Today we have a higher level of access to the Word of God than ever before in human history. On any smartphone, you can download an app with every single translation and every single version for free.
Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book. A survey by the Bible Society concluded that around 2.5 billion copies were printed between 1815 and 1975, but more recent estimates put the number at more than 5 billion.
By the end of 1995, combined global sales of Today’s English Version (Good News) New Testament and Bible (copyright for which is held by the Bible Societies) exceeded 17.75 million copies, and the whole Bible had been translated into 349 languages and 2,123 languages have at least one book of the Bible in that language.
It is the most quoted, most influential book ever written. It was written by over 40 authors, on three continents, over the course of about 1600 years, and yet still expresses one singular consistent message all through out.
AND YET there is a famine for the Word of God today like never before (Amos 8:11). What would you say if you saw a nation that had more food than they knew what to do with, but at the same time, you saw all the nations people starving to death? Well, that is us today as regards the Bible!
The Bible is more than just a decoration for our bookshelves. It is one of the primary ways that God speaks to mankind. Those who desire a deeper, more personal relationship with God, know that intimacy will begin with conversation and fellowship. Therefore we will desire spending time with God in His Bible.
Today, there are so many people promoting their version of “truth”, but logically there can only be one truth, because truth, like math, is not relative. Thankfully for us believers, we do not have to be familiar with all the various lies to spot them. We just need to be intimately familiar with the one truth, and then counterfeits will stand right out.
We can trust the Bible to be the authority of God on earth today. How do I know this?
Well, there are mountains of evidences that make the Bible stand alone among other religious texts. Too numerous to list here, so if you are curious for more, please listen to this radio broadcast
Can I Trust the Bible – CLICK HERE
Once you have heard this, you too will be able to say with logical and intellectually stimulating reasons that you can trust the Bible. Now, lets see what the Bible has to say about it.
Psalm 1:2-3 – but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
So if you love the Lord, and delight in His word day and night, you will be constantly refreshed and replenished instead of weary, and “whatever you do will prosper”. That does not mean you should go play the lottery after reading the Bible, but you will be blessed and lifted up daily.
The idea is that the Bible is a tool to help us grow in an intimate personal relationship with God. As with any healthy relationship, it becomes a source of love and life that fills you and fuels you.
Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
So instead of stumbling around in the dark in this confusing world, the Bible can be our lantern helping us to stay on the right path and shows us the way of truth. It is liken to a compass that is always pointing toward True North. The Bible exists to give us direction. To help us know a finite truth, and to better understand the heart of God, and the history of how God works on earth.
Psalm 119:130 – The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
You don’t have to have some seminary degree to read and understand the Bible. God has not expressed Himself in such a way that only the scholars and theologians can understand Him. While His statements can be so profound that it will keep the scholars busy for a lifetime, even the most average layman can understand the simple doctrines in the Bible.
Psalm 119:165 – Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
When you love the Lord and live for His Word, you will experience a peace that transcends all understanding. I highly encourage you to read more on this by CLICKING HERE – Article on the Peace of God
But suffice to say this. When we spend time with the ones we love, growing in our intimate relationship with them, we feel better off. Living in love is very healthy. Spending time with God is exactly the same way.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 = All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
All scripture is profitable, and inspired by God, and is here to equip the believer for the work of God. Even the parts that may seem boring sometime, can be applied to some practical and helpful life lesson.
For more on this, please listen to the sermon Titled Love the Lord, and Read His Word – CLICK HERE
James 1:22 – Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
However just knowing the scriptures is only just the beginning of our journey. As with any committed relationship, ours with God starts with us knowing Him, and moves forward with us showing our love for Him by respecting Him and trusting Him. The pharisees of Jesus’ day were well known for having all of the scriptures memorized, yet they were the biggest opponents of God’s ministry on earth. This tell us that it is not what you know, but who you know.
My point in all this is to say that reading our Bible is not a religious obligation, that we do because our pastor has guilted us into something that good Christians are supposed to do. Rather, we read our Bible because we love the opportunity to have a two way conversation with the God we love. As we read, we pray, and as we pray, we read, talking back and forth with God, and growing in our deep love relationship with Him.
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