Reading is Fundamental
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I have a little confession to make: I have gotten out of the habit of reading my Bible every day. It's not that I don't enjoy it or don't want to, I've just let other things get in the way. I read almost every night before bed, but a few months ago I got Netflix. I then made the mistake of keeping my computer in my bedroom and falling asleep to bad movies. I told myself that watching something helped me wind down at the end of the day. It may be true, but you know what else is true? Thinking about what I read is a much better way to drift off to sleep.
Reading the Bible daily is not just some legalistic rule made up by the Church; it's important, vital to our growth as Christians. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." The word of the Lord, the Bible, is where we get instruction on how to live a righteous life. Like the verse says, we must read it, study it, memorize it to do so. We must also read the Bible because it's part of the armor of God (the sword of the Spirit). The whole armor is needed in order to stand our ground against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:10-17). Going to church is important to our walk with God, too, but we can't just go and take what we're taught as gospel. We must do our part by comparing it with the word (1 John 4:1) to see if it really is from God or not.
I think 2 Timothy 3:16-17 explains the importance of reading God's word the best: "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." I don't know how it can get any clearer than that.
Just a little side-note on how I'm getting back into the habit of reading every day. I've taken my computer out of my room. No matter how I try to convince myself I can stay up and watch something and read my Bible, it's better to just remove the temptation. I'm not quite back in the habit, but I am reading more often than I was.
Reading the Bible daily is not just some legalistic rule made up by the Church; it's important, vital to our growth as Christians. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." The word of the Lord, the Bible, is where we get instruction on how to live a righteous life. Like the verse says, we must read it, study it, memorize it to do so. We must also read the Bible because it's part of the armor of God (the sword of the Spirit). The whole armor is needed in order to stand our ground against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:10-17). Going to church is important to our walk with God, too, but we can't just go and take what we're taught as gospel. We must do our part by comparing it with the word (1 John 4:1) to see if it really is from God or not.
I think 2 Timothy 3:16-17 explains the importance of reading God's word the best: "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." I don't know how it can get any clearer than that.
Just a little side-note on how I'm getting back into the habit of reading every day. I've taken my computer out of my room. No matter how I try to convince myself I can stay up and watch something and read my Bible, it's better to just remove the temptation. I'm not quite back in the habit, but I am reading more often than I was.
1 comments:
Sarah! Thomas and I were talking about this last night. God has been calling me out about my lack of discipline. I need to read more and watch less movies like Sharknado.
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