[Forrest]

I pray you are encourage by this post. Be honest. Is reading the Holy Scriptures a duty? Maybe a burden or even a hassle? Perhaps something you need to “get out of the way” before you start your day?

I’ll be honest. Years ago I usually read Scripture because I had a Sunday school lesson or a sermon to deliver. In those days I taught Sunday school and preached two services. I did not want to be “totally” humiliated by looking like an idiot, so I studied the Word and then read some commentary, and put a nice little three or four point sermon together (with a poem). In truth, I needed the response from others so I could measure its success or failure. One time a dear, older Christian lady said, as she patted me on the hand, “You tried!” Knowing her, she really meant well, but God spoke to my heart. “You tried.” I thought, that’s the problem, “I tried.” My pattern of diligent preparation continued, and although God used His Word to bring people to Christ and encourage them in the faith, I was miserable. God seemed so distant and impersonal even in the midst of committed Bible study and sermon preparation.

How about it? Is the Bible a drudge? Do you read the Scriptures and gain some intellectual knowledge but fail to really sense the very presence of God? Do you have your daily quiet time, check the box, and feel spiritual for doing your duty? Or are you like so many today that never pick up their Bible until Sunday at church?

I want to share something with you that has changed my life. When Jesus Christ became my life focus, the Holy Scriptures became intimately personal and alive. No longer was it a duty to read the Word. No longer was it simply preparation for a lesson, sermon, or devotional. It was fellowship with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. I noticed that each time I read the Scripture I saw Jesus. After all, He is the Word, isn’t He? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

I encourage you to do this one thing. Read the Scripture and ask God to reveal the Person of Jesus Christ. Know Him. Seek Him and you’ll find Him. See Him in the commandments, exhortations, principles, truths, and doctrines. After all, He is preeminent in all things ( Colossians 1:18). The Word will become life. It will be Christ in you, the hope of glory. Have you enjoyed Jesus Christ today?