Read the Word…

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:14-17

What if we were to be approached by God today and He were to ask us, “Well, how do you like my book,” what would we say?  Would we respond the same way we would about anything else that gives us enjoyment?  Would it be on par with golf, as big a hit as baseball, or as alluring as fishing? Would we be excited, would we go into tears, would we start talking about favorite verses, or would we just remain silent?  What do we think about the Word of God?  Do we know the Word of God?

Recently, Elaine and I stopped by a Christian book store in Eugene. As is my custom, I ask the very nice manager of the store how business was and she said it was very good.  As we talked she mentioned that Bibles are still what keeps their business afloat. They make up 40% of their sales.  For some reason it got me teary-eyed to know that people are, in these changing times, still buying Bibles.  As I browsed the Bible area I realized how much things have changed from when I was young and there were just a handful of Bibles to choose from (no, we are not not talking the Guttenberg press edition).  Now they have Bibles for every interest, every theological slant, and every possible translation a person could want.  But the key still remains- having access to the Bible is not the same as reading the Bible.  As a friend said once, “It is better to have one worn Bible, than to have a hundred untouched.”

Verse 17 above reminds us that the Bible equips us for our daily lives. But even more than that, it equips us for the battles we face in life.  And our battles are many.  Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:17 that we should “Take the…sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  Paul is telling us that the Word of God is a weapon.  He knew that we would need it no matter how far in the future someone read his words.  The battle will continue until Christ comes again and we need to be prepared by being “equipped for every good work.”

We cannot use the Word of God if we do not know the Word of God.  Too often we rely on the teaching of others to expose us to God’s Word, but we need to study it ourselves to really become familiar with it- to be able wield it in times of need.  Can you imagine using a weapon in battle that we have seldom touched and our only knowledge about it comes from having heard someone else talk about it?  We would sorely lack the skills needed to fend off the enemy.   I love our Pastor, but he does not want us to take his word for everything.  He wants us to read the Word ourselves. There is no way he can give us enough sustenance in one day to last an entire week.  Even if I went to Hometown Buffet every Sunday, I could not eat enough to last me until Saturday (I have tried).

Beloved evangelist Gipsy Smith once told a story of man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had “gone through it several times.”

“Let it go through you once,” replied Smith, “Then you will tell a different story!”  The Bible is not only changeless, it will change us. The Bible is not a book to just peruse, it a book to use.  The Bible is not for light reading, it is a book for life reading.  The Bible is not just a great book to read, it is the greatest book ever written.

One of my favorite groups of people in the New Testament are the Bereans.  When Paul went to Thessalonica to preach the word, he was not well received, but when he went to Berea, and they accepted him eagerly.  What was the difference?  Paul’s words were the same. The difference was the Bereans themselves. We are told that they examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was so. They made the Word their own. They checked out Paul, one of the greatest preachers of all time, to make sure he was teaching the truth. The Bereans were called “more noble” because they searched the scriptures on their own and became acquainted with the Word with their own eyes.

Can you imagine charging into battle and not even knowing how to get your sword it out of the scabbard?  We may have the best weapon on the battlefield, but it is useless if we are not familiar with it.  Paul said, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”  (II Tim. 2:15)  There is only one way to get to know something and that is through study.

A circuit riding preacher entered one church building with his young son, and dropped a coin into the offering box in the back. Not many came to church that Sunday, and those who did didn’t seem too excited about what the young preacher said. After the service, the preacher and son walked to the back, and he emptied the box. Out fell one coin. The young boy said, “Dad, if you’d have put more in, you’d have gotten more out!”   We can’t expect to get more out of something than what we put in.  God’s Word is the greatest book ever written, but words on a page only become real to us once we have made them our own.

“I had a bottle on my shelf, I saw it everyday.

The pills inside miraculously could take my aches away.

But when pain stayed in my bones, into the trash I threw

the bottle of those crummy pills, unopened and brand new.”

It is hard to complain that the Bible doesn’t work, if…. it’s “unopened and brand new.”

Have a good Wednesday.