30:33):
the full collective support of their parents and their communities,
and they learn these words of their so called God.
And then you make the argument, can you imagine a
children's ministry in church today teaching children to memorize the
entire New Testament in Greek and then they move on
to the Old Testament in Hebrew. We might say that's impossible,
we can't even do this in English.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Such a.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
That's such a good quote.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Yes, and it is possible for like us too. Yeah
to Now I'm sitting here, what's going through my mind?
Like I was just with a brother last night who's
memorized the whole New Testament, like he the whole thing,
and and and various books in the Old Testament. And
(31:19):
this brother, he's so humble, loves the Lord, just walks
with God. I'm not saying everybody is going to do that,
but the beauty is everybody, with the rare exceptions, the
rare exceptions can hide God's word in our heart in
some way, in a way that I promise will transform
your life when you do. So. That's that's why I
(31:42):
think memorization is really important.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Yeah, and you start, you send the book just one verse,
Start with one verse. You're not saying memorize fifty Start
with one verse.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Yeah, I tell I use the illiteration. I think. I
always think about this one brother in our church, we
were we were walking through we were I was preaching
through First John, and so we challenged the church to
memorize the first chapter First John. And this brother, I
don't think he'd really ever memorize scripture at all, and
he was like, I mean a whole chapter. I'm gonna
(32:13):
try it. So he started doing it with his son,
and his teenage son. They would work on it on
the drive to school in the morning, and so they
did it. They memorized the whole first chapter of First
John together, and they were and the dad was like,
this is amazing. I cannot believe this. I just did this.
I did this with my son. And his son was like,
we're not stopping here, are we. And so they ended
(32:34):
up memorizing the whole book. They just kept going every morning,
and I mean this yeah, and this is just average
ordinary dude who just his taste buds started changing, and
not just his his teenage son's taste buds started changing. Like,
there's no question they do not regret memorizing the Book
(32:54):
of First John. They went on a journey together that
was transformative in their lives.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Credible man. So how about apply chapter five? Apply?
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Yeah, So this is another way if like, what does
James one say, everyone who hears these words, oh, well,
well that's Matthew seven. Everyone who hears these words of
mind it does not put them in practice. Is like
a man who built his house on with no foundation.
It's going to crash when the storm comes. And then
James one says, don't deceive yourselves by just reading the
word and not doing what it says. So you realize,
(33:25):
wait a second, just to hear Jesus' words it can
actually be deceptive and can lead to your life crashing.
So not just reading, we must obey the word, do
what it says. Everyone who hears on these words of
mine and puts them into practice. So that's where apply is.
I just kind of use a framework to think through
how does God's word change the way we think, the
(33:46):
way we feel, the way we act, the way we
relate to the people around us, and then just the
way we view our whole purpose in the world. And
it's so good to yeah, whenever we are meditating on
scripture then to say, okay, how does this how does
this change me? Like not just read it? If that's
all we do and we kind of turn off the
(34:06):
phone or you know, put the devo aside, then we
were actually deceiving ourselves. We've got to do what it says.
So how does this change me? From the inside out?
And so that's that's the whole purpose of diving into
that a apply.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Yeah, that's so good man. That gets us to pray,
which is you mentioned earlier you said, I don't want
to disconnect prayer, and I could. I but you we
could also make the argument that without these these without
meditate and memorize and even apply prayer, life is very difficult.
We almost have nothing to pray at that.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Point, yes, yeah, and well, and Jesus says this, this
is John fifteen. He says, if you abide in me
and my words abide in you, then ask whatever you
wish will be given to you. So so actually, our
prayer life asking is supposed to be based on His
words and that are abiding in us. So and this
(35:00):
is where I that's what I love about. And I
walked to a whole another acrosstic with pray, just praise, repent,
and ask ill based on what we've heard in the Word.
But when you think about there's so many things that
we pray for that we we don't know how God's
going to answer like we ask. Like I just think
about somebody I was praying for this morning for healing,
(35:22):
Like I don't know for sure if God is gonna
heal this person in this particular way at this particular time.
I don't know that. But I have in God's Word
that I'm reading every day scores of things that I
know if I pray for this, that I'm praying according
to the will of God and particularly for my own life.
(35:44):
Like I mean, yeah, I go back to some one
twelve what we were talking about earlier. As I'm praying, God,
I pray that you would free me from fear of
bad news. That I pray for a heart that is
firm and trusting in You. I know that's a prayer
God desires to answer, will answer as I ask him
for because I'm asking according to His word in that
(36:06):
way in my life. And then to pray that for
others lives. God, I pray for this person or that person,
my family or whoever else, they would not be afraid
about it. I know I'm praying according to God's will
what God wants for that person. And so yeah, I
think this is where to your point, our prayer life
devoid of the Word, really misses the whole point of prayer.
(36:29):
Prayer is dependent on God's revealed word to us. It
leads us to praise Him for who he is, to
repent of different things as we're reading through God's Word,
to repent of sin as we're convicted by it, and
then to ask him all kinds of things. That's where
even started a while back, just a little five minute
podcast called Pray the Word, because it's all based on
(36:51):
it's really just the overflow of my quiet time. But
it's just what I'm doing each day as I'm reading
through Isaiah and Salms today, just praying based on what's
in the Word, and then to yield and say, God,
help me to obey your word today.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And all these ways that I looked at and apply
and then, man, that's so helpful. It also really helps
if your prayer life is feeling stagnant or you're kind
of you feel like you're being too repetitive and you
and and you're you're losing the depth of it. You
could pray from your morning reading. One of my favorite
seminary professors, Don Whitney, you know, wrote the book Praying
(37:28):
the Bible and it's he wrote an entire book just
on this idea to pray what you're reading. You could
find passages, which is what's what's so helpful to move
forward in the Bible every single day and you have
a fresh word to take and say, you know what,
I've been stuck. What I'm praying for my mom and
(37:48):
I'm kind of stuck and what to pray because it's
the same situation. She's getting the same result and I'm
praying the same thing. But I just read today and
and in the Psalms that there's this and I can
I can pray this and over and it transforms your
prayer life.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
So good man, that's so good, because yeah, I think
about it, and that's where I even as we talk
about these kind of different steps that I walk through
in the book. It really becomes it's it's not like
it's mechanical, Okay, do this and this and this, because
like I think about reading Isaiah this morning, and I'm
getting the verses that are talking about like this was
God's judgment on the nations uh and and their sin
(38:29):
and his own people and their sin both and and
it was talking at one point just about the pride
of men and God bringing the pride full low and
God exalting the humble, and so just to read that
and just pause, and God, please remove pride from me. God,
I pray for humility. I want humility. I need humility.
(38:51):
I need forgiveness for my pride. I want deliverance from
my pride. Again, you're praying according to God's Well, this
is absolutely what God wants for you. But it's just
a couple verses that if you're not careful you just
kind of skip over. But let it soaka and just
pray according to it. And then, like you said, I'm
praying for your mom or whoever it might be. You
come to some one twelve seven, which I keep going
(39:12):
back to today. That's I mean, how many people do
you know who are worried or afraid or anxious about
any number of things. And so just to spend some
time praying over people in your life who you know
might be worried or if you're afraid or anxious about
other things, like it just leads to all kinds of
intercession for others based on Gun's work.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
So beautiful. You know, I find myself my prayers. It's
pretty tough for me to pray. I'll say it this
way before I read in the morning, because I just
wake up. My heart's cold as ice, and I just
you know, I get my cup of coffee and put
on my glasses and I start my reading. And then
all of a sudden, my heart starts warming and that
(39:51):
ice melts, and then and then and I'm ready then
to pray. I'm in a position to pray after the
Lord has spoken to me first. Sometimes we mix it up,
and it's hard. It's hard to do that.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, I love that, man, that's so true. I can
totally identify with that. And and it makes sense, like, well,
I what I love about what you just shared. And
I hope that the sense of what people are hearing
in this whole conversation is that That's what this is.
