I really wanted to create an entry that would cause your heart to stir and be moved to flip open God’s word.
Hopefully we can do that today!

We talk about the Bible a lot around here but I want to challenge you to grasp the importance of this book.
Across the world you will hear a lot about the Bible, there is always controversy surrounding it which will lead some to ignore it.
The thing about God’s word is that it’s His..and He will use it to speak to ANYBODY.
(You don’t have to be a scholar to understand it)

The Bible isn’t a book that you can pick and choose which verses to insert into your life to draw encouragement from.
You have to take it for all that it is.
Which can often be a really hard book to read.
You will read in the Old Testiment a God who is intimidating and it’s difficult to accept that part of Him.
But keep reading..because He will also reveal His deep love for us.
..And you need to know how loved you are.

It’s not enough to do a 5 minute devotional and expect to be close to God.
(Unless you’re a new mom, then you have all the grace in the world to enjoy your 5 minutes with God :))
It’s also not enough to sit through a 30 minute sermon and expect to have been spiritually fed for the week.
No one can do your relationship with God for you.
There is a wealth of instruction worth following in the Bible and
it will change your life.

People run from it because verses like this are challenging for a human:

Matthew 22:34–40

But when the Pharisees heard that He had put the Sadducees to silence, they gathered themselves together. And one of    them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost    commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

To love a God will ALL of your heart, soul, and mind? and then love others as we love ourselves?
Let that one sit in your heart for a day..

That is one tiny passage that is chock-full of hard instruction..and satan is so not far behind.
1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion looking for someone to devour.

That is why when someone disregards this book as foolishness I pay no attention.
This book stands through the heat.

The stories are worth reading because they are based on real people who had real struggles and victories.  They fell short and through the words we’re taught how to walk through this life in a way that brings God glory.
I won’t get every verse right, i’ll misinterpret some stories and misunderstand quite a bit but when i’m spending time with the Lord reading through books like Jonah he still speaks.
I learn about loving a nation that doesn’t deserve it.  When we read through Esther we learn about how God calls the ordinary to do extraordinary things.
We are the ordinary that God is calling too.

See, we can put the book aside and try to live good lives, remembering some verses but the longer we go from sitting before God the further we’ll be from Him.
It’s not Him who steps away, it’s us who push Him aside for a busy life.

We have to be a people who understand this Book and follow its instruction.
We see our world crumbling from sin but we can draw strength from a book orchestrated to bring us closer to God.
Don’t miss out on the privilege to sit before the Almighty God to listen.

I want to give you some action steps:

1.Pick up a Bible (I recommend a study bible)
Having a source of extra information as you read verse to verse will be helpful

2.Choose the best time for you
If mornings are not your thing..that’s okay!

3.Don’t be afraid to ask questions
If you email your pastor he’ll probably be able to shed some light on any confusion as you read.

4.Speak to God as you read
This book is God-breathed so read it as though he is speaking to you.  When you read a good word tell Him! Or if you’re convicted let out an ‘ouch!’.

5.Enjoy your time and be thankful
In America we have the freedom to sit in our homes and read The Bible and live out its instruction, how great is that!?

6.Live out what you learn
It can’t be enough to read the words and walk away doing nothing with them.  (If you’re instructed to respect your man..do so and watch how it changes your marriage)

7.Share with others
Don’t be afraid to share what God is doing in your heart.  People need to be encouraged.

I really do enjoy reading the Bible but I won’t pretend every time is exciting. Life happens and sometimes I have to pray for the desire to flip open His word, but when I do it has never been time wasted.

I want to hear from you on this, is reading the Bible important to you?  Do you believe it has the power to change you from the inside out?

~Laura~