STOP reading the Bible!

by Nick Cleveland

Read Psalm 46.

Today at HSM we challenged students to stop just reading the Bible and to start internalizing it! The challenge came from Psalm 46 as we studied the chapter together. Students spread out around the SM Worship Center and spent 15 minutes with God together as lead by Pastor Nick. We could see faces encountering God in fresh and new ways through His Word! The word 'selah' in Psalm 46 means to pause and the author wanted us to stop reading and internalize what was being said.

Now reconsider Psalm 46 with using Selah:

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Try the Selah concept in your reading of God's Word in other places...not just the Psalms. Try using the STOP reading method to studying the Scriptures which is:

Set your heart right
Think about what you're reading
Obtaing the right meaning
Practice what you've learned