I was reading an article this past week that offered these statistics. “83% of Americans say the Bible is important for their lives, and for those inside the church only 16% say they read the Bible every day. 32% say they read it at least once a week, and only 37% say that Bible reading and study have made a difference in the way they live their lives.”
Each year this congregation emphasizes spending time in the Bible each day. There is a reason for this. We need its guidance and instruction and direction to be faithful in every day Christian living. Whether we realize it or not, we’re receiving input from all kinds of sources, which shapes our consciences and directs the motives of our hearts. It may be from family or friend’s advice. It may be from reading newspapers or magazines. It may be from watching television or spending time on the Internet. It may be from our coworkers. It can come from all kinds of sources, but we are being influenced as to what to think and how to live. Shouldn’t we let our Creator help guide us in His way for life, the way that leads to eternal life?
I believe one reason there are so many problems in people’s lives anymore is that we no longer know how God wants us to live – we no longer understand right from wrong. We choose a course of life based on worldly examples and our own desires, and conclude if we want it, so does God. Such is not true, of course. The Psalmist reminds us, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105). It alone is God breathed, and able to make us “complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It can penetrate deep into our hearts and being (Hebrews 4:12), revealing like looking into a mirror our needs and how to put our lives in the will of God (James 1:23-25). We must, as the Psalmist states, store up the Word of God in our hearts so we might not sin (119:11).
We can’t do this, however, if we don’t spend any time in it. While the beginning of a new year is always a good time to commit ourselves to daily Bible reading, any time is the right time to start. In the book Read the Bible for Life, J.C. Ryle writes:
Begin reading your Bible this very day. The way to do a thing is to do it, and the way to read the Bible is actually to read it. It is not meaning to, or wishing, or resolving, or intending, or thinking about it; that will not advance you one step. You must positively read. If you can’t read yourself, you must persuade somebody else to read to you. But one way or another, through eyes or ears, the words of Scripture must actually pass before your mind.
Most Christians revere Scripture, but for it to accomplish God’s purposes in us, it must be read, meditated on and applied to one’s lifestyle. Turn off the television, the video game, the phone, whatever is a distraction and start spending time with God, speaking to you through Scripture. Your life will be blessed! “The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter” (Psalm 37:31).
