"I used to read the
Bible daily … now I’ve given up.
Too much guilt when I don’t do it,
too much anxiety to even approach it."
What would you say to somebody if they told you this? This comment makes me sad. Sad to think that a person feels so much anxiety when reading the Bible. The Bible is full of God's wonderful promises to us: never to leave us or forsake us, He will forgive us when we ask (and repent!), to hear when we pray, to comfort us, to guide us and so on. His word has comforted me more times than I can count. For example, when my uncle passed away suddenly I was going through a Beth Moore bible study on the Psalms. In Psalm 17 verse 8 it says "Keep me as the apple of the eye, Hide me in the shadow of your wings," I clung to this verse asking God to hide me in His protective wing. The next day while I was at work our school bus driver came over to me and gave me a bag. He said he was sorry for my loss and bought something for me when he took the 2nd graders on their annual field trip to Oak Glen. I opened the bag and saw two bright red candied apples inside and immediately that verse popped into my head. I started to cry. God comforted me with two candied apples :). It may sound silly, but I really did feel better after that knowing that God was in control of everything and my uncle's passing did not catch Him by surprise. Now can you imagine if I had not clung to the scriptures and God during this time? Where would my comfort have come from? God's word speaks to us, it is living and active, we should read it daily. God's word is also convicting! Chad was able to speak at a chapel service for his school today and used 1 Peter 3:8-18, in verses 8 and 9 it says "To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted and humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing." Kinda convicting, I know that I do not always act the way this verse says we should! There are many verses like this in the bible! They are convicting for a reason, to show us our sin. Our conscience is convicting us and letting us know that we need to repent!
On a side note, there were a few people who mentioned Professor Horner's Bible study which I am currently using. I love it!
~N
I am always being corrected when I read the scriptures. I liked in the Way of the Master segment about reading the Bible. Most Christians professed that they do not read the Bible daily and Ray likened it to someone skipping food for days at a time (not feeding yourself) and how not eating for days at a time would leave your body weak. The same principal applies to us spiritually. Days at a time with no food (the scriptures) leaves us spiritually weak and ineffective. Love you. I am enjoying the Horner reading system too :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post Nicole! And so very true. About four years ago I became convicted for not being in the Word on a daily basis. Now I cannot imagine how I got by on such a meager diet of God's Word. I started Prof. Horner's reading system last July and have really enjoyed how it has you all over the Bible and it's so cool how many times I end up reading related passages. It's so amazing how the more you read the Bible, the more thirsty you become!
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