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.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV)
I have undertaken "read through the Bible in a year" reading plans several times over the years, and affirm wholeheartedly that there is nothing as life-transforming as a journey through the complete Word of God.
Those of you who have undertaken such a challenge can probably attest to the fact that there are ups and downs: Leviticus and Numbers are arguably more about stoically pushing through than being passionately inspired…and Hebrews can feel perplexing and a little challenging. But in the end, accomplishing this task invariably results in a great year of growth in one's faith. The Word of God just has that effect on us. Every time.
I have known Jesus and walked with Him for over 35 years. And of all of the spiritual disciplines–study, prayer, worship, fasting, and the like–hunger for the Word has always come fairly naturally for me. While prayer was an area in which, for a very long time, I had much room to grow (though seven years on the mission field and four years of church-planting have combined to make that no longer the case), the study of the Word, by God's grace, has been something I gravitate toward.
I just love God’s Word. I love what it teaches me, and the things it does inside of me. I love the fire that the Holy Spirit ignites in my heart as I read those ancient words which He inspired: Words which remain as fresh, today, as the day they were written. Truly the Bible is a Living Book–-a Book like no other--God-breathed and useful, and forever doing new things in me as I read it and study it, and study it some more. Because of this, I find it perplexing when I consider the statistics related to regular Bible-reading among those who identify themselves as followers of Jesus.
The Lord's desire for us is that we would hunger and thirst for His Word; feed on it; drink it in. Let it dwell in our minds and live in our hearts and be ready on our lips. Yet numerous polls have confirmed that the number of those who identify as Christians who make Bible reading and studying a real part of their lifestyle is shrinking all the time. And at the same time, the number of them who are increasingly confused about what exactly they believe (or even believe things which are clearly unbiblical) is growing all the time. Clearly, these two are linked.
"Doctrinally shallow and theologically immature" does not a faithful Believer make, my friends! And without a good and growing knowledge of the Word of God…that’s exactly what you and I are! We simply cannot know God and follow Him if we do not know and obey His Word. It takes more than church attendance and a little bit of prayer, to truly know Him (not to mention, have the positive impact on the world in sharing the Gospel and advancing God's good Kingdom, as He has commissioned us to do). There is no substitute for the written Word of God, handed down to us for our instruction--or, as Paul wrote to Timothy--for teaching, reproving, correcting, and training us in righteousness.
It is by the Word of God, Paul continues, that the man (or woman) of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Jesus saved us from our lostness and sin by His blood shed on the cross, and now He wants to complete us, equip, and use us in the seeking and saving those who are still lost. His Word is our instruction book and our training manual. We cannot do without it!
In my days as a kids' pastor I used to urge the kids to do five things with the Word of God (counting them on each finger of an open hand): Hear it. Read it. Study it. Meditate on it. Memorize it. And I would tell them (and tell them, and tell them, and tell them) that if they would do those things, giving even as little as ten minutes a day to the Word of God (because we’ve all got to start somewhere), that God would use it to change their lives. True for them. True for me. True for you, too.
So what about you? Do you approach the Word of God that way? Do you hunger and thirst for it? Do you look intently into it, and give it room in your life to transform you? I urge you and invite you, Believing friend, do that! Whatever it takes, just do it: Open it up and allow its Author–your Creator and the Lover of your soul–to transform your life by His Word!
Word in Faith is a collaboration of Wayne Association of Congregations and Ministers (WACAM), an organization partially funded by the Wayne Community Chest.
