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Burlington, WI 53105
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“If we seek God in the minutes, we shall find Him in the hours.”
January 3rd, 2010
So are you up to date in your Bible reading? When I was a young man, I vividly remember my mentor and father in the faith, Dr. David L. “Dad” Cummins, asking his congregation that question during those first few weeks of a New Year. Each year Dad would encourage his church to read through the Bible. To encourage them to make getting in the Book a habit, he’d hold them accountable from his pulpit.
As your Pastor, I am so thrilled with the many who purchased a One Year Bible to read through God’s Word during the coming year. The New Year has just commenced, so even now it’s not too late to start. It’s sad that so many Christians have never read the Bible all the way through. Reading all of the Bible helps us get the “big picture” of what our Heavenly Father is seeking to communicate to us. Even if it takes two years, please determine to read the Bible through. Perhaps you’ve read the Bible through previously or even several times. Then, read Scripture in a different translation this time. That’s what I’m doing. I purchased an ESV One Year Bible to read through this year.
Please understand, I am not suggesting that there is some spiritual merit in reading through the Bible in one year. Periodically, I believe that it is spiritually healthy to read the Bible from cover to cover, just so we don’t just read those portions that are particularly appealing to us. For example, some Christians love the Psalms, others the Gospels or just the New Testament.
What is vital is not how much you read but that you consistently are in God’s Word. Jane loves to dig into just one book of the Bible and then focus on that book during the course of a month. That’s a great system. That helps her really dig deeply into that particular book. It takes her about five years to read the whole Bible through.
What I would suggest that you avoid is being dependent upon a devotional. Let God’s Word speak for Itself without someone else’s commentary when you are reading. Begin your Quiet Time by asking the Lord to give you wisdom into His Word. Let His Spirit illuminate His truth to you. Then, be systematic in your reading. Read a book from start to finish. In fact, if you can, read the book all the way through at one sitting. There are a few books of the Bible where that would be difficult (Psalms, Isaiah, etc.), doing this though will give you a complete picture of the book.
The key is to make being in God’s Word a daily priority. One of the greatest sources for guilt and frustration for far too many believers is the lack of reading God’s Word on a regular basis. For example, many young mothers are discouraged by their inadequate devotional life. The term “quiet time” often only reminds them how little “quiet” or “time” they have for Bible reading, prayer, and meditation.
Recently, I read of a young mother who throughout her home placed pencils and notepads on high surfaces, well above the reach of her toddlers. During the day, wherever she was, she’d jot down insights, prayer needs, or Bible verses as they came to mind. Each evening she’d gather up her jottings, the ingredients of a spiritual feast she had been preparing all day. How eagerly she welcomed the opportunity to nourish her hungry spirit with her Bible and her jottings!
It’s not so important “how” you do it, as that you just do it! This is so critical because it’s impossible to develop a healthy relationship with God without consistently being in His Word. Scripture is God’s revelation to us of Who He is.
If there was just one word to describe American culture today it would be the word – “busy.” We fill our calendars with all types of stuff, a lot of it junk. We’re constantly doing something, activities that keep our lives running and rushing from one event to another. Yet, our Heavenly Father calls us to consistently spend quality time with Him. No relationship is more important than your relationship with God. None! So how much time in your busy daily routine do you put aside to spend quality time with your Heavenly Father?
You and I were created to fellowship with God and you will not be a healthy Christian unless you spend time with God. It’s not just a good idea. It’s a necessity, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Physical food is not enough for you to be healthy. You must have consistent spiritual intake of the Word of God.
What happens if you go a long time physically without food? You get sick. You’ll die eventually. It’s a necessity. The same is true of spiritual food. Intake of the Word of God will keep you healthy and strong, and building a strong relationship with God is essential to be a healthy Christian.
If you don’t have a quiet time with God, you’re missing out on the privilege that you’re created for. You’ll lack spiritual power and strength. That’s why your quiet time with God is so important. God desires to spend time with you, so please set aside some time to be alone with Him.
When something is important to us, we make it a priority. It’s spiritually frightening when a professing believer has little or no desire to be in God’s Word. It should make them and us wonder if they truly know the Lord. Because if you love someone, you want to spend time with them...you want to know them better.
Friend, if you find that you have no desire to spend time in the Word or with the Lord, then perhaps the real problem is that you do not really know Him. What you need then is not to have devotions but to instead first become part of His family.
Because spending time in the Word and cultivating your relationship with the Lord is so important, I want to come back to this in next week’s Pastor’s Pen. So stay tuned...