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Hi Sweet Friend!
Today, we’re going to talk about 3 reasons why every Christian should be reading their Bible right now. And I’m really excited to just meet you where you are and share these things with you straight from my heart. I don’t know what’s going on in your life right now. I don’t know what season you find yourself in…whether you are in a season of anxiety and overwhelm, whether you’re feeling like you’re on the mountaintop, or if you’re walking through a season of rich blessings. For me, personally, it’s been a little bit of a busy, kind-of overwhelming season over here and I have to constantly remind myself that sometimes overwhelm can be a combination of things that we actually really wanted. We’re getting ready to move into our new house, which is an incredible blessing. It’s a 16 year long dream that’s unfolding but it’s just been feeling a little bit loud and crazy over here. So, I’m having to kind-of reign myself back in, renew my mind with truth, and just fixate on the moment and think about what’s good, pure, and true.
In this season, I’ve found it more important than ever to be rooted in God’s word and to be in His word every single day. So again, whatever’s going on in your world, I want to meet you where you are today as I share with you from my heart these three super important reasons why, no matter what season we’re in, no matter what’s going on in our lives, we’ve got to be reading God’s Word every single day.
Know God on a deeper level
As we read through the Bible, we are told true story after true story. And the Bible speaks to us about God’s character and His deep love for us. In other words, the Bible truly is a love letter. It’s a love letter to you, His beloved Kingdom daughter. You are uniquely and wonderfully made. He crafted you. He knows the number of hairs on your head. And He has such a deep, rich, agape love for you. There’s so much in God’s Word for you personally to uncover about this. And by opening up and digging into it, it’s going to allow you to know God on a deeper level and His rich, true, pure, deep, unfailing, agape love that He has for you.
Gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding about how to live as God calls us to live
You hear me say this word all the time over and over again…Wisdom. Opening up and digging into your Bible every day allows you to gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding about how to live as God calls us to live. Friends, the Bible is an intentional living manual. If you ever have a question about anything, it’s all right there for you in black and white. What does God say about this? What does God say about that? How does he say how to live regarding this? How am I supposed to interact with my children? How am I supposed to interact in my marriage? How am I supposed to interact in the marketplace? Friend…it’s all in there. All the things are in the Bible. It truly is the ultimate intentional living manual.
The Word is God’s law. And as a Christian, as a believer, as a follower of Christ, that means it’s our law. It’s a blueprint and an instruction manual for how to live our lives with intentionality. And if we’re not cracking open our Bible, we’re going to be confused as heck. We’re going to be wondering, well, what am I supposed to do in this situation? How am I supposed to act in that situation? How am I supposed to handle this? How am I supposed to get through this?
Gain a deep understanding of good versus evil, right versus wrong, and to become equipped to fight off temptations and to endure through trials
I’m super fired up about this point because the world has it wrong. We are becoming so numb to the things that are breaking the heart of our Creator…things like divorce, abortion, homosexuality. I might be ticking a few of you off right now and that’s okay. I am committed to speaking the truth. I also want to lay out that I am also a sinner in need of a Savior. I still make mistakes. I mess up all the time. Here’s the thing though, as a believer, when we’re following Christ, when we make a mistake, when we do step into sin, the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts that it is wrong. So, I want you to know that I’m not perfect. I’m not throwing stones but as I have been in the Word and as I am in the Word, I am just learning more and more about the things that break the heart of God, the things that are truly evil, the things that are truly wrong. And I love you enough to tell you the truth that, sweet friend, the world is shoving all this stuff in our face. Sex before marriage, being drunk, binging out on Netflix and lustful things and pornography. These things are wrong and we are becoming numb to them.
Sister friend, I’m probably stepping on toes again, but someone has to speak the truth. I’m going to do it out of love. And I’m just going to let you know that the Bible is a book of caution. And so we’ve got to be cracking it open and reading it for ourselves because the world is cramming this nonsense down our throat. I’m here to tell you that when you crack open your Bible, you’re going to gain a deeper understanding of what is good, of what is right, of what is pure, and you are going to become equipped to fight off the temptations. Friend, you’re going to be equipped to stand for what’s good, to stand for what’s right, and to have the wisdom to know the things that God has cautioned us about.
I mean, I’m going to be real with you. I am probably way more cautious than most parents. I’m way more restrictive about what my kids consume with their eyes and their ears than most parents. And even with all of that in mind, I still am shocked at what gets by sometimes. It’s our job as parents to stand up for what is right, good, pure, and true and to teach and equip our children. The way that God has for us is always the best way. We are on this earth for such a short time that we have got to walk in wisdom. And how do we know what wisdom looks like? How do we walk in the way that’s good, pure, and true? We do that by knowing what God says is good, pure, and true. And we know that by opening up our Bible.
It’s time for you to partner with the Lord and let Him speak directly to your heart.
Sweet Friend, the Bible is complete and whole. It’s intricately woven together to create one big true story. And it’s meant for you to dive into, to partner with the Holy Spirit and to read in its entirety, to glean and discern what God has for you. This podcast is awesome, devotionals are great, and church service is great. But friend, you’re only getting snippets of The Word when you partake in only those things. They should only ever be supplemental to you actually digging into the living Word for yourself. Because when you tune into those things, you’re only getting what God spoke to someone else’s heart. So, I want to encourage you to open up your own Bible on your own time and to allow it to come alive in your own life as God shows you what He wants to show you. I want you to experience the richness, the fullness of the whole picture, the true picture…not just a snippet, not just a one paragraph devotional or sermon that someone else is saying to you. As a Christian, as a beloved daughter of the King of Kings, it’s time for you to partner with the Lord, to open His book, and let Him speak directly to your heart. The more I read the Bible, the more I fall in love with it…it’s alive to me. You want to know how you become more passionate about getting into the Word? You want to know how you become as excited about reading your Bible as I am? You read your Bible! You start, you open up your Bible and you ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and partner with you to open your eyes, your ears, and ask Him to show you what He has for you. And you come at it with a teachable heart, with eyes to see and ears to hear. He will show up and He will do it. And the Bible will become alive to you.
My number one goal for 2022 is to read through the Bible chronologically. I’ve never done that before and I found an awesome Bible with dates for reading and that is helping me so much to stay on track. So, come up with a plan. How can you ensure that you’ll be in the Word every day? There are a lot of different options but I just want to encourage you to take a second, shut off your distractions and think and pray about it. Come up with a plan to set yourself up for success to be in God’s Word every day.
If you commit to spending time in God’s Word every single day, life as you know it, worship as you know, time with the Lord as you know it…it will take on a deeper, richer meaning than ever before.
