I want to start this article by
whining for a moment: No one in church ever really taught me why I should read
my Bible devotionally. I learned a lot
about not running in the Sanctuary and that it was wrong to draw on the table
in the Sunday School room and that playing poker in the old ladies Bible Study
classroom was a bad idea (Yes, I did and yes, it was a bad idea. Especially when you leave chips on the floor
and the pastor has to explain why there was a poker game going down at a youth
lock-in.) I also learned some
tremendously useful things like the books of the Bible, the Roman’s Road, and
that Jesus commanded all of his followers to build the kingdom.
I also remember learning that having
a devotion time—usually called “quiet time” by church people—every day was very
important, but no one ever told me why.
Now don’t get me wrong, when I came to Christ I was blessed to have a
great pastor, and attend a Bible believing church, but somehow I still missed
the why and how of this whole devotion thing.
So I wanted to write something for Christians who know that spending
time in God’s Word is something that people say is important, but might not
know why. What follows is a brief walk
through Scripture in hopes that you will see why spending daily time in God’s
word is so important.
A Duty of
Utmost Delight
Very briefly let’s talk about what
the Bible doesn’t say. There is no
passage in Scripture that says, “Thou shalt read thy Bible every day.” Not even close. There is a lot that the Bible says about why
Scripture is vital, but no clear cut command that says to read it daily.
What the Bible does say is that
Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16). This is the most basic thing we must
understand: the Bible is a revelation of God to people. It is a way in which we can experience Him, it
is the means by which he reveals his will and his nature to humanity. Keep that in mind as you think about reading
the Bible daily, it is about God revealing himself, and his will to you.
If we are truly members of the
kingdom, if we have truly pledged our very lives to God, then his revelation of
himself should be something we crave.
Check out Mark 1:35-38. In this
passage, Jesus leaves the disciples in the dark hours of the morning and goes
into a secluded place to devote time to God.
Now I don’t want to play fast and loose with Scripture here. Jesus went out to pray, not to read his
Bible. He didn’t sit down and pull out
his pocket edition of the Torah and start reading, but he did go out to
experience God’s presence and to be in tune with God’s will. That is also the goal of devotionally reading
the Bible. And he craved it. He wanted it worse than sleep, than
breakfast, than an early morning conversation with his twelve closest friends. He went out not out of duty, but delight.
This is the same delight felt by the
poet who writes of the blessed man in Psalm 1, “His delight is in the
instruction (Torah) of the Lord and on his instruction he meditates day and
night.” (Psalm 1:2)
This is the motivation for
devotional Bible reading—a deep craving for God’s revelation of himself. It springs from a sense of delight, a sense
of need, a craving, an addiction. Now, I
do want to throw a cautionary sentence or two in here. This does not mean that on days when I do not
joyfully look to the reading of my Bible I should not do it. There will be times when our desire for God’s
word is hindered, perhaps by sin, perhaps by tragedy, or perhaps by the general
depression that often invades our lives in this fallen world. In these times, when the feeling of happiness
is gone, the true joy of delight is still there. The feelings will come and go, but this God
given delight will remain.
Like a Ford,
Not a Ferrari
I am not much of a car guy, but even
I can recognize a Ferrari if one passes me on the interstate. This is the purpose of a Ferrari, to get
other people’s attention, to say, look at me, I have a Ferrari. That and to go 200mph. My Wife and I drive a Ford. It also has a purpose, to get you—and up to
three passengers—where you are going. If you read my story about daily
devotions(also posted on this blog), you will find that I once thought it
should be a very flashy, show-off kind of thing, but that is not what Scripture
teaches. Daily Devotions are about being
transformed in personal living and worshipping God, not about showing off.
Consider Psalm 119: 9-12. Here the poet asks a vital question for every
believer, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” Purity in Scripture is all about living God’s
way. It is not so people can look at you
and say, “What a pure person.” It is
about living in a way that brings glory to God.
Every follower of Christ should ask, “How can we keep our way
pure?” The poet goes on to answer the
question, “By guarding [his way] according to [God’s] Word.” Ultimately the young man who composed Psalm
119 concludes that it is storing up God’s word in his heart that will keep him
from sinning and thus cause him to please God (pleasing God, of course, is what
not sinning is all about).
Consider one last passage of
Scripture with me: Psalm 46:10. It is a
simple command, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will
be exalted in the earth.” This awestruck
worship of God should also be incorporated into our daily devotion time. This may happen through prayer, through
reflection on the providence of God in your life, or through soaking in a
breathtaking scene in nature. But it
also happens through the Word of God. Read Psalm 148, Genesis 1 & 2, John
20, Psalms 150, Isaiah 6 or countless other passages in Scripture which attests
to God’s glory and be blown away by it.
This is the purpose of daily
devotional reading. It is not flashy,
but it has a powerful purpose, to transform your life and cause you to worship
God.
A Few Thoughts
in Closing
Please understand this is not a
complete theology of devotional reading, it is not meant to be. I do, however
pray that these reasons would motivate you to experience God’s word,
daily. I pray that this would merely
whet your appetite; that the meager morsels of truth above would begin a daily
craving for God’s Word. I pray that you
would approach Scripture daily from delight for the purpose of living out a
transformed, God honoring life.
______________________________________________________________________________
For some ideas on how to read the
Bible devotionally, and some useful tools to help you along the way, read the
article on this blog titled, “A Daily Devotional Toolbox”
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