Through different writers and thousands of years, the Bible still speaks to our lives in a personal way. All scripture is equally inspired; not all scripture is equally applicable to your life all the time. When you read through the Bible, some passages will jump out at you and give direction, bring conviction, or offer comfort, while others don’t seem as helpful. While reading the Bible, your relationship with God grows, and you mature in Christ.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training righteousness. So that the servant of God is thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Just as our bodies need food and water to survive, we too need the Word of God to survive. Our spirits crave the Word of God just like a baby wants milk. We can get distracted and not pay attention to our thirst for living water. Work, family, hobbies, even church activities can get in the way of maintaining a consistent time to read and study the Word of God. You have to choose to make reading the Bible a top priority. We have to take the time to internalize it, ponder it, and apply it to our lives. Let’s have a balanced diet of the Word of God.
- Matthew 4:4 “It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word the comes from the mouth of God.”
When King Solomon was offered to have anything he wanted, he chose to have God’s wisdom. We need wisdom every day of our lives. Too often use reason and logic to find the answers to our problems. But the reasoning and logic that we use are of this world. We need the wisdom of God because worldly logic doesn’t work for us. Every time we read the Bible, we receive more wisdom and understanding from our creator. Ask God to speak clearly about your circumstances and give you wisdom.
- James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
God’s holiness is impossible for us to understand and equally impossible for us to achieve without the grace of God. There must have been such a feeling of hopelessness in the children of Israel performing all those atoning rites year after year and never feeling cleansed. How futile their efforts must have seemed. Christ’s work on the cross washes us white as snow. Through the constant flow of God’s words of truth and grace pouring over our hearts, it helps us receive His cleansing work.
- Ephesians 5:26, “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing of water of the word.”
The Bible is so critical to sustaining our spiritual lives. There will come a time when it will be too late to read and study the Word of God. Let’s encourage one another to crave, read, ponder, and apply it to our lives.
- Hebrew 3:13, “ encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “today,” so the none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulnes”