It is. It is a conversation with God like and
basically what you just said is I find it my
(40:26):
heart warmed and more easier too, and more engaged in
speaking to God when I've listened to Him speak to me.
So this is not this is.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
And that's where the wonder, the wonder of this grangeer
that like we're talking about communion with God, God who
spoke in the world, came into being that this morning
I I was talking to him and he was listening
to me, and not just listening to me.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
He was talking to me like speaking to my heart,
and he was he was listening to what I was saying.
I'm pouring out my arm before him and and He's
promising to answer according to his word and his power
and his wisdom. Like communion with God. And obviously it's
not just being, it's anybody, and it's you, it's anybody
who trusts in Jesus to restore us to relationship with
(41:19):
God through it's what Jesus died to make possible for
us to live in every day. So again it just
goes back to over your time earlier, why would we
not like make time for this for communion with God,
and why would we rush through it, Like, let's set
aside to the extent that we can just some concentrated
time to be with Him.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Amen. So that this would not be an appropriate David
Platt book if we didn't finish with the es the
share Yeah, tell me about share.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yeah? That this word, I mean everything we're talking about, bro,
Like it's too good to keep to ourselves like this,
this word. You find treasure somewhere, Like you don't keep
that to yourself, you, I mean unless you're like you're
super selfish, like you share that with others. You spread
it to others because then that's the beauty. Uh there's
(42:09):
enough treasure to go around. Uh, so so you spread
it others. So to be really intentional. That's why like
this this across it. It's like, okay, really we need
to emphasize, like the word is not intended to stop
with us, It's intended to spread through us. So I
just think about it. I mean, obviously we're having this
conversation about how to read the Bible, and so my
Bible reading this morning has come up, but I can
(42:32):
I think about yesterday there was something else I'd read
and saw one eleven greater your work, so God studied
by all those who delight in them. And uh. And
then I was just about an hour after my time
in the Lord, I'm talking with this brother and sister in
Christ and she started talking about something she'd seen in
(42:52):
creation that just was just had owed her. And I
was like, this is totally so on lefl first too,
like it's de lightful to see the work of God creation.
So all that to say, like, look for opportunities all
throughout the day to encourage others with the Word and
not you're like you got to prepare a sermon or something.
This is just for every day. That's the beauty of
(43:13):
Deuteronomy six. It's just as you walk as you live,
talk about the word yes with other brothers and sisters
in Christ, encourage them and your family, your friendships and
church relationships whoever might be. And then obviously with unbelievers
to look for opportunities. Again. And this is where I
would say should be happening in our lives in a
(43:34):
natural way, not like we have to force it, but
just to talk about, Yeah, things we are learning about
life and relationship with God should just flow from us.
So to be really intentional on the s to share,
to spread the word with others.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
That's so good. So I want to finish with this.
You you are, You're always busy. You're you're always a
busy guy. You have a lot of stuff going on,
but today in particular, let's let's look at today. You're
you're at a conference TGC. You're in Indianapolis. My wife
is there too, but you are in a hotel room.
(44:09):
You just came in from from here in Piper Preach.
Tell me, tell me how your Bible reading was this morning,
because this is the kind of morning Practically someone listening
would think, well, this is the morning he skipped reading,
but you didn't. So tell me what was that like?
Walk me through your morning today.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
I So I'm about to say again, I don't mean
to sound like over dramatic or just it's like I
cannot I can't live without bread alone.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
That you can't live on bread alone.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
I can't live and I and I say that so
real quick background, Like I there have been times in
my life where I've I've tried to live like that
without that, and times as a pastor like so it's
not just because I'm a pastor, Like I can point
to a long season in my life as a pastor where, yeah,
the church I pastor was growing. I'd read in a
(45:00):
book that a lot of people were reading. I was
getting invited to travel to places like this and preach
all the time. And my I didn't have that time
of the Lord in the morning. Like I would study
just to like prepare a sermon, but I wouldn't like
read the Bible just to know God. And I could
turn on a public prayer like that, but I just
I never got alone in a room just to be
with God. And that's that's frightening to me. Like, how
(45:21):
so it's don't I wouldn't want anybody just assume, Okay,
yeah you're a pastor of course, Like no, I've actually experienced,
like in a really dangerous way, what it's like the
pastor without walking into the sea with God. And yeah,
so all that to say, the Lord did some things
in my life to wake me up big time years
ago from that that season in my life, and uh
(45:44):
and ever since then, I can just say, and I'm
not saying I never ever missed the morning like occasionally,
but I can't. I can't live with that so yeah,
this morning, first thing I did woke up. I one
of the things I talked about in the book. I'm
big on journaling. I'm just a I can't point to
a verse that would say you should journal, but it's
helpful for me to not my mind, keep my mind
(46:08):
from wandering, to be less distracted. So I just start
and I don't have like an elaborate system. I just
have like a running word file for twenty twenty five yep.
And so this morning it was like April whatever, and
so it's and I just start just just thanking God
for grace, for new mercy this morning, and I'm writing
out a lot of these prayers. Not everything I'm praying
I'm writing out, but a lot of it. And so
(46:30):
I'm writing out prayers, and then I start reflecting on
the day before, just thanking God for different things from
the day before, praying for people that I interacted with
the day before, just kind of reflecting on what God
taught me from the day before, writing out some of
those things. And then much like you talked about, I
just dive into the word. And so that's when I
walk through these verses of these chapters in Isaiah and
psalms and all on the way, I'm doing what we've
(46:50):
been talking about, and I in the journal, I'm oftentimes,
not oftentimes and most all the time. I'm so I'm
doing a lot of this on my either iPad or
computer my laptop. So I'm I'm like cutting and pasting,
copying and pasting from the word into my journals. So
day eleven one says this about this branch to come
(47:13):
talking about prophecy of Jesus. So I'm pasting that in
here and uh and then writing out a prayer based
on that or writing out how this applies my life.
So I'm doing this. It's just helpful for me to
be really intentional to write it down. Not saying everybody
has to do that, but it's helpful for me. So
I'm doing that all through and so that's leading to prayer,
and that's leading to and I would add I do
(47:36):
it oftentimes with just I've got a playlist that's like
my quiet time playlist that has just worship songs, and
it's I love it when whatever song is going on
just coincides with what I'm reading. Again, it's not over time,
but there are times when it's like, oh, this is,
and I just I love I love when I press
(47:57):
the shuffle button and it just I'm like, Lord, you
take it wherever you want. And uh and sometimes the
song comes on it's like I need to go past
that one. It doesn't. But oftentimes it's just like and
that it happened this morning. And so anyway, have you
shared that?
Speaker 2 (48:12):
By the way, have you shared that? What's that? That playlist?
Have you ever shared?
Speaker 1 (48:16):
Oh no, I'm not I show. Yeah, that's a good idea. Well,
I mean that's I was. Yeah, that's a good idea at.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Least at least text it to me.
Speaker 1 (48:27):
It's just like the challenge funny side note one time.
I mean, it's really the only playlist I have. And
so I was running like ten K and I wanted
to listen to some music. But it's the only playoffs.
