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Jul 15, 2022 15:00pm

Words of Life

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“Why do I need to read the Bible?” a friend asked me. He wasn’t being argumentative or arrogant. He was just discovering who God is and really wanted to know the answer.

How would you answer that question?

Or perhaps you’ve wondered the same thing.

When someone asks this question I instantly know something about them: They haven’t yet experienced the transformative, life-changing words found in Scripture, because if they had, they’d never get enough! If that’s the case, I don’t want to give them a list of reasons or do’s and don’ts about reading. Instead I pray and hope to show them how beautiful and true God’s word is, and ultimately how beautiful and true God Himself is.

I’ve led people in Bible reading and study for years, and can I tell you what gives me great delight? My absolute favorite thing about sharing God’s word is when someone comes to Scripture for the first time and they discover that what they once thought would be boring words of rules is the exact opposite: thrilling words of life!

Consider the following Scriptures:

Hebrews 4:12 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.

1 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

These words tell His story and also invite us into that story. They are living words from the Living God. The Holy Spirit, the One who hovered over the waters in Genesis 1, the One who raised the Son from the dead, and the One who opens our understanding at salvation, is the One who inspired these words to be written, who works in you as you read them, and gives you the ability to understand and apply them. Wow. These aren’t just words on a page, they are “alive and active,” supernatural words from our Creator.

Have you experienced these transformative, life-changing words? Have you found them to be better than you expected?

Or have you kept your distance assuming Scripture isn’t for you or maybe even gone through the motions just to check your Bible reading box?

May I remind you that the God who inspired the words of Scripture is also the One who loves you and made a way for you to know Him?

The God who created all the beauty around you also created you.
The God who has redeemed multitudes from generations also redeems you.
The God who knows all things also knows you.
The God who, through His Spirit, inspired the words of Scripture also, through His Spirit, speaks to you.

When the Initiator, Creator, and Sustainer of the great story also gives living words for those within the story, we’d be fools not to pay close attention to those words. How silly to forfeit the spiritual sustenance He offers His children.

Why do we read the Bible?

We read the Bible because it’s God’s story, because the words within are from Him, and because those words tell us about His Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus changes everything.