Scripture’s examination of us leads to confession.
Ezra stands before his people and reads the law book out loud for a long time. What intrigues me is that the people ask him to do that. What surprises me is that they listen.
One of my preaching professors told me a sermon should last around 22 minutes, due to our culture’s shrinking attention span. I’ve learned that my sermon length should be even shorter when I speak to college students.
But the encouragement I find in today’s reading doesn’t come from the people’s ability to listen for a long time. After they hear the words of scripture, they confess their sins and make a commitment of repentance.
Studying the Bible is helpful, but we also need to let it study us. We need to let it put us under a microscope and reveal every little detail of our lives. When we allow scripture to function in that way, we find opportunities for confession and repentance. We admit our sins to God and commit to holier living.
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