And I'll just say, like my Shane and Shane like
quiet time, it's not what you need to be listening
to when you're trying to run it down. Ok, it
(48:48):
doesn't the same way, but anyway, uh yeah, so then
and then uh so that is my time in the
Lord this morning, and and and then I I do
have some intentional things I try to pray for on
a daily basis, just from my family and church and
the world and that sort of thing that's kind of
tacked on to the Bible reading part. So but yeah,
(49:10):
that was my time of Lord this morning.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
And how long do you plan to do that in
your life?
Speaker 1 (49:17):
You mean, like how long per day? Or like how
long like the rest.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Of the rest of your life? How long? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (49:22):
I man, I oh like bro. I sat at the
bedside of a spiritual father of mine in life and ministry,
just a guy who's had a huge impact from my life,
Jim Shattocks, And he went to be the Lord a
couple of months ago after I actually dedicated this book
(49:44):
to him after a year battle with brain cancer. And
he's he he more than anybody else in my life,
taught me to love God's word and teach it with
fear of it. And anyway, I sat by his bed
like he's hospice. He's hardly able to speak, like just whisper,
(50:07):
and I'm just reading verses over him. He's like under
his breath, he's like finishing the verses. It's just like
he his his mind, I mean, totally ravaged by brain cancer.
But the word was hidden so deep and it was
(50:27):
just flown out of him like he could hardly breathe,
and the words what's coming out? And I was like God, maybe,
so like I want to live so that when I've
gotten hardly even have breath left, your word is is
still just flowing in me through me. So maybe it's
(50:50):
like I want I want to live for that day.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
So ah, So your answer to that is every single
day you have left in this fleeting vapor of a life.
Speaker 1 (51:03):
Yes, it's some one, bro, it's it's blessed like happy
is the one who whose delight is in the law
of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day
and night like he will be like a tree planted
by streams of water. They yield it's fruit in season,
and all that leaf will not wither, and all that
(51:25):
he does, he prospers. Like who doesn't want that? Who
doesn't want like true prosperity, not worldly prosperity. Who doesn't
want true happiness, not fleeting happiness? Who doesn't want like
your leaf not to wither like fruit from your life? Forever?
We all want that?
Speaker 2 (51:41):
Everyone?
Speaker 1 (51:41):
So what how do you do it? Meditate on this
word day and night, every day, every night like meditate.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
It no better way to end this podcast than that,
right there, Bro, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
Bro, it's been delightful and tell you about this all
day long and just and so grateful for you and
the fruit of your life towards this end, and a
lot of other people's lives who I know are yeah,
pursuing God, walking with Him through his word as a
result of the fruit of His word in your life.
So praise God for sharing and that's how that's happening
(52:18):
in and through you.
Speaker 2 (52:19):
Praise the Lord. Well, thank you brother, And how fun
at that conference. Yeah, thanks for joining me on the
Grangersmith podcast. I appreciate all of you guys. You could
help me out by rating this podcast on iTunes. If
you're on YouTube, subscribe to this channel, hit that little
like button and notification spell so that you never miss
anytime I upload a video.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
Yigi
Yeah, it's just like taking me back. I think that
was probably one of my first exposures to like reform theology.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
So anyway, well, I know that you're you've got so
much going on and you're literally going to speak at
this conference at some point, and you somehow made time
to come back in here to the hotel room and
and do this podcast. So thank you, man, bro.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Yes, thank you man, thank you for yeah making a slot.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, so I have a question for you. Yeah, how
could I hear God's voice?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Oh? Wow?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
All right, we're diving in, We're getting right into it.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yes, that's the beauty of the Bible, like we we
have like I got to wake up this morning and
open a book and know that I'm hearing the voice
of God. That how amazing. And I don't have to
like I look for some mystical sense like yes, I
(01:05):
want to be really careful even in saying that, because
it's it's a spiritual, spirit led activity opening the Bible
in a saw one nineteen kind of way open my
eyes that I may see wonderful things happen and wonderful
things in your law. So it's it's definitely it's spiritual,
(01:26):
but it is objective truth on a page. Every word
I'm reading here is inspired by God himself to draw
me closer to him. Like that's so I don't I
don't I get to do that every morning and all
day long, anytime I want hear the voice of God
and in a relationship with God. That's not just a
(01:50):
mechanical thing. I'm reading words on a page, but this
is That's why in this book I try to like
put reading the Bible in the context of love relationship,
like this is intimacy with God through his word. So anyway,
that's the privilege any one of us has who has
(02:13):
the word of God, that is to say, in our language.
So yeah, everybody, every single person watching listen to this
right now? Can hear the voice of God by opening
up that book and saying, God speak to me.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Why is that such a revolutionary idea? I mean, why
why can you answer that quickly? When I say how
do you hear the voice of God? I mean that
sounds like a huge, crazy question. That's that's unanswerable. And
why could how could you sit there and just quickly
go oh with the Bible?
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Yeah, yeah, well, I mean that's the it's the beauty
of the Bible. I mean, it's unlike any other book
in the world. And uh, and we could talk about
all the reasons why we know this is not just
I mean, how do we know. I mean, there's tons
of religious rights in the world, right, so how do
you know this is God's word? And I mean my
(03:05):
short answer to that would be the Bible testifies itself
to its supernatural authenticity. Like forty plus human authors, written
over the course of centuries, in different language, from different perspectives,
all telling one consistent story, the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
(03:29):
and nobody nothing in the whole book contradicting that story.
I mean, if I were to put forty people together
friends of mine, to say, give me a story about
how we got here, what's wrong in the world, how
it can be made right, those people couldn't all agree
on that. And they're all speaking the same language at
(03:50):
the same time. In history, like all the pictures of
Prophecy fulfilled the historical verifiability of the Bible, the fact
that the more researchers dive into the details, like the
facts the history. This isn't just like thoughts put down
on paper about the world. It's it's history with facts
(04:11):
that you can determine see are they true or not?
And the more you dive into you see they're all true.
Like so you put all that together, you realize, Okay,
this is a supernatural book. So I got off on
a little bit of a tangent there, But I mean,
I think it's important. I don't want to just like, yeah,
I don't. I don't want to bank my life on
just what some person said, Like, I want to know
(04:35):
this is actually the word of God. But that that's
where I do think now, especially for followers of Jesus.
But this is where even I should say, for not
those who are not followers of Jesus. It is the
most like published read book in the history of the world.
So I think it's that we're at least worth diving
(04:55):
into and read one time, just to see what it's
all about and why so many people have embraced this book.
And for those who do believe the Bible is the
word of God to realize. So second tivity three would
be what is driving my thoughts here? All scripture God
breathes useful for teaching, correct and rebuking, training and righteousness,
(05:20):
so that the person of God, so that we might
be fully equipped for every good work God has for us,
Like this book is unlike any other book. There's so
many good things we could read. I mean, I just
wrote a book on how to read the Bible. So
there's all kinds of books we could read, but there's
only one that is supernaturally inspired by God to help
(05:40):
us know Him, know who he is, know who we are,
and how to experience life in this world. And so man,
that's infinitely more important than that hours of things that
we might scroll through on our phones today. And so
why I think that comes back to your question, why
do we not just like soaking this thing all the time?
(06:02):
And I think that's that's what I want to say, Yeah,
this thing.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Amen, Amen, And I want to I want to get
to that, and I want to I want to comment
briefly on contradictions in the Bible. You went quickly, you know,
how could these forty different authors not contradict each other?
But what you're not saying is you're not saying they
all wrote the same story because in co authorship, which
(06:28):
which once again is something the Bible testifies of itself,
human authors under divine inspiration leaves room for the human
authors to give their version of what they're seeing. So
that that's why it would not be a contradiction to
have four different gospels that some have sometimes have a
story with a nuance in it because of the human authorship.
