Did you know that still to this present day (2016), the Bible remains the world’s most popular book around the world? It has sold within the billions*. However I wonder if the Bible is actually being read, or is it simply collecting dust in the billions of homes it is owned by?
Don’t just own it—read it.
If most of us are honest with ourselves, we would acknowledge that we are not regularly reading the Bible as we should. Most seem to have settled for second-hand helpings of the Bible but don’t actually read it for themselves. We are content with tweets, snaps and instagram posts about the Bible, or sermons on a Sunday with references of the Bible, without actually reading it for ourselves. Why do we settle for crumbs of someone else’s meal without eating the bread ourselves?
‘…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ – Matthew 4:4b
Where can we find God’s words? In the Bible! ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness’ – 2 timothy 3:16 (emphasis added). We have been given a true gift. The very words of God. Won’t you spend some time reading it for yourself today? But….
Don’t just read it—meditate on it.
The Bible doesn’t just instruct us to read the Word but to meditate on the Word. That doesn’t mean we sit crossed legs in a yoga position and hum all day. To meditate simply means to think about something over and over again. It’s what we do when we worry or fear about something. We ponder the thing over and over again from different angles, etc. In the same way we are to take God’s Word and to mull it over in our mind, to think about it, talk about it and go deeper. We are told that when we do, we are truly blessed…
‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success’ – Joshua 1:8 (emphasis added)
What have you been thinking about today? Meditate on the Word, but….
Don’t just meditate on it—do it.
‘But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.’ – James 1:22 (emphasis added)
The Bible wasn’t given to us by God to be a book that we simply just read and think about. It is a practical manual for our life. We are called to be doers of the Word, not just hearers or readers or thinkers only. If the Word says we should forgive those who sin against us, what should we then do? Forgive those who sin against us (see Matthew 18:21-22)! God says in His Word that ‘obedience is better than sacrifice’ – 1 samuel 15:22b. Are you obedient to the Word? Look at your life and see. Not just your life on social media or in front of others…. but behind closed doors in the day to day grind of life; are you applying the Word to your life? Obviously it is impossible to do what you don’t know, so if you are not in the Word for yourself it will be impossible to be living your life according to the Word. So I go back to my first point: are you reading the Word? If you know you are not, today is a new day. Ask the Lord for help and commit to reading, meditating and obeying the Word.
*For more info on this, see this link: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/best-selling-book-of-non-fiction/
