RUN—Again & Again—to JESUS—to GOD’S WORD!
“How can you read the same book over and over?” she asked, clearly perplexed. “Some books are good, but I don’t know of any book THAT good, one that would make me want to read it more than just a couple of times.” Truly, she was struggling to see my desire to read the Word of God.
Read the Bible.
Read the Bible.
Read the Bible.
Read the Bible.
Read the Bible.
Read the Bible—again & Again, every single day of every year God gives us to be alive.
Read God’s Holy Word!
WHY?
A simple, one-word question, one a child would ask, but a question that remains so appropriate here in this discussion.
WHY SHOULD WE READ THE BIBLE, THE WORD OF GOD?
The answer shouts at us from within the question.
The Bible—the WORD of GOD!—the Holy Book of Scriptures—the “Good Book”!
- God’s Word given to us!
- The Word made flesh!
- His Story—JESUS’ Story!
One man I attend church with said these words: Each morning, I stumble out of bed and go straight to the coffee pot; then I have a choice: pick up this or that—OR—pick up God’s Word.
So, when we sat talking and she asked: “How can you read the same book over and over?” Clearly perplexed, an intelligent woman, she wanted to understand WHY.
Some books are good, yes, so good, but books of this world are not at all the same as the Bible. Any other book, one that would make us want to read it more than just a couple of times is not at all like the Word of God.
Why do we (HUMAN BEINGS) desire to read the Word of God?
The answer to her question can be seen within the “Good Book” in which we are speaking.
- Simon Peter struggled with sin, and he spent time with Jesus for three years during Jesus’ earthly ministry.
- Paul struggled with sin, and he had heard the voice of God right there on the road one day as he traveled toward Damascus.
- The unnamed psalmist wrote to tell us the reason WHY WE MUST CONTINUALLY STUDY GOD’S WORD & WORSHIP HIM!
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
(2 Peter 1: 1-4 NASB)
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness;
through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust.”
- How much do we want to know God?
- How much do we want to do everything we do in a godly way, & how much do we want to react to whatever life throws our way in moral excellence?
- How much do we want to “become partakers of the divine nature” (more & more & more like Jesus)?
- How much do we want to escape everything within this world that is corrupt, that opposes God?
Every Christian on the face of earth would agree with the answer.
WE WANT TOTAL ESCAPE FROM THE DEVIL, FROM ALL THAT IS NOT OF GOD, &
WE WANT TO KNOW GOD—MORE & MORE & MORE!
There is a special melody titled “You Changed My Name,” performed by artist Matthew West, and within his song, he sings these lyrics:
“You Changed My Name from ‘to far gone’ to ‘child of GOD’ . . .
Chosen Child of God. ”
Please pause to listen closely to these lyrics, if God provides you time today.
C.S. Lewis, a man who ran from knowing IF there REALLY was a GOD to become a man who FULLY KNEW there WAS an ALMIGHTY GOD said: “Every Christian would agree that a man’s spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God.”
We must RUN—Again & Again (every day we are given)—to JESUS because we are sinners saved by the Grace of God!
The apostle Paul wrote to explain why.
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
(Romans 7: 25 NASB)
So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”
There is a battle raging within our soul.
- Our flesh that leads to sin.
- Our flesh that leads to the divine law of God.
BUT GOD!
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
It is JESUS who we run to for our salvation!
Today.
Tomorrow.
Then again, tomorrow after tomorrow.
Every morning.
Every day.
Every evening.
We are so weak, merely vessels of dust, but PRAISE GOD, JESUS CHRIST, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, HAS MADE THE WAY!
- In our weakness, HE makes us strong!
- In our dustiness, yes, in our dusty state of being, the SPIRIT of GOD leads us away from the temptation of sin!
- In our humanness, ALMIGHTY GOD reveals WHOSE we are because we have accepted HIS offer of salvation!
Why MUST we RUN to JESUS & Why MUST we read GOD’S WORD day-after-day?
- It is because we are sinners saved by the GRACE of GOD!
- It is because we are now children of the MOST HOLY GOD!
- It is because of what JESUS WILLINGLY DID UPON THE CROSS & IN THE TOMB!
The Bible has and will always be—a magnificent promise of God—that we claim as our own!
The Word of God uncovers—God’s works for His glory & for His everlasting good!
The Holy Scripture enlarges our trust of—Yahweh—helping us walk through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
It is the unnamed psalmist who wrote these words within God’s Word, words that remind us of from WHOM our freedom comes, even as we remain within this world and walk within our earthly flesh.
Please read with me and be reminded why we MUST NEVER, EVER STOP READING GOD’S WORD!
“Open the gates of
(Psalm 118: 19-29 NASB)
righteousness to me;
I will enter through them, I will
give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD;
The righteous will enter through it.
I will give thanks to You, for
You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation.
[thank You—JESUS!]
A stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This came about from the LORD;
It is marvelous in our eyes,
This is the day which the
LORD has made;
Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
Please, O LORD, do save us;
Please, O LORD, do send prosperity!
Blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the LORD;
We have blessed you from
the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and He
has given us light;
Bind the festival sacrifice to the
horns of the altar with cords.
You are my God and I
give thanks to You;
You are my God, I exalt You.
Give thanks to the LORD,
for He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.”
Those who surround us may struggle to see our desire to read the Word of God, even asking: “How can you read the same book over and over?” May we be ready with our response!
- The Bible—the Holy Book of Scriptures—the “Good Book” The WORD of GOD!
- God’s Word given to us!
- The Word made flesh!
- His Story—JESUS’ Story!
May we read what God has for us so we may be more like JESUS—today, tomorrow, & every single day we live! & May we never, ever stop!