(06:50):
So you're not saying, and no one is saying that
the Bible is everyone is writing the exact same thing
like mechanical robots.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yes, that's that's so good. I'm so glad you point
that out. I just did like an intensive teaching like
one night, like six hours through Matthew and that was
one of the which is one of the four Gospels
accounts of Jesus life and death and resurrection. And yeah,
that was It was so good to see because he
he arranges things even in a particular order, and he's
communicating to a particular audience, and everything that he writes
(07:22):
is true, and at the same time, he arranges it
different than than Mark or Luke or John. Like Mark's
writing to a predominantly Gentile audience, Matthew is writing to
a predominantly Jewish audience. So Matthew does all this background
with a lot of Jewish history that Mark doesn't do
as much. And and so that's that's the beauty though,
is how and then you you kind of expand that
(07:44):
out to all these people in the Old Testament, Like
I'm reading Isaiah this morning, and like where I'm at
in Isaiah right now, it's talking about promises Isaiah chapter
nine of Jesus to come. Now, Isaiah had no idea
the full grasp of what Matthew would have realized. But
they don't contraed it like they totally align with each other.
(08:07):
But it's prophecy seven centuries before words that God was
speaking through Isaiah that came about in Matthew's day that
he's now writing about, and he's able to point back
to what he said is right here. And it's not
like he organized the events of jesus life to make
it fit it, just as showing this is what Isaiah
(08:27):
was talking about.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Incredible. So what the book you referenced earlier, It's called
How to Read the Bible, and this is actually this
is a fantastic book for all reading levels. Really, I mean,
you could be a seminary scholar, you could be a
brand new believer. This book is under one hundred pages.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
It is.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Super easy to read, yet yet theologically rich. And I
know you did that on purpose, But I have found
so many things helpful. This is you kind of mentioned
this a little bit earlier. But when thinking about should
we read our Bibles every day? Like should I engage
with my Bible every day? I don't know. I mean,
(09:17):
right off the top of my head. I think I'm
just really busy. I don't know if I could actually
look at something like that and think about it every day.
I could do it on Sundays. Sure. But you say
something interesting, you say, we can hardly fathom this picture
amid everything going on in our lives today. We can't
imagine from the moment we rise to the moment we
(09:37):
go to bed, and in moments throughout the day spending
so much time looking at well, wait a minute, we
can imagine this, can't we? Is this not what we
do with our phones? That's what we do with our
cell phones?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yes, bro, and you we fill our mind with so much.
And that's one of the things. I can't remember what
all I talked about. You mentioned it being short, because yes,
I did that really intentionally. I wanted to make accessible.
I remember when I showed it to my wife, I
was like, man, it's just not as much I had
(10:13):
so much more I wanted to say. She was like,
I love books this side, thank you for a book
this side. I want books the size. So but I
don't think we should be surprised that many, even professing Christians,
don't have like hunger to be in God's word because
our stomachs are so full on the stuff, the drivel
(10:36):
that we take in all day long. I use an
illustration oftentimes, and again I can't remember exactly if it's
in the book, but when when my wife and I
were first dating. I grew up in a family where
we my dad didn't like seafood, so we never eat seafood.
So but my first time I went over to Heather's
(10:56):
house for dinner, her family is making seafood and its
smell like horrible, Like I just hated seafood because my
dad did, and so but I faked it and I
and just just like, oh, this is amazing, thank you
so much for this meal. The problem is they bought it,
and so then they were like, oh, next time I
came over, They're like, ah, David's coming over, We're gonna
have seafood. He loves seafood. So I started every time
(11:17):
i'd go on vacation with our family. They were like, Hey,
let's go to the best seafood restaurants. Like, oh, that's awesome. Well,
the end of that story is like, now I love
seafood today because I had to love it to get
a wife. But the whole picture is my taste budgs changed.
That's the point. My taste budgs changed. And if we're
just drinking in like literally hours of DRIVELL on our
(11:37):
phones all day, then of course our taste buds are
going to be for that. But once we taste something
that is and I don't mean this to sound dramatic
or overstated, but I don't think I can overstated it,
it's infinitely better. It is infinitely better. Then our taste
buds will change and we'll realize we make time for
what's valuable, what we love, what's important, and we need
(12:01):
new taste buds so that we value the importance and
we love God's word.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Now, anyone could understand that argument. An atheists could understand
what you're saying. And if they're thinking about changing their
diet and they think, man, I've even eaten fast food
for so long, I've been eating candy for so long,
and then you get off of it and you start
eating steak and potatoes and you have an apple in
the apple now tastes sweeter than any candy bar did
(12:28):
because your tasteboats have adapted to what real food is.
And what you're saying is we have gotten so used
to appetizers. Devotionals are appetizers, by the way, Yeah, which
is great thing.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
There are imitation. I mean it's like my kids when
especially my younger kids, some of our older kids are
trying to figure it out now. But when we're like, Okay,
it's your birthday, you can go anywhere you want to eat,
and they're like, oh, McDonald's, and it's like really, like
I would take you anywhere. Yeah, they want like a
processed patty. It's like that it's because they don't know
(13:03):
there's something better. And so yes, I think even devotionals
or and it's not that they're all bad, but it
is are are we missing out? Like on the wonder
like Saw one nineteen verse one sixty two, I rejoice
at your word, like one who finds great spoil like treasure.
Now you don't get the treasure, but I just kind
(13:24):
of dipping into a little bit of the ground like
you dig some like you spend some time and there's
something there that is so valuable that is worth the
time to get there.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
And uh.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
And so that's that's the question, Like are we willing
to take the time again for our good not because
we have to, not because we got to check off
a box because we're supposed to, but because we want life.
This word is designed for our life and uh. And
it's a picture of His love for us, and it's
how we grow. And I love relationship with God. I
(14:00):
think that one of the challenges greature is I think
many Christians whin even when they try to read the Bible,
they still are They're like, Okay, I'm not getting it,
Like I don't. I'm not experiencing treasure like you're talking about.
So that's art of why I wanted to write this book,
is just a simple practical way to say, Hey, here's
a way that I hope would be helpful for you
to experience that treasure on a daily basis.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Yeah. Amen, And there are a lot of people listening
right now that that think. Amen, Brothers, I read my
Bible every day, and I've talked to these guys and
and I say, They say, I read my Bible every day,
but but nothing really changes. And I say, can I
ask you how you're reading it? And they'll say, uh,
it's it's I read it on my phone. Can you
(14:42):
show me? Can you show me what? And they'll pull
up a Bible app and it's a it's a suggested verse.
I said, brother, that's that's not reading your Bible. And
you have now written a book to answer that exact question.
