Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
When it is nighttime and for some reason you need to go outside to have a look at something, you want a source of light handy, such as a front or a back light on the house, a streetlight, or even moonlight, but if those are not sufficient enough, or if you do not have any of those, you carry along a good flashlight. Why? Besides helping you find what it is you are going to look for, the light keeps you from falling over unseen obstacles or encountering unwanted animals (or people!). In other words, it guides your feet and unveils the path before you.
The Word of God does the same for us spiritually and in living life in general—but you have to read it!
The Word of God does the same for us spiritually and in living life in general—but you have to read it!
I cannot even begin to recall how many times I’ve heard Christians go strictly on what their pastor said, or misquoting the Bible, or even saying things “in the Bible” that really aren’t there. “When we get near the end of time you won’t be able to tell the seasons apart”, “Cleanliness is next to godliness”, and “God helps those who help themselves”. Those three sayings—and some others I’ve heard—aren’t even in the Word at all! You cannot quote verses at all, properly, or in context if you do not read your Bible or if you do not read it regularly.
Not only that, but pastors are not infallible. Only the Word of God is. Besides, in this lukewarm, apostate, corrupt time we’re living in, a lot of pastors are really only hirelings who are in it for the money and will say whatever it takes to tickle the ears of their congregations whether it is right or wrong. Do you really want to follow such hazardous preaching?
A lot of believers do not read the Bible at all, or at least not on a regular basis, because they say they are busy. That is not wrong in and of itself. We have life to live, many have jobs, most have family responsibilities, and there are other things that come up. However, we always make time to do the things we really want to do.
How often have you seen folks looking at their phones while gathered at the bedside of a terminally ill loved one? How many times have you been exhausted from an extremely long day at work yet still swung by the convenience store to pick up a snack on the way home? How often did you know you needed to read your Bible but you didn’t because the laundry, the latest computer game, or the garden had more of your attention than God did? Like money, our time is also a treasure to us.
Look at what Jesus said here:
How often have you seen folks looking at their phones while gathered at the bedside of a terminally ill loved one? How many times have you been exhausted from an extremely long day at work yet still swung by the convenience store to pick up a snack on the way home? How often did you know you needed to read your Bible but you didn’t because the laundry, the latest computer game, or the garden had more of your attention than God did? Like money, our time is also a treasure to us.
Look at what Jesus said here:
Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
How you use your time, like how you view money, says a lot about what is really important to you and where your heart really is. There have been times in my own life when I have had to repent for letting the things of the world take priority over the things of God, including reading the Word. You don’t have to quote Scripture or hit your knees to pray every time you draw a breath, and you don’t have to stop enjoying things in life that are not sinful in and of themselves.
There are more benefits to reading the Bible than I could possibly list in a blog, but the fact that one of the Scriptures Jesus Himself quoted (Deuteronomy 8:3) when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness deals with the Word’s vitality to all of us sums it up very well:
Matthew 4:3-4: Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Since the Word is authored by God Himself via the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19-21), the words in the Bible are, in effect, from the mouth of God. One more very important detail: When reading the Bible, use a reliable translation. The New King James Version, we have found through extensive research, is the best all-around translation of the Bible, and the regular King James Version is just about as good although it uses that archaic Middle English (thee’s, thou’s, and so on). We are not Bible cultists; these are facts we have learned. We have a lot more on the subject in Lesson 2 of Level 2 of the Remnant Bible Study Course here on our website, and we invite you to study this subject for yourself also. A good translation of the Bible is just as vital as reading and knowing the Bible. God takes His Word very, very seriously:
Psalm 138:2: I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
Revelation 22:18-19: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
In closing I say this: If you are a believer who is already reading the Word daily, I commend you. Just make sure you have a reliable Bible version you are using. If you are a believer who is not reading the Word at all or at least not regularly, rearrange your priorities and get into the Word! Get a good, reliable version to read from as we have listed here if you do not already have one, and make sure to read the Bible each and every day. Remember the Scripture that Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior quoted: “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
One Response
Amen! R E A D Y O U R B I B L E ! ! ! 🙂