Col.3:16 tells us exactly what we are to do with this treasure. We are to "Let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly." When we open our Bible in Meditation, Quiet Time, Devotions, Bible Reading, Bible Study, or any other name you may call it, our mind must be focused. We are spending time with our heavenly Father.
Quiet Time is sometimes referred to as a Morning Watch in which we spend a few precious minutes talking with our Father and setting our mind on Him. We fortify ourselves from a portion of His Word and we commit our day to Him for His direction. There are books especially designed for that purpose. A Christian book store will help you .We may have to set our alarm clock ten or twenty minutes earlier and we may have to exercise our mind over our mattress, but we will be blessed as we go through the day.
When we understand that God longs for our fellowship, we can’t help but want to meet with Him. "The Father seeketh [true worshipers] to worship Him in spirit and in truth" Jn.4:23
A man told D.L. Moody that he did not have time to read his Bible every day to which Moody repliesd "My friend, if you are too busy to read the Bible every day you are busier than Almighty God ever intended any human being should be, and you better let some things go and take time to read the Bible." When will we find time to read our Bible? We won’t find time! We must make time in our daily schedule.
In my own pursuit for growth in the Lord I make a decided differentiation between Bible reading and Bible study: however, they are not mutually exclusive. Proper Bible reading habits will affect our Bible study.
"What really counts is not how much of God’s Word you go through, but how much of God’s Word goes through you." Reading the Bible through in a year is a valuable method for a bird’s eye view of the whole picture. Hats off to you who do that. But we must go further by taking time to assimilate, digest, and appropriate the truths through the leading of the Holy Spirit. That is necessary and vital for maturity and growth in the ways of the Lord.
It is helpful for me to vary my Bible reading. Sometimes I read aloud. Over a period of days I will read the same portion of Scripture from various versions or translations. It is helpful to personalize God’s Word. Example: [Norma], count it all joy when you fall into various trials"
Ja.1:2. Ouch! That hits the core of my heart. That’s not for my neighbor down the street. That’s for me right in the middle of my muddle. Yes, LORD. As an artist I enjoy visualizing accounts. The breadcrumbs falling from Jesus’ hands as he broke the loaves to feeds thousands. Or Peter and Jesus’ probable facial expressions as they approached each other walking on the water.
Next time we will look into the glorious experience of digging deeply into the gold mine and finding precious nuggets as well as mountains of valuable jewels to enrich our lives in Christ.
(to be continued)
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