This is I know, this is true, that this reading
your Bible is the most foundational, fundamental spiritual discipline that
(15:08):
without it, no other spiritual discipline works. They all crumble
if you're not engaged with reading your Bible.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yes, yes, one hundred percent. And in fact, I would say, yeah,
we cannot experience, we can't experience like faith in God
apart from the us, Like this is, faith comes by hearing,
hearing by the Word of Christ Romans ten. Like this is,
I mean, I love being in creation. I love seeing
the glory of God in creation. This part of what
(15:39):
I love about Psalm nineteen is the picture we have
of God the heavens revealing the glory of God. I mean,
I think just trekking through the mountains and seeing the
glory of God, the grandeur in a sunset or a sunrise. Yes,
all of that, but then Psalm nineteen says even more
than that is what you see about God on the
pages of this book, Like it's more grander and wonder
(16:02):
and majesty than even what the Grand Canyon can show
you or anything else in creation. Like, that's what we
have here two experience. And that's why part of what
I try to emphasize in this book is even more
than like commands to read the Bible that we see
in scripture, it's meditate, like it's really let it soak in,
like linger with it. So instead of kind of going
(16:25):
back to what we were talking about earlier, instead of
like a fast food restaurant view Bible reading like fine dining,
like this is a meal to be savored and enjoyed,
not just to get your quick verse for the day,
because that's that's not gonna it's not gonna satisfy your
soul the way your soul is designed to be satisfied.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
So let's go over you mentioned meditate. Let's go over
some of the things that you're that you laid out
in this book, because like you said earlier. If we
are to believe that the Bible testifies to itself that
all scriptures breed that by God improfitable for teaching or
proof and correction, for training and righteousness, that the man
or woman of God may be complete, equipped for every
good work. If that's what we believe, and that's what
(17:08):
it says, then why in the world would we not
be in it every single day? Right? That is that
is the most practical reasonable statement I could possibly make.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
That that is the question, Like well, and it just shows,
I mean, this is our our sinful nature. We're prone
to do that which is not good for us. And
so this is I mean, when you just mentioned second
Timothy three sixteen seventy like to be complete? Who doesn't
want to be fulfilled? Who doesn't want to be complete?
To experience life to the full? And obviously I want
(17:44):
to be really careful not to say that means everything
is going perfect in this fallen world, Like that's that's
not a reality in it.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
That word doesn't mean flawless. It means mature.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Yes, right, who doesn't want that? Like we certainly we
want that. This is where it's where I even go
back to old one of my favorite CS. Lewis quotes like,
we're half hearted creatures, fulling about drink and sex and
ambition when infinite joy has offered us, Like ignorant children
who go on making mud pies in Islam because they
(18:14):
cannot imagine what's meant by the offer of a holiday
at the sea. We're far too easily pleased. So when
we just scroll through stuff on our phones and we
ignore the Bible, it's not because our desires are too strong.
It's because our desires are too weak. It takes so
little to satisfy us like we there's so much more
that God is offering us, holding out for us for
(18:37):
our good again, completion, knowledge of God, relationship with God,
life to the full, the way that God has designed
us to experience life like this book is guaranteed, guaranteed
to bring us those things if we'll walk through it,
if we'll read it correctly, meditate on it, walk through
these the kind of things that I talked about in
(18:58):
this week. If we'll do that, it's guaranteed to lead
us to that. So, yes, for the joy set before us,
Let's do this.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yes, Yes, I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I want to keep
on wanting to get to meditate because you said that,
But I want to first lay out that what what
you've done here, You've You've created a system maps is
is the is the system here? Meditate and memorize, apply, pray,
and share. Super easy to remember this, Like I said,
(19:27):
this book is is easy to remember. But let's start
with meditate. That's the that's the meditate and memorized. We're
not We're not talking about sitting with your your needs,
you know, crossed and your watching the sunset. That's not
what you mean by meditate. So what do you mean
by this?
Speaker 1 (19:42):
So what I mean by meditate is like linger over
a passage and just let it, like soaking it. The
illustration I used is when uh, my wife, she's the
first girl I ever dated, uh and uh she which
may sound noble, but I was just super socially awkward.
He provided someone who's attracting my social awkwardness. But she
(20:05):
started writing me letters. This is before like texting or
anything else. So she would write me a lot. And
I remember the first letter I would get, first letters
I would get from her, I was like, this is amazing,
and I would read like dear David, I go dear,
that's a good start. And I'd read and she'd write,
I'm praying for you, and I'd be like, I wonder
what she means by that, Like she prays for me,
(20:26):
like is for anybody, or like when she's praying for
her future husband, maybe she thinks of me, like she
put a smiley face, and be like, why smiley face?
Right there? So that's what I would say is meditation.
It's like why this what? Because if every word is
breathed out by God, then what are these words? Like
how do they fit together? And so that's where I
try to talk in the book, just about just questions
(20:47):
to ask to really meditate, let it soak in, even
even this morning, like I think about and this leads
to memorize, like I was in Psalm one twelve this
morning and there's I think it's the first seven. Uh,
it's around there, but he said it's talking about just
the security we have in God. And it says he
is not afraid of bad news. His heart is firm,
(21:11):
trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady, like I
just so I'm stopping at that point and I'm like, oh,
like I just had a nightmare last night that just
related to something in my family, and it was like
it just revealed like a deep fear me and and
(21:33):
it was so good just this morning read that and
God just saying you have no need to be afraid
of bad news, like your your heart can be firm
through trust in me. You can have a steady heart.
Just trust in Me. And so instead of just reading
that and moving on and checking off a box, I'm
reading that and like soaking it in. Okay, how what's
(21:56):
bad news that I'm I'm afraid of? And how do
you a fear of bad news? Fear, worry, anxiety? How
do you count that the heart that's firm? Oh? I
want that? How is that possible? Trust in the Lord? Okay, God,
I want this kind of faith. Got to help me
to trust in You and then delay that specific even
fear before him, so that that would be an example
(22:17):
of meditation. Now that's getting into some of the other
things that we're talking about with apply and pray, but
the key is not just reading it but really soaking
it in.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah. So let me pause right here because you said
earlier that you were in Isaiah this morning, and then
you just now minished you mentioned you're in psalms this morning. Yeah,
but I know that you read the McShane Plan because
you say in this book, and I've heard you say
that before. I'm also a huge advocate for McShane plan.
I wish I had started it twenty years ago. I'm
(22:47):
on my fifth year and love it. My wife's on
it as well, and we have great discussions. I'm I'm
always amazed at how some of these chapters will line
up so beautifully and speak to each other in a
way that I didn't see last year or the year
before that. So I know that people listening have heard
(23:09):
me say this before, but what a beautiful, what a
beautiful way to read through the Bible every morning. That's
apart from whatever you're going to speak at at the
conference today. It's apart from whatever you're going to preach
your your senior pastor. It's it's apart from that. But
this is your own David's own nourishing time.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Yes, and what I love about. And it's one of
the things that Yeah talk about in there, whether whatever
plan like, have some kind of intentional way through which
you're reading through the Bible. And uh, and I'm I
definitely want to give off the impression to anybody that
every morning is like revival, Like oh that was like
(23:49):
there's some texts where you're like, okay, but that that's
the beauty again. That's the beauty of God's word is
that it's all inspired by God. So even if I'm
reading through Leviticus or this story in the Old Testament
that it's like, I don't even know how this applies
to me. I'm reading inspired. I'm reading words inspired by
God that show me who he is, like they give
me opportunities to reflect on It's part of what meditation is,
(24:11):
like all right, what is this passage? Yeah, teaching me
about who God is, which is important. Sometimes we just
jump into the Bible like okay, what can I get
out of this from my life today?
