I was thinking today about how I need to make time in my days for personal Bible reading - and I mean making consistent time, that I don't allow myself to flake on. Too often I fall prey to what I am dubbing the “fortune cookie” method of reading my Bible. When I feel like it, or on special occasions, I'll “crack it” and read a little blip of what it says. Then I put my Bible up and go on with my day.
Without taking time though, I end up having devotionals that stay on my mind for a little bit, but as the day progresses I start to forget. (Not to mention, reading only little bits and pieces of Scripture also puts me at risk of getting things out of context, and that is never good.)
It's ironic that back when Bibles where hard to come by (due to the fact that the printer had not been invented yet) people would go so far as hand copying any part of it they could, just so they could study and pour over The Word. Yet now, in America where Bibles are a plenty, people seem to care less. Is the fact that they are commonplace dulling us to the reality of what The Bible is?
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12
God's Word was not meant to be read lightly like a fortune cookie, with a little piece here and a little piece there. I need to pour over Scripture till it permeates every part of me. To the point where in all my daily activities I meditate on what I've read, and apply it to my life. I cannot get stuck in this shallow place anymore. God calls us to a deeper relationship than that.
