Sometimes, you can judge a book by its cover. Remember this the next time you read the last book of the Bible. Its title page is emblazoned with these words, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1) and not “The Revelation of How the World will End.” If you study this book only to decipher it for hidden clues of the end times, you are missing the greatest signpost of all, the blazing eyes of Jesus, calling for His bride.
Over time, the more we read and study the Bible, the more we will learn and grow. God created our minds for logical comprehension and spiritual discernment through the power of the Holy Spirit. But even when we don’t immediately understand what we are reading, we can rest assured that just the taking in of God’s Word for ourselves will nourish deep places. We don’t have to understand all the inner workings of our stomach for our body to be nourished by physical food; spiritual food is much the same.
Reading the Bible without meditating on it is like trying to eat without swallowing.
A missionary, who had been much used of God in China, was once asked how he read the Bible. He replied, ‘I take plenty of potatoes every day, and a little meat.’ When asked to explain his remark he said, ‘I read many pages of the Bible every day – that is like potatoes – it is filling; but I meditate on one or two verses every day – that is the meat, that is the nourishment’ – and that is a very good balanced diet!
There is nothing we need more teaching and training in than simply living—living to the glory of God, living for Jesus, living in love and faith and hope, living in patience and gentleness, living sacrificially and hospitably, living with our children and our parents, living with dignity and in joy. And there is no one more accessible and present and skilled at teaching us than Jesus. That’s why we keep coming back… to sit at Jesus’s feet and listen to his Word. We’re learning how to live all the details of our lives in the company of Jesus.
When we pair our prayers with Scripture, we effectively merge our inputs and outputs. We remind ourselves of God’s truth in the midst of our trials while simultaneously laying God’s own truth before him, asking him to be faithful to his Word.
One of the great killers in Bible study is the statement, “I already know that.”
God’s word is-
1. Supernatural in origin;
2. Eternal in duration;
3. Inexpressible in valour;
4. Infinite in scope;
5. Regenerative in power;
6. Infallible in authority;
7. Universal in application;
8. Inspired in totality.
Read it through, write it down; pray it in; work it out; pass it on.
The word of God changes a man until he becomes an Epistle of God.
God’s words are not for me to edit and tinker with what to believe and obey.
The Bible says that faith is a shield (Eph. 6:16). So when the enemy starts to fire off darts of fear and insecurity, you can get behind your shield of faith and keep going forward with God. But here’s the thing: A shield won’t do you any good unless it’s lifted up. You need to raise up your shield by praying, saying and doing things that line up with God’s Word.