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Which is what you cover. You cover that in chapter
number two how not to read the Bible, And every
time you mentioned a point in chapter number two it
ended with me something something for me, it's.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
All of us, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and and and
it's and that's so important. That's part of why I
started with that, because yeah, there are actually ways to
read the Bible that are unhelpful for yeah, and uh uh,
and so to be careful to avoid those. But even
there two uh to even if I read something, I'm like,
(24:53):
I don't even know what how this would apply or
anything like, there's still value in this, like you're hearing
to go back to the very first question you asked,
the voice of God? Which is our greatest need? To
be in tune with his voice in every fast in
my life? Like I think about my life as a dad,
as a parent, as a dad of six kids, as
(25:15):
a husband, as a pastor, and just a job, or
as a friend, whatever, Like my greatest need in all
those facets of my life is to be walking in
step with God and his spirit according to his voice. Now,
Leviticus may not have given me instructions for a parenting today,
but what it did is it made me more in
(25:36):
tune with his voice. So that illustration I often use
is like if I were to get a call right
now on my phone, and if I didn't look down
to see who it is, and I just picked it
up and said hello, and the other voice on the
line said hey, babe, Like I wouldn't be like, who's
this like, and she'd be like Heather, Heather, who And
(25:58):
she'd be like, you know your wife five years and
other of your kids. Oh yes, of course, of course
I wouldn't say that. Why because I know how she speaks.
I recognize your voice. Part of reading and meditating on
the Bible is being familiar with the voice of God
so that when you're in whatever situation today and you
don't necessarily have it. There's so many things we walk
(26:18):
through in this world that are not specifically addressed in
God's work. But the more we know his voice and
are in tune with His spirit, the better equipped we
are for a million situations that are not specifically dressed
in God's word because we've been in His word that morning.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Ay Man John Tan Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice,
and I know them. They follow me. If you need
to get a hold of me for any reason, go
to cameo dot com slash Granger Smith. In fact, I
just literally got a message from Cameo that says a
guy named Ian now has a request for me. So
what I do is I open this up and I
go check out what Ian wants me to say for him.
(26:55):
And for this it is a happy birthday to Melinda.
So I will reach out to Melinda. I say happy Birthday.
It's Granger Smith here. I hope you have an amazing day.
And I'm gonna tell her what else that I have
here on the little list that Ian has given me,
and then I send it back to him and then
he has a video message from me that then goes
out to Melinda. It's really cool. It's super easy. I've
(27:16):
been doing this for about six years now. So if
you want to find me and get a special video
message of any kind, go to cameo dot com slash
Granger Smith. Yeah, this is beautiful stuff. What not to
do is the emotional approach. This is one example on
the chapter of what not to do, the emotional approach.
What feels good to me. So let's let the Bible
(27:39):
dictate and tewod Timothy three to sixteen doesn't say so
that the Man of God may be almost mature or
almost complete in addition to what he gets from the
world or what he gets from other things. It's we
have everything we need right here. Let's go to memorize.
This is the the next m.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
The reason I'm meditate and memorize together on that M
and this acrostic is because well, one I think memorization
is probably the most practical way that we can meditate
on scripture, like to make it so internal to us
that it's just a part of us. Like to memorize
a verse so that it just flows out of you,
(28:20):
like it's hidden in a saw A one nineteen kind
of way in your mind and in your heart at
that point. And so I I mean this is without question.
I mean we've talked about how just reading, meditating on
the Bible is like a core discipline that drives everything
in the Christian life. I would say memorization of scripture
(28:41):
has had more of a formative influence in my life
as a spiritual discipline than just about any other because
I don't want.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
To disconnect that from prayer.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
But it's just for God's word to literally fill your
mind and your heart in such a way that it
is a part of you. It just flows out of you.
It transforms your prayer life, it transforms your relationships to
be able to encourage others with the Word because it's
hidden in you and it just flows out of you.
I mean, that's one of the things when when Deuteronomy
(29:13):
four and six talk about like when you walk along
the road and when you sit by the way and
when you lie down, when you wake up, let's be
talking about the word. Well, how can you do that
if you don't have the word in you, Like, it's
not just when you're carrying the word around you. It
transforms your prayer life. You get into the heart of
the Holy Spirit and a passage when you memorize it.
(29:34):
So I just I definitely want to encourage as we
meditate on scripture. One way too meditate on it is
to memorize and to have an intentional plan for memorizing scripture.
And many people will say, oh, I'm just not very
good at memorization. And that's one of the things I
try to walk through in the book, like you can
memorize Someone nineteen talks about how God's word is more
(29:55):
valuable than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Like if
I gave you a thousand for every verse you can
memorize over the next twenty four hours, I'm guessing anybody
can learn to memorize pretty quick. Because so that's the question,
what's more important us, money or God's word?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
So you make the argument work. You start this this argument.
What you're saying right now, children in Afghanistan and Pakistan
today are attending Muslim schools and memorizing the entire Quran
by the time they're thirteen years old. Many of these
children speak different languages Pashto, Urdu, but they are memorizing
the Koran in its original language, Arabic, and they have
(30:33):
the full collective support of their parents and their communities,
and they learn these words of their so called God.
And then you make the argument, can you imagine a
children's ministry in church today teaching children to memorize the
entire New Testament in Greek and then they move on
to the Old Testament in Hebrew. We might say that's impossible,
we can't even do this in English.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
Such a.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
That's such a good quote.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Yes, and it is possible for like us too. Yeah
to Now I'm sitting here, what's going through my mind?
Like I was just with a brother last night who's
memorized the whole New Testament, like he the whole thing,
and and and various books in the Old Testament. And
(31:19):
this brother, he's so humble, loves the Lord, just walks
with God. I'm not saying everybody is going to do that,
but the beauty is everybody, with the rare exceptions, the
rare exceptions can hide God's word in our heart in
some way, in a way that I promise will transform
your life when you do. So. That's that's why I
(31:42):
think memorization is really important.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Yeah, and you start, you send the book just one verse,
Start with one verse. You're not saying memorize fifty Start
with one verse.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Yeah, I tell I use the illiteration. I think. I
always think about this one brother in our church, we
were we were walking through we were I was preaching
through First John, and so we challenged the church to
memorize the first chapter First John. And this brother, I
don't think he'd really ever memorize scripture at all, and
he was like, I mean a whole chapter. I'm gonna
(32:13):
try it. So he started doing it with his son,
and his teenage son. They would work on it on
the drive to school in the morning, and so they
did it. They memorized the whole first chapter of First
John together, and they were and the dad was like,
this is amazing. I cannot believe this. I just did this.
I did this with my son. And his son was like,
we're not stopping here, are we. And so they ended
(32:34):
up memorizing the whole book. They just kept going every morning,
and I mean this yeah, and this is just average
ordinary dude who just his taste buds started changing, and
not just his his teenage son's taste buds started changing. Like,
there's no question they do not regret memorizing the Book
(32:54):
of First John. They went on a journey together that
was transformative in their lives.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Credible man. So how about apply chapter five? Apply?
Speaker 1 (33:03):
Yeah, So this is another way if like, what does
James one say, everyone who hears these words, oh, well,
well that's Matthew seven. Everyone who hears these words of
mind it does not put them in practice. Is like
a man who built his house on with no foundation.
It's going to crash when the storm comes. And then
James one says, don't deceive yourselves by just reading the
word and not doing what it says. So you realize,
(33:25):
wait a second, just to hear Jesus' words it can
actually be deceptive and can lead to your life crashing.
So not just reading, we must obey the word, do
what it says. Everyone who hears on these words of
mine and puts them into practice. So that's where apply is.
I just kind of use a framework to think through
how does God's word change the way we think, the
(33:46):
way we feel, the way we act, the way we
relate to the people around us, and then just the
way we view our whole purpose in the world. And
it's so good to yeah, whenever we are meditating on
scripture then to say, okay, how does this how does
this change me? Like not just read it? If that's
all we do and we kind of turn off the
(34:06):
phone or you know, put the devo aside, then we
were actually deceiving ourselves. We've got to do what it says.
So how does this change me? From the inside out?
