Love Reading God’s Word

Do you love reading Your Bible? 

Or, is Reading your Bible a Drudgery? 

Or is it just a task on your To Do list? 

Do you read God’s words to get some nice check marks in the Bible Reading Guide? 

Or do you read His Words in order to know something interesting or to win an argument with someone, or to get into an argument with someone?

Do you read God’s words as merely instructions, in an effort to make sure you’re doing all you can?

Or, do you read God’s words to know Him more? 

Are your daily devotions truly a time when you devote yourself to spending time with Jesus, by reading His words, so that you can encounter him?

Like many of you, I try to read my Bible faithfully every day. There have been times when I have been more consistent and there a times when I have been less consistent. This year, I have been working through the Bible Reading Guide, which has been a wonderful resource to guide my reading. 

I love the practice of being thankful every day instead of just listing off prayer requests first. I love the discipline of daily writing out Scripture in an effort to memorize. I’ve loved reading in four different parts of the Bible at once and watching the themes develop. And there’s something very satisfying getting to check marks on a journal, and to watch the journals pile up, we’ve just started “Part Three.” 

But this isn’t an ad for the Bible Reading Guide, there a days I wake up late, and rush through my Bible Reading or neglect it entirely. There are other days, that I approach the text more with my questions, then seeking to hear what Jesus is saying. 

There are other days, that I’m just looking for a nice piece of knowledge to know or interesting fact to file away for later. 

This happens a lot… too much.

There are too many days, I confess, when I am not listening to the words of the LORD, instead I am just looking at them.

We have the wonderful words of God, and sometimes I blaze past them, in order to get to work on time, or because I’m looking at Bible reading more as a thing to do than an opportunity to hear from my Savior. 

Reading the Bible everyday, is not just a good idea, or a check box to fill. 

Reading the Bible everyday is an opportunity to encounter Jesus through his word. 

Psalm 19:7,

“The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul, the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure enlightening the eyes… the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether, more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.”

God’s words are to be precious to us, sweeter than honey. 

Let us approach the text like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Cities Church, listen to the Words of the Lord! We have in our Bibles, whether in print or in our phones, the very words of God, spoken to us. Do not neglect the word or take it for granted! Draw near your Bibles, to draw near to Jesus, who is still speaking to us through them!

And this reminds us of our need to confess our sins.

Father, forgive us for the lack of love we have for your words. Forgive us for how we fill our time with so many other things than seeking you. 

Father, forgive us for taking your words for granted, forgives us for coming to your word in ways that do not honor you. Forgive us for flippant attitudes about your words. Forgive us for seeking to merely know things by reading your words. Forgive us for how we fail to seek to spend time with you when we open our Bibles. And now Father, help us to search our hearts further and confess our sins in this time of silent confession.