In … the Book
Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 3:10-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching …
2 Timothy 3:16
I love books—and not only for the decorative touch they add to my bookshelves. I buy books because I want to read what’s inside them. It would seem odd if I bought a book and never cracked open its covers. Yet many people do that with the bestselling book of all time. English-language Bibles sell at a rate of 40,000 a day—more than the yearly sales of many modern best-sellers. Yet the Bible often lies around unread. Why?
The reason is not because, as many complain, they have no time to read the Bible. No, there’s a deeper reason. It’s because of the One they meet on its pages. The apostle Paul tells us that the Scriptures were “God-breathed”; God guided those who wrote Scripture. The Bible as the very Word of God speaks God’s voice and shows us God’s heart.
This means that when we open the Bible, we step into God’s presence. No wonder reading the Bible can be unsettling! The Bible is honest about our failures. No wonder we procrastinate in opening the Book!