And so that's that's the whole purpose of diving into
that a apply.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Yeah, that's so good man. That gets us to pray,
which is you mentioned earlier you said, I don't want
to disconnect prayer, and I could. I but you we
could also make the argument that without these these without
meditate and memorize and even apply prayer, life is very difficult.
We almost have nothing to pray at that.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Point, yes, yeah, and well, and Jesus says this, this
is John fifteen. He says, if you abide in me
and my words abide in you, then ask whatever you
wish will be given to you. So so actually, our
prayer life asking is supposed to be based on His
words and that are abiding in us. So and this
(35:00):
is where I that's what I love about. And I
walked to a whole another acrosstic with pray, just praise, repent,
and ask ill based on what we've heard in the Word.
But when you think about there's so many things that
we pray for that we we don't know how God's
going to answer like we ask. Like I just think
about somebody I was praying for this morning for healing,
(35:22):
Like I don't know for sure if God is gonna
heal this person in this particular way at this particular time.
I don't know that. But I have in God's Word
that I'm reading every day scores of things that I
know if I pray for this, that I'm praying according
to the will of God and particularly for my own life.
(35:44):
Like I mean, yeah, I go back to some one
twelve what we were talking about earlier. As I'm praying, God,
I pray that you would free me from fear of
bad news. That I pray for a heart that is
firm and trusting in You. I know that's a prayer
God desires to answer, will answer as I ask him
for because I'm asking according to His word in that
(36:06):
way in my life. And then to pray that for
others lives. God, I pray for this person or that person,
my family or whoever else, they would not be afraid
about it. I know I'm praying according to God's will
what God wants for that person. And so yeah, I
think this is where to your point, our prayer life
devoid of the Word, really misses the whole point of prayer.
(36:29):
Prayer is dependent on God's revealed word to us. It
leads us to praise Him for who he is, to
repent of different things as we're reading through God's Word,
to repent of sin as we're convicted by it, and
then to ask him all kinds of things. That's where
even started a while back, just a little five minute
podcast called Pray the Word, because it's all based on
(36:51):
it's really just the overflow of my quiet time. But
it's just what I'm doing each day as I'm reading
through Isaiah and Salms today, just praying based on what's
in the Word, and then to yield and say, God,
help me to obey your word today.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And all these ways that I looked at and apply
and then, man, that's so helpful. It also really helps
if your prayer life is feeling stagnant or you're kind
of you feel like you're being too repetitive and you
and and you're you're losing the depth of it. You
could pray from your morning reading. One of my favorite
seminary professors, Don Whitney, you know, wrote the book Praying
(37:28):
the Bible and it's he wrote an entire book just
on this idea to pray what you're reading. You could
find passages, which is what's what's so helpful to move
forward in the Bible every single day and you have
a fresh word to take and say, you know what,
I've been stuck. What I'm praying for my mom and
(37:48):
I'm kind of stuck and what to pray because it's
the same situation. She's getting the same result and I'm
praying the same thing. But I just read today and
and in the Psalms that there's this and I can
I can pray this and over and it transforms your
prayer life.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
So good man, that's so good, because yeah, I think
about it, and that's where I even as we talk
about these kind of different steps that I walk through
in the book. It really becomes it's it's not like
it's mechanical, Okay, do this and this and this, because
like I think about reading Isaiah this morning, and I'm
getting the verses that are talking about like this was
God's judgment on the nations uh and and their sin
(38:29):
and his own people and their sin both and and
it was talking at one point just about the pride
of men and God bringing the pride full low and
God exalting the humble, and so just to read that
and just pause, and God, please remove pride from me. God,
I pray for humility. I want humility. I need humility.
(38:51):
I need forgiveness for my pride. I want deliverance from
my pride. Again, you're praying according to God's Well, this
is absolutely what God wants for you. But it's just
a couple verses that if you're not careful you just
kind of skip over. But let it soaka and just
pray according to it. And then, like you said, I'm
praying for your mom or whoever it might be. You
come to some one twelve seven, which I keep going
(39:12):
back to today. That's I mean, how many people do
you know who are worried or afraid or anxious about
any number of things. And so just to spend some
time praying over people in your life who you know
might be worried or if you're afraid or anxious about
other things, like it just leads to all kinds of
intercession for others based on Gun's work.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
So beautiful. You know, I find myself my prayers. It's
pretty tough for me to pray. I'll say it this
way before I read in the morning, because I just
wake up. My heart's cold as ice, and I just
you know, I get my cup of coffee and put
on my glasses and I start my reading. And then
all of a sudden, my heart starts warming and that
(39:51):
ice melts, and then and then and I'm ready then
to pray. I'm in a position to pray after the
Lord has spoken to me first. Sometimes we mix it up,
and it's hard. It's hard to do that.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, I love that, man, that's so true. I can
totally identify with that. And and it makes sense, like, well,
I what I love about what you just shared. And
I hope that the sense of what people are hearing
in this whole conversation is that That's what this is.
It is. It is a conversation with God like and
basically what you just said is I find it my
(40:26):
heart warmed and more easier too, and more engaged in
speaking to God when I've listened to Him speak to me.
So this is not this is.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
And that's where the wonder, the wonder of this grangeer
that like we're talking about communion with God, God who
spoke in the world, came into being that this morning
I I was talking to him and he was listening
to me, and not just listening to me.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
He was talking to me like speaking to my heart,
and he was he was listening to what I was saying.
I'm pouring out my arm before him and and He's
promising to answer according to his word and his power
and his wisdom. Like communion with God. And obviously it's
not just being, it's anybody, and it's you, it's anybody
who trusts in Jesus to restore us to relationship with
(41:19):
God through it's what Jesus died to make possible for
us to live in every day. So again it just
goes back to over your time earlier, why would we
not like make time for this for communion with God,
and why would we rush through it, Like, let's set
aside to the extent that we can just some concentrated
time to be with Him.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Amen. So that this would not be an appropriate David
Platt book if we didn't finish with the es the
share Yeah, tell me about share.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Yeah? That this word, I mean everything we're talking about, bro,
Like it's too good to keep to ourselves like this,
this word. You find treasure somewhere, Like you don't keep
that to yourself, you, I mean unless you're like you're
super selfish, like you share that with others. You spread
it to others because then that's the beauty. Uh there's
(42:09):
enough treasure to go around. Uh, so so you spread
it others. So to be really intentional. That's why like
this this across it. It's like, okay, really we need
to emphasize, like the word is not intended to stop
with us, It's intended to spread through us. So I
just think about it. I mean, obviously we're having this
conversation about how to read the Bible, and so my
Bible reading this morning has come up, but I can
(42:32):
I think about yesterday there was something else I'd read
and saw one eleven greater your work, so God studied
by all those who delight in them. And uh. And
then I was just about an hour after my time
in the Lord, I'm talking with this brother and sister in
Christ and she started talking about something she'd seen in
(42:52):
creation that just was just had owed her. And I
was like, this is totally so on lefl first too,
like it's de lightful to see the work of God creation.
So all that to say, like, look for opportunities all
throughout the day to encourage others with the Word and
not you're like you got to prepare a sermon or something.
This is just for every day. That's the beauty of
(43:13):
Deuteronomy six. It's just as you walk as you live,
talk about the word yes with other brothers and sisters
in Christ, encourage them and your family, your friendships and
church relationships whoever might be. And then obviously with unbelievers
to look for opportunities. Again. And this is where I
would say should be happening in our lives in a
(43:34):
natural way, not like we have to force it, but
just to talk about, Yeah, things we are learning about
life and relationship with God should just flow from us.
So to be really intentional on the s to share,
to spread the word with others.
