By David Ettinger
An Important Question
A month ago, in a post titled “The Day When All the Laughing Ends,” I used this quote from GQ magazine: “The Holy Bible is rated very highly by all the people who supposedly live by it but who in actuality have not read it. Those who have read it know there are some good parts, but overall it is certainly not the finest thing that man has ever produced. It is repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish, and even at times ill-intentioned.”[i]
In that blog, I focused on the second and third sentences. In this blog, I want to focus on the first. As much as I hate to admit it, this first part of the quote – from an article which disparaged the Bible – is correct. Let’s read it again: “The Holy Bible is rated very highly by all the people who supposedly live by it but who in actuality have not read it.”
Over my 34 years as a Christian, I have found this to be the case far too often. The plain truth is that most Christians don’t read their Bibles on a daily basis, and when they do, they only read small portions of it. And this is a shame.
What about you? Do you read your Bible daily; a few times here and there; once in a blue moon; or never? It’s an important question.
No Way Around It
If you’re thinking I should mind my own business, you’re probably right, but there’s no way around the truth that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should be reading their Bibles every day.
We read in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” When the apostle Paul penned this crucial truth, there was no New Testament; he was referring to the Old. That “Old” was created by God as His primary specific means of communication between Him and His children. He gave it, preserved it, and made it available to us today. He expects us to be reading it – both Old and New Testaments – on a consistent basis.
Psalm 119:105 tells us: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Christian songwriter Amy Grant turned those beautiful words into a beautiful song. Sadly, too many Christians love the song far more than the truth it expresses.
Joshua 1:8 gives us this instruction: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Notice the expression “day and night.” Does this require an explanation? (Quick note: “prosperous and successful” refers primarily to spiritual endeavors.)
Romans 15:4 imparts this soaring promise: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” How can you receive this endurance, encouragement, and hope if you are not reading the Scriptures God gave you for this very purpose?
And Hebrews 4:12 informs us that: “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.” Of what other writings can such a claim be made? None, and yet multitudes of Christians are filling their minds with those “other writings” instead of the Lord’s God-breathed, soul-inspiring, life-altering, and spirit-convicting Word.
How to Go About It
If you agree that you need to be more consistent in you Bible reading, it is really quite simple. Just read four chapters a day and you will have completed the Bible in one year. If it’s your first time through, don’t worry about not being able to comprehend everything; simply get it done!
Do you need some help? Let me recommend two good commentaries: The Bible Knowledge Commentary edited by the Dallas Theological Seminary (1985); and The Moody Bible Commentary (2014). You can find them both online (I’ve linked them), and they will be your Bible-reading/study companions for the rest of your life. (Never used a commentary? Once you have one in your hands, it is self-explanatory.)
Time to Start
If you have been a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ for several years and have never read through your entire Bible at least once, and/or do not read your Bible every day, it is time to start. In light of the Scripture verses above, I state this confidently and without fear of contradiction.
May the Lord empower you in this most blessed of endeavors and may He “Open [your] eyes that [you] may see wonderful things in [His] law” (Psalm 11
Jerry Bousard
May 27, 2020
I have always thought if enough people tasted the “manna” daily from the Bible and allowed it to order their lives we would not be able to stop fires of revival!
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dettinger47
May 27, 2020
I agree!
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My Way Home Life
May 27, 2020
I agree, David. The Bible can transform lives!
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dettinger47
May 27, 2020
Amen. Well said!
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Bruce Cooper
May 27, 2020
Hi David, you may want to “edit” this and please feel free to do so if you wish. Considering that the Apostle Paul calls the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), there are an awful lot of Christians walking around with no sword in their inventory of armour. Not to mention that it’s pretty hard to quote “it is written”, when you don’t indeed know, what is written. By ignoring God’s Word, we lose our means of defence, and do in fact, become defenceless and that is truly sad. And as my closing comment, in Matthew 22:29 where Jesus states that they do error, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God, this would be another indication of how error and false signs and wonders can creep in, because we aren’t conversant with the particulars on the valid gifts of the Holy Spirit versus false manifestations like “holy laughter” or “being drunk or slain in the Spirit” where one loses control of one’s body functions, as a couple of choice examples. Spiritual discernment is a rare skill set these days and that also is sad. Excellent post BTW! Blessings!
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dettinger47
May 27, 2020
Amen, Bruce. Well, there’s an outline for a future blog if I ever saw one!!
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Bruce Cooper
May 27, 2020
God love you David, I knew I was pressing it but some of the garbage that is out there now is just terrible and I do sometimes get my feathers ruffled. I’d have to pray long and hard over that blog post. Blessings and yes, I’m smiling.
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dettinger47
May 27, 2020
Smiling or not … I say go for it!!
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Bruce Cooper
May 27, 2020
I’ll be praying and thinking about it. If I can skirt the confines of proper decorum in a comment, one can only imagine the damage I could do with a whole post. 🙂
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heavensreef
May 27, 2020
YES! I do read it every day……drawn to HIS word more and more and love everything about it. I enjoy searching through the scriptures and different versions. It is my all and all and I cannot live without it!! Scripture is amazing and we should know our Bibles like the backs of our hands! Thanks for this post and in agreement with you here!
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dettinger47
May 27, 2020
Well said, Maxine. Rousing indeed!
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Dee ❤ Sixth Seal Ministries
May 28, 2020
Great post, David!
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dettinger47
May 28, 2020
Thank you, Dee.
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chaddamitz
July 15, 2020
The Bible is treated more like a relic rather than what Scripture teaches it to be: “God-breathed.” It is my hope and prayer that people will take God’s word more seriously today than ever before. Blessings to you!
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dettinger47
July 15, 2020
Well said, and I agree. Blessings to you as well.
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