Loving the Word
Welcome to the third and final post in the Open Your Bible series. My prayer for each of us these past weeks has been to take the drama out of reading and studying the Bible and just open the dang thing.
We have reviewed the resources needed and ways to dig deeper into God’s word. I am excited about today’s post because we get to go deeper and further into this habit and solidify it as part of who we are. We are transitioning from Bible owners to ladies who know God’s Word and live out the truths within it.
Not Just for Sundays
If no one has ever told you, please allow me to break it to you: God loves you. Like, He is totally over-the-top nuts about you and thinks you are the bee’s knees. He has so much in store for you and wants to tell you all about it. There is a caveat though, you must do your part and begin walking closer to Him. He isn’t going to run you down and scream into your ear. He wants to have a relationship with you.
What your part looks like is cracking open His word regularly and learning more about who He is and what He has done for those He loves. Within the Bible, you will see what He is like and get to know His heart.
He longs to share with you the wisdom and guidance of believers that have gone before you and experienced His faithfulness. Within His Word, readers are exposed to situations and circumstances that provide real-life application in current times. Yes, it is an ancient text; however, as it says in Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
If you are only using your Bible as an accessory to your church clothes, let’s put an end to that. Your Bible is an artifact of our lives that we can reference daily to reflect on God’s faithfulness through every season and a testament to our growth as a Christ follower. Our Bibles tell a story of our faith and reflect our relationship with Christ.
A friend of mine told me that the only thing she hoped to inherit from her father was his Bible. She wants to hold in her hands the book that he read so diligently and see his notes and scribbles. She wants to show her children how their grandfather devoted himself to studying God’s word and cultivating a relationship with the Lord.
Recognizing the Changes
Charles Spurgeon once said, “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” I love this quote and what it means. Our Bibles are tools, not pieces of art. They are meant to be opened, read, cried on, written in, and studied.
The more time you spend in God’s Word, the more changes you will notice within yourself. This is no ordinary collection of books. The Bible is a transformative tool that impacts every reader and student.
The kind of changes that come from God are contagious. The changes won’t just be in you, but around you. As you spend more time in God’s word, your heart will soften which in turn will spill over onto those closest to you. Do you have little people around you? They love to read and the Bible is perfect for sharing. When we read about God’s goodness and faithfulness, we can share this and tell them all about it.
This is how our children and other little ones around us learn to love the Bible on their own. They see us leaning over and devouring the Word. They hear us talk about how God parted the sea for the Israelites when they had nowhere to run and how Saul had an encounter with the Lord that transformed him from a Christian killer to one of the most well-known prophets.
Time in the Word is never spent in vain. Your efforts and time will be rewarded with wisdom, knowledge, and growth. Even if some parts are complicated, boring, or hard to understand, keep on reading and praying.
Care Enough to Share
Would you share a diet that improved your health? What about a product that revolutionized your cleaning routine? If we could share the Bible and its contents with as much zeal as we do some of the other things in our lives, I genuinely believe more of us would be deep into the Word.
Before Jesus was crucified, he charged his disciples to go out into the world and tell people about the work he did. It is our duty to show and tell others of the love of Jesus. It is our privilege to share how our hearts have been changed and our futures secured in heaven.
Let’s not keep to ourselves the goodness of what we find in God’s word. The stories, promises, and commands within the books of the Bible are guidance for a life close to Christ. If you know someone who doesn’t have a Bible, please get them one. Please take them under your wing and show them how to crack it open and read God’s word.
In Romans 15:4 Paul wrote “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Let’s study and share so that we can have hope and those we encounter may have it too. I’m praying for your time in the Word and am cheering you on!