Speaker 2 (43:48):
That's so good. So I want to finish with this.
You you are, You're always busy. You're you're always a
busy guy. You have a lot of stuff going on,
but today in particular, let's let's look at today. You're
you're at a conference TGC. You're in Indianapolis. My wife
is there too, but you are in a hotel room.
(44:09):
You just came in from from here in Piper Preach.
Tell me, tell me how your Bible reading was this morning,
because this is the kind of morning Practically someone listening
would think, well, this is the morning he skipped reading,
but you didn't. So tell me what was that like?
Walk me through your morning today.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
I So I'm about to say again, I don't mean
to sound like over dramatic or just it's like I
cannot I can't live without bread alone.
Speaker 2 (44:37):
That you can't live on bread alone.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
I can't live and I and I say that so
real quick background, Like I there have been times in
my life where I've I've tried to live like that
without that, and times as a pastor like so it's
not just because I'm a pastor, Like I can point
to a long season in my life as a pastor where, yeah,
the church I pastor was growing. I'd read in a
(45:00):
book that a lot of people were reading. I was
getting invited to travel to places like this and preach
all the time. And my I didn't have that time
of the Lord in the morning. Like I would study
just to like prepare a sermon, but I wouldn't like
read the Bible just to know God. And I could
turn on a public prayer like that, but I just
I never got alone in a room just to be
with God. And that's that's frightening to me. Like, how
(45:21):
so it's don't I wouldn't want anybody just assume, Okay,
yeah you're a pastor of course, Like no, I've actually experienced,
like in a really dangerous way, what it's like the
pastor without walking into the sea with God. And yeah,
so all that to say, the Lord did some things
in my life to wake me up big time years
ago from that that season in my life, and uh
(45:44):
and ever since then, I can just say, and I'm
not saying I never ever missed the morning like occasionally,
but I can't. I can't live with that so yeah,
this morning, first thing I did woke up. I one
of the things I talked about in the book. I'm
big on journaling. I'm just a I can't point to
a verse that would say you should journal, but it's
helpful for me to not my mind, keep my mind
(46:08):
from wandering, to be less distracted. So I just start
and I don't have like an elaborate system. I just
have like a running word file for twenty twenty five yep.
And so this morning it was like April whatever, and
so it's and I just start just just thanking God
for grace, for new mercy this morning, and I'm writing
out a lot of these prayers. Not everything I'm praying
I'm writing out, but a lot of it. And so
(46:30):
I'm writing out prayers, and then I start reflecting on
the day before, just thanking God for different things from
the day before, praying for people that I interacted with
the day before, just kind of reflecting on what God
taught me from the day before, writing out some of
those things. And then much like you talked about, I
just dive into the word. And so that's when I
walk through these verses of these chapters in Isaiah and
psalms and all on the way, I'm doing what we've
(46:50):
been talking about, and I in the journal, I'm oftentimes,
not oftentimes and most all the time. I'm so I'm
doing a lot of this on my either iPad or
computer my laptop. So I'm I'm like cutting and pasting,
copying and pasting from the word into my journals. So
day eleven one says this about this branch to come
(47:13):
talking about prophecy of Jesus. So I'm pasting that in
here and uh and then writing out a prayer based
on that or writing out how this applies my life.
So I'm doing this. It's just helpful for me to
be really intentional to write it down. Not saying everybody
has to do that, but it's helpful for me. So
I'm doing that all through and so that's leading to prayer,
and that's leading to and I would add I do
(47:36):
it oftentimes with just I've got a playlist that's like
my quiet time playlist that has just worship songs, and
it's I love it when whatever song is going on
just coincides with what I'm reading. Again, it's not over time,
but there are times when it's like, oh, this is,
and I just I love I love when I press
(47:57):
the shuffle button and it just I'm like, Lord, you
take it wherever you want. And uh and sometimes the
song comes on it's like I need to go past
that one. It doesn't. But oftentimes it's just like and
that it happened this morning. And so anyway, have you
shared that?
Speaker 2 (48:12):
By the way, have you shared that? What's that? That playlist?
Have you ever shared?
Speaker 1 (48:16):
Oh no, I'm not I show. Yeah, that's a good idea. Well,
I mean that's I was. Yeah, that's a good idea at.
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Least at least text it to me.
Speaker 1 (48:27):
It's just like the challenge funny side note one time.
I mean, it's really the only playlist I have. And
so I was running like ten K and I wanted
to listen to some music. But it's the only playoffs.
And I'll just say, like my Shane and Shane like
quiet time, it's not what you need to be listening
to when you're trying to run it down. Ok, it
(48:48):
doesn't the same way, but anyway, uh yeah, so then
and then uh so that is my time in the
Lord this morning, and and and then I I do
have some intentional things I try to pray for on
a daily basis, just from my family and church and
the world and that sort of thing that's kind of
tacked on to the Bible reading part. So but yeah,
(49:10):
that was my time of Lord this morning.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
And how long do you plan to do that in
your life?
Speaker 1 (49:17):
You mean, like how long per day? Or like how
long like the rest.
Speaker 2 (49:20):
Of the rest of your life? How long? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (49:22):
I man, I oh like bro. I sat at the
bedside of a spiritual father of mine in life and ministry,
just a guy who's had a huge impact from my life,
Jim Shattocks, And he went to be the Lord a
couple of months ago after I actually dedicated this book
(49:44):
to him after a year battle with brain cancer. And
he's he he more than anybody else in my life,
taught me to love God's word and teach it with
fear of it. And anyway, I sat by his bed
like he's hospice. He's hardly able to speak, like just whisper,
(50:07):
and I'm just reading verses over him. He's like under
his breath, he's like finishing the verses. It's just like
he his his mind, I mean, totally ravaged by brain cancer.
But the word was hidden so deep and it was
(50:27):
just flown out of him like he could hardly breathe,
and the words what's coming out? And I was like God, maybe,
so like I want to live so that when I've
gotten hardly even have breath left, your word is is
still just flowing in me through me. So maybe it's
(50:50):
like I want I want to live for that day.
Speaker 2 (50:53):
So ah, So your answer to that is every single
day you have left in this fleeting vapor of a life.
Speaker 1 (51:03):
Yes, it's some one, bro, it's it's blessed like happy
is the one who whose delight is in the law
of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day
and night like he will be like a tree planted
by streams of water. They yield it's fruit in season,
and all that leaf will not wither, and all that
(51:25):
he does, he prospers. Like who doesn't want that? Who
doesn't want like true prosperity, not worldly prosperity. Who doesn't
want true happiness, not fleeting happiness? Who doesn't want like
your leaf not to wither like fruit from your life? Forever?
We all want that?
Speaker 2 (51:41):
Everyone?
Speaker 1 (51:41):
So what how do you do it? Meditate on this
word day and night, every day, every night like meditate.
Speaker 2 (51:48):
It no better way to end this podcast than that,
right there, Bro, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
Bro, it's been delightful and tell you about this all
day long and just and so grateful for you and
the fruit of your life towards this end, and a
lot of other people's lives who I know are yeah,
pursuing God, walking with Him through his word as a
result of the fruit of His word in your life.
So praise God for sharing and that's how that's happening
(52:18):
in and through you.
Speaker 2 (52:19):
Praise the Lord. Well, thank you brother, And how fun
at that conference. Yeah, thanks for joining me on the
Grangersmith podcast. I appreciate all of you guys. You could
help me out by rating this podcast on iTunes. If
you're on YouTube, subscribe to this channel, hit that little
like button and notification spell so that you never miss
anytime I upload a video.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
Yigi
Host
Granger Smith
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