Is Your Bible Reading Just One Item on Your To Do List OR Is It Something More?

All of us have many activities screaming at us day in and day out. Call for a dentist appointment. Fold the laundry. Cut the grass. Feed the dog (or the kids). Pay the bills. Fold more laundry. Clean out the cat's litter box (so GLAD I don;t have a cat!). Vacuum the living room. Empty the dishwasher. Drive to work. OHHH ... and at the end of the day ... collapse into bed! Few of us want to add anything else to our daily routine. Yet we know we should be in the Bible regularly, if not daily. SOOOO ... how can we approach our time in God's Word as something more than just an item to cross off our to do list?

Lydia Brownback offers an insightful and brief article, Deleting Bible Study from Your Mental Checklist. Take a moment and give it a read. You will be better for it!

Thanks for stopping by . . . and SEIZE THE DAY by KNOWING and LIVING God's Word!
pj

PJ's Spiritual Meanderings: Are You Bored with the Bible?

PJ's Spiritual Meanderings: Are You Bored with the Bible?: I am sure you have had the experience (more often, I'd guess, than you would like to admit) of opening your Bible only to find yourse...

Bible Abuse and Neglect

The Bible is all too often a "victim." That's right ... a "victim." How so? More times than one would think, the Bible is abused, most often by being misused. Yep. People rip a verse or two from the Bible, twist it, add some of their own seasoning to it ... and then seek to apply it to a particular situation they are facing. Bottom line: they end up making the Bible say something that it doesn't say! This summer at Grace we are addressing this rampant problem through a Sunday morning sermon series, "What Does the Bible Really Say? A Closer Look at Some of the Most Misused Verses in the Bible." This series will run through Sunday, August 31st.

But what about the other "crime" against the Bible: that of neglect? Really? Do people who claim to love God and follow Jesus neglect the Bible? Hmm. All we have to do to answer this is to take a look in a mirror. So ... what can we do about this?  I encourage you to take a moment to read, Why We Neglect Reading Our Bible.  The author, former Lancaster Bible College professor, Steve Nichols, offers up some very helpful insights ... that will help you as you seek to SEIZE THEY DAY by KNOWING and LIVING God's Word!

Thanks for stopping by  . . . and Carpe Diem!
pj

Two Words to Remember as You Read Your Bible

The Bible is indeed a unique book. That means it is ONE OF A KIND! It claims to be inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16). This means that even though the Bible was penned by forty different individuals, it has one ultimate author: God (2 Peter 1:21)! Every time we open the Book, we are about to hear from God Himself! Wow! Truly amazing!

Knowing this, there are a couple of words that should describe how we read the Bible.

1. We should read dependently. Not only has God given us the gift of His Word, but he has also given us the gift of His Holy Spirit. One of the activities of the Spirit of God is to shed light on God's truth so that we might understand it (John 16:13-14). Knowing this, every time we read the Bible, we should begin with a prayer like that of the psalmist, "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" (Psalm 119:18).

2. We should also read expectantly. Since the Bible is God's word to us and has been given to us to "thoroughly equip us for ever good work" (2 Timothy 3:17) and given that God has saved us and continues to work in us so that we might do good works (Ephesians 2:10), it makes sense to believe God wants to speak to us through His word. Therefore, when you open your Bible, expect to hear from God! The Scriptures are alive (Hebrews 4:12). God WILL, through the working of His Spirit in your mind and heart, give you wisdom and insight for whatever you need as you spend time in the Bible. You can count on it!

Thanks for stopping by . . . and SEIZE TODAY by knowing and living God's word!
pj