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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD
Encountering an extraordinary God in ordinary life
Issue # 193 July 09, 2001
People of the Word
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1-2 NIV
A pretty familiar piece of Scripture. Chances are that if you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have heard it over and over again, and likely know it off by heart.
Believers are people of the Word.
That’s not much of a revelation. I don’t think you’d raise too many eyebrows in any Christian church with that statement, from liberal to fundamentalist, from the frozen chosen to the demonstrative charismatic, from the Orthodox to Catholic to Protestant .
There would be great debates over the interpretation of the word of God. About who wrote what parts, about which portions are actually the canons of Scripture and an infinite number of exegetical, hermeneutic and theological points. They would all agree that the Word was important, and the written word i.e. the Bible an integral part of the faith.
Having said that, it astounds me that we (being the Christian church in general) don’t ever take out the Bible and read what it has to say for ourselves.
I have read estimates that claim 90-95% of all Christians have never read the entire Bible.
Many Christian leaders, both lay and clergy have never read the whole of Scripture even once.
Even in denominations and congregations that emphasize the importance of knowing Scripture, the majority of people in the pews have never read the Bible from cover to cover even once.
I read a statistic recently, and I haven’t taken the time to confirm it’s accuracy, but for consideration here it is:
If a preacher read three new verses of Scripture every Sunday of the year, it would take 600 years to hear the whole Bible.
At that rate, none of us will hear the whole of Scripture in our lifetimes.
God gave us His word as a means of knowing Him. As a manual for daily, godly living. An operator’s manual for life.
Is it any wonder that they world sees us as no different. We’ve never even read the manual.
It’s not hard, there are numerous schedules available that will lead you through the Bible in a year, with about a 15 minute daily time commitment.
If you’ve not read it, it is time to start. If you haven’t read it lately, it’s time to re-read it.
If you are depending on this column, rather than reading your Bible, stop. I’ll never in my lifetime cover the whole of Scripture. Gleanings and other teachings are designed to be a supplement to and not a replacement for spending time in the word.
Get the book and read it for yourself. Ask God to reveal Himself, His plan and His truth to you as you read. You will be amazed at what He’ll teach you.
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word Psalm 119:15-16 NIV
Until next time, may Holy Spirit kindle an unquenchable passion in you for His word, and a desire to do what it says.
God bless.
Kevin
If you are a non-Christian and have always based your perception of what Christianity is about on the word of others, I challenge you to read the Word for yourself.
You’ll be amazed and I guarantee it will change your life.
© 2001 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin
All Rights Reserved