September 6: Read A Book Day

 

September 6:  Read A Book Day

No one is certain when it began (it was formalized in 2010) but you can bet some librarian somewhere is responsible.  “Shhhhh!  Keep it down!”  Today, we want it known far and wide—Celebrate reading a book!  So let’s talk about the life-changing power of The Book.  I know—try not to yawn.  A few more paragraphs on the importance of the Bible.  Can’t you picture the “teacher” in the Charlie Brown specials talking to the class”  “Waw, waw, waw waw?”

So let’s stop for a second and consider:  Nothing, absolutely nothing is more vital to our walk with Christ, our impact in the world, and our own satisfaction than the Word of God.  Nothing. Where does that leave us?

Precisely.  Wherever you are in relationship to God’s Word, whatever your practices, whatever your routine, start there.  Perhaps these devotions can be a start! Never spend time in His Word?  Commit to reading a passage 3 times a week.  Already have a daily “quiet time?” Commit to extending that time.  Spend 45 minutes each day in His Word?  Commit to memorizing passages. Don’t know where to start?  Download any of a thousand online reading schedules.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of reading, studying, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture.  Here is the greatest reason for saying so.  In many respects, the Bible is like any other book.  In one dramatic way, it is unlike any other book: It is a living document, that penetrates to the deepest part of us, AND DOING NOTHING MORE THAN READING IT EMPOWERS US IN UNSPEAKABLE WAYS.  That’s right:  Read it, and you will be changed.  How?

Choose one area of your life in which you struggle—maybe it’s money, sex, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit, your marriage, same sex attraction, or any of a host of things that plague us all.

Next, find just 10 passages of scripture that deal with that area.  You can use an online dictionary or concordance to find them.  Write those passages down and put them in a prominent place.  Read them daily.  Commit several to memory.  Do that for 30 days.  Here is what you will find.

You will have greater victory, more confidence, less stress and greater courage than ever before.  GOD’S WORD HELPS US ACCOMPLISH WHAT IT COMMANDS!  That is the mystery and the power of the Bible.  Whatever your struggle, whatever your need, rest assured that “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” (Hebrews 4:12). No other book on the planet can make that claim. Now that is a Book worth celebrating.