The Importance of the Bible

Do you have specific plans for when to read your Bible? What about prayer? Is the Bible a part of your everyday life (outside of Bible class)? For me and my family, doing family devotions was a given. Every night, before bed, my parents would sit us down and read a children’s devotional book to Caleb, Brennan, and myself. At the end of each devotional, my dad would ask us questions to see if we were paying attention. For some reason, one night when my dad asked me if I asked Jesus into my heart (as a way of keeping me involved), my answer was, “sometimes”. Yeah, safe to say I wasn’t paying attention. Also, every time my dad would ask me about an individual in the devotion, my answer was always “John”. When I was younger, my goal was to get through the devotional, not to learn from it. Now, yes this is different as I was like 5 years old, but the idea is still the same. Sometimes when I read God’s word, I do it with a “check off the box” mentality, like my whole goal is to just get it over with. Where as other days, I’ll “accidentally” plan something to do when I know that I should be reading from my Bible. As I look back at the times in the past that I’ve thrived Spiritually versus the times that I’ve struggled, the answer is evident; I’m not reading God’s message for me. The Bible is God’s gift to us, not just a rule book. Its a love story. It’s a collection of stories of God’s wonderful works in the lives of those who came before us. For a Christian to live without God’s word is like a football game without referees. There is no order or purpose. Something I’ve always struggled with is knowing my purpose in life, and what my Spiritual gifts are. Recently, I felt the Lord speaking to me through my pastor. He was preaching on how to stay in God’s word and have a specific plan for devotions. Although I’ve heard this many times, it had never hit me like it did this time. He was talking about the importance of reading the Bible, and he reminded us that God uses His word to equip us. Light bulbs went off. The whole reason I didn’t know my gifts and purpose was because I wasn’t reading enough of what Has has for me.

Here’s a challenge; if you aren’t doing devotions consistently or just want to change things up, then try this: read your Bible every night before bed and in the morning (not limited to this). There is so much talk about whether we have to do devotions in the morning or not. If God is the focal point of our lives, then we should have Him as the first and last thing on our minds, not just the first.

-Jack Hilsher

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)