Month: June 2017

My last post, “Are You Eating His Word?”, ended with the question “How hungry are you?“. Have you thought about that? How much do you desire to read God’s Word? You could be someone that really wants to read it but just not setting aside the time. Or, you could be indifferent towards it, just not excited about picking it up.

I promise you this…

As long as you are seeking the Lord in the Spirit…

The more you read the Word, the more you’ll love the Word, the more you love the Word, the more you’ll need the Word. The more you need the Word, the more you’ll value the Word and the more you’ll appreciate and adore its Author.

This is why the Devil does not want you to read the Bible!

When you do read the Bible, do not to read it just to read it, the goal or objective when reading the Bible should always be to know the Lord more, attempt to understand the passage and apply it to your life. What is He saying to you? If you struggle to understand, find someone that can shed light on it. This is where discipleship comes in which I wrote about recently in “Are You Being Discipled?”.

What more can I say? How about this promise for daily scripture reading:

Joshua 1:⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Are you excited now?

Are you ready to get into the Word? “Where do I start?” you ask. That’s a great question! Because it can be difficult in knowing what to read daily, I’ve developed a reading plan creator on TheBibleTeam.com which allows one to pick whatever book or books, determine the date range and it will create a plan for you. You can find that here: Reading Plan Creator

I don’t think it matters where you start, Matthew, John, Genesis or Jonah. What matters is that you start and get the Bible into you so that the Lord can do a mighty work through you!

I’ll close with this:

1 Chronicles 16: ¹¹ Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.

My friends, if you are continually seeking and are committed to being a disciple of Christ, then what better way is there than to develop the habit of daily Bible reading? Do you spend a day without eating food? I believe that if believers got as excited about reading the book of Job as they do about eating a BLT, the Church would be a force to be reckoned with.

Will you eat His Word?

If you are serious about developing a daily reading habit, here is some practical advice from my friend and motivational speaker Chris Widener. This may or may not work for you… “So this is how we can achieve all that we want to: develop those actions into habits! Action Point: Pick the area of your life that you want to change for good. Now put the action into your schedule every day for the next 21 days. Make it at the same time every day. In fact, if you can, connect it with another habit that you have each day. This will force it to become a habit right alongside the other. After doing this for three weeks, every day, you will find yourself naturally doing it from then on. Then you won’t need motivation – you’ll have a habit that will carry you through!”

“Dear Lord, help me to develop a habit of meeting with you and reading your Word daily. I thank you for nudging me in this direction as I continue seeking you.”

My last post, “Are You Being Discipled?”, discussed the importance of allowing God to transform us through His Spirit and other Christ filled men (or women). This message, “Are You Eating His Word?“, is just as essential for spiritual growth. Just as our bodies do not grow without nutrition, neither will our souls…

Do you read much? What I mean is, throughout your average day, is there anything you typically read? Is it e-mail, websites, blogs, Facebook posts, the sports page, financial section, novels, magazines, technical journals, devotionals, Christian books, etc.?

Do you see where I’m going with this? There is a lot to read on a daily basis for many of us in this age of information overload. It’s crazy what the Bible has to compete with these days. It’s no wonder that much of our Church suffers from Biblical illiteracy.

What are we to do?

We have a culture that was at one time rooted in Biblical beliefs and understanding. Our schools (before the government took over) used to teach our children how to read using the Scriptures. Now, many decades later, the Bible is widely regarded as mostly irrelevant.

Maybe I didn’t have to tell you that, but I’ll get off my soap box now. 🙂

What I really want to get across is that there is no shortcut to spiritual maturity.

If our desire is to love God then we must get to know Him.

It’s kind of like buying my wife a green purse when her favorite color is blue. This simply means I don’t know her well enough to please her. Either she’s told me her favorite color is blue and I wasn’t listening, or she’s never told me before. It doesn’t matter, I’ve missed the mark. Do I still have that receipt?

Here’s a sobering thought:

John 3: ³⁶ “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

The question I have is:

How would we know how to obey Him if we’re not continually trying to know Him?

Read what Moses and Jeremiah had to say about God’s Word:

Deuteronomy 8: ³ “…man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.”

Jeremiah 15: ¹⁶ “Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” (KJV)

Yes, Jesus is the bread of life!

I think we’ll get it if we truly understand these passages:

John 6: ²⁷ But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

Tie that with:

John 6: ⁴⁸ Yes, I am the bread of life! ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. ⁵⁰Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

And now with:

John 6: ⁶⁸ Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. ⁶⁹ We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

In Summary:

Spend your energy seeking that which gives eternal life by eating the bread from heaven, the bread of life.

OR:

Spend time daily seeking eternal life by reading your Bible.

How hungry are you?