Loving the Word of God

How often does our Bible stay on our bookshelf, on our coffee table, or even in the car during the week just to take it to church with us on Sunday? Do we really love to read God's Word? As we unite in prayer for God to heal our nation, and as we pray for revival in the churches, we should all be reminded that God's Word is the sacred divine Word from His mouth given to us as a precious gift to guide us in our lives. Let us look at a few scriptures to remind us of the importance of reading God's Word for ourselves.

• "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" Psalm 119:11 (KJV).
• "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" Psalm 119:105 (KJV).
• ^"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" 2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV).
• "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" John 1:1 (KJV).

Robert Sumner in his book, “The Wonders of the Word of God,” tells about a man in Kansas City who was severely injured in an explosion. The victim’s face was badly disfigured and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was a Christian and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the explosion had destroyed the nerve endings in his lips. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times.

George Mueller (1805-1898), after having read the Bible through one hundred times with increasing delight, made this statement: “I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God.” Many like the man in Kansas City and George Mueller have found that God’s Word is a delightful book to read and study.

When I hear the story of the man who read the Bible with his tongue, I am convicted of how often I stay in the Word of God. I recently received a catalog from a Christian Bookstore that had 65 pages of Bibles to choose from-different colors, covers, translations, interlinears, and study guide versions. Even today, the Bible is still illegal in some countries.

We are truly blessed to have God’s Word at our finger tips. We can read accounts throughout history from men such as John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, and Martin Luther who were persecuted trying to translate the Bible into the language of the common people so that they would have personal access to God’s Word. Let us never take the Bible for granted.

Let us be reminded of Jesus’ teaching that “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” Luke 12:48 (KJV).

Barna Research Group found that only twelve percent of all American adults read the Bible every day of the week. He found that 52 percent do not read it at all. Another 33 percent read the Scriptures at least once during a typical week. More than one in four (26 percent) evangelicals read the Bible daily; another 50 percent read it weekly or more. But 22 percent of evangelicals report that they never read the Bible outside of church. (Barna Research Group, May 9, 1991. “To Verify,” Leadership.) http://kentrivette.com/1cor8.htm.

As we unite in prayer for God to heal our nation, I would like to encourage all of us to renew our commitment to devote time to daily Bible Study. There are so many different types of devotional books and versions available for us to help us with this commitment. Please pray with me today that God helps us to renew our love of the scriptures.

Sumner, Robert L. The Wonders of the Word of God. Biblical Evangelism Press, 1^st Edition 1969.

Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M%C3%BCller