Turn on the Light

"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path"
Psalm 119:105.

It seems like I either encourage someone, or am being encouraged by someone to read my Bible every day, at least once a week. There is nourishment there, it is the very food your soul longs for. I've heard tons of reasons for it, yet when I first started reading my Bible it was the hardest thing I've really ever made myself do. I love the Word, and I love reading it. The problem was making myself set aside a certain amount of time, when I could actually just sit and read.

Why is it so hard to spend time with our Heavenly Father, when in His word we find our strength, our comfort, our very being? As a Christian, my identity lies within these words bound by leather and sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul describes it as looking through a glass darkly. Which means like looking into a mirror. At first you might not recognize who is looking back, but the Lord begins to change the desires of our heart and before we know it, we begin to reflect like a mirror, the words written in our Bible. No wonder the enemy tries so hard to distract us when we try to get into the word.

Let me encourage you to read your Bible every day! There is no excuse good enough to keep me away from it! The psalmist wrote " your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." It doesn't get any plainer than that. If you were traveling around in the dark, you would more than likely trip up on something. Traveling into the day without preparing yourself with scripture is like moving around in the dark. Even a child knows that isn't very smart.

I understand that we really all know this. Knowing something and putting it into practice is two very different things. I believe putting off your Bible reading time shows a distinct lack of wisdom. "Jesus said, if any of you lack wisdom, ask the Father, who gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask." Funny how much we must rely on the Holy Spirit, we can't even sit down and read good news from God, a few minutes out of our day on our own. I'm sure some have the self discipline to make themselves do this out of a sense of legalistic obligation, but I don't see any joy in that. My Bible tells me that the joy of the Lord is my strength. In order to understand the scripture and enjoy my reading time, I need the Holy Spirit to guide me through it.

How is your daily devotion time? Are you having trouble sitting down and reading your Bible? Why is that? Let me suggest this, set your alarm a little earlier. Get up and make a cup of coffee or tea, or which ever morning beverage you prefer. Find a quite spot where you won't have any distractions. Sit down, make yourself comfortable, then maybe start off with a little praise and worship. You can listen to your iPod, or put in a CD, whatever works for you. Just begin to rest in the presence of the Lord, allow him to begin to love on you. Open your Bible and as you read, actually listen to the words straight form the mouth of your creator. What an awesome way to start each day. Replenished, nourished, David wrote, "my cup is overflowing." There was a man who probably made sure he found time to get into God's word each day.

If you would like to know more about Jesus, or why reading the Bible is important, then please click on the link for frontline church at the top of this page. For prayer requests or just someone to talk with, feel free to contact me direct; rlwhitener@gmail.com Please include "prayer request" in the subject line of your e-mail. Thanks for following along.

God Bless