Did you read your Bible today?

God communicated to human through his divine revelation, the word of God which is the Bible. The Bible was written by the people of God who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible comprises of 66 books which were written over a period of 1600 years by approximately 40 men. The time of the writing was from 1500 BC to AD 100. It was written by people of various professions, various places, and various timelines and yet it conveys the unique message, which is the Holy God, the creator of the heaven and earth, redeeming a people for himself for his glory through his son Jesus Christ. The bible is authoritative, inerrant and infallible. It is every Christian’s responsibility to read the word of God and align his life accordingly.

Many of us are well aware of these truths. Let us check our lives to see if these truths have any significance in our lives. Many of us are guilty of demeaning the value of God’s words, the Bible. When we say we are busy that we are not able to find time for God and his words, then we don’t consider it worthy to spend time with God. We don’t prioritize God in our lives.

Dutch pastor Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711) who lived just a century after the Protestant Reformation, said this: “If people neglect to retain the Word of God in mind and heart, they will begin to elevate their own intellect as their Bible.” And this: “Since many persons use the Word so infrequently, they are in darkness, unsteady, tossed to and fro by all winds of doctrine, live in sorrow, suffer from weak faith, and experience the hiding of God’s countenance.”

I remember when I accepted Christ as my master and savior in 2007, there was this zeal to know him. This made me read his word earnestly. There was this hunger to know him more. There was a constant thought of him which engrossed my heart, mind and everything. I thank God for his grace that he enabled me to know him more in Jesus Christ. Sometime later, there were these days of saturation, where I thought I know Bible; I know his ways and I could tackle my life. What a foolish thought! Little later, I realized that I am deceiving myself and falling back. I thank God for his love that he preserved me from falling and lifted me up.

During the days of saturation, what happened to the hunger I had in knowing God? Was there a change in the zeal? Did God change then and now?

No! Certainly not! It is me! Many of us would have gone through something similar in your lives. It was I who took the word of God lighter than what it was for me. It was I who thought that I know the whole counsel of God after reading the Bible once. I realized that human heart is deceiving. The Bible acknowledges this fact again and again. Let us not be deceived by our heart. Let us seek God day in and day out, in reading of his words, in knowing his will, in submitting to him willfully and renewing our spirit.

Planned reading and meditating on the word of god benefits us:

• It is only through his words, we are saved
• It is only through his words, we are nurtured
• It is only through his words, we are sanctified
• It is only through his words, we are comforted

Pastor Brakel states so eloquently the necessity of the word of God.

The Word of God is necessary and profitable not only for beginners and little ones but also for the most advanced and spiritual believers here upon earth. It is a brook from which a lamb may drink and an ocean in which an elephant can drown. He who is of the opinion that he has advanced beyond Scripture is a fool. He gives evidence that he is ignorant of the spirituality of the Word as well as ignorant of himself. God by His omnipotence could have gathered and preserved His church and caused her to grow without the written Word. It is, however, according to the wisdom and goodness of God to care for His church in a most appropriate and steadfast manner, making His will known to her by means of a written document. In our day this is enhanced by the art of printing. Everyone can have God’s Word in his home and thus be enabled daily to obtain guidance and nourishment from it. God has bound man to His Word to keep him from straying outside of its perimeter. Thus, the Word of God is necessary as well as profitable.

Did you read your bible today?