The Importance of Reading the Bible – Part 1
The Importance of Reading the Bible – Part 2
Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Hebrews 4: 12-13 has some good insight for us regarding the importance of reading the Bible! First, the word of God is alive and active! The Bible is an old, old book and an inanimate object, so for the writer of Hebrews to say it is alive and active is revealing! The words in our Bible will come alive to us as we read them! They pop from the page and speak to our hearts if we let them! Sometimes when we first start reading the Bible for ourselves it can seem dull, boring, and hard to understand but as we persevere and continue in His word it very quickly becomes active in our hearts! It causes us to come alive, to move and be moved! God is always moving, and His word is always speaking; His word is active and alive! You need that in your life! You need the very words of God to strengthen, sustain, and speak to you! It’s so important you read the Bible for yourself!
Sharper than any double-edged sword This isn’t the only time we see the word of God referred to as a sword. In Ephesians 6, Paul writes that we should put on the full armor of God and he outlines each piece of the armor. He finishes by telling us to take up “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17b Now, here in Hebrews 4, we see that the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God) is actually sharper than even a double-edged sword, this weapon is powerful! In fact, it’s so powerful that it can penetrate even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow! It’s able to divide our human self from our spiritual self, parts of us that are inseparable the word of God can break apart to reveal what’s there. We see this as well when it says it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Those are private- my thoughts and my heart are mine alone- I may choose to reveal them through my words or actions but if I wish to fake it, no one but me knows what’s in there… well except for God! The word of God will judge my thoughts and attitudes of my heart. The word of God can get right to the real issues. The word of God can go right to the core and reveal what’s there. Because nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. God knows it all. Even things we don’t realize about ourselves, God sees and He knows!
On our journey to seek God and to become more like Jesus we need the word of God to come in alive and active and speak to our hearts! We need the word of God to penetrate deep, dividing who we are from who we want to be, to separate us from ourselves so we can see the thoughts and attitudes in our hearts that are not as He wants. We need to be laid bare before the One that created us in order for Him to continue to mold us into His image and likeness! We need to read the Word- the Bible! We need to let that sword do its work in us!!
Reading the Bible is so important! I hope this series has encouraged you on your journey of seeking Him! I hope you see that it’s more than a religious requirement but that we need His word for our growth! God has preserved His word through all these generations for our benefit! If you’re someone that enjoys a good checklist consider checking out this post and free checklist attachment to keep you on track in reading, prayer, and thinking about God!
Do Checklists Keep You On Task?
Be blessed as you seek Him!
~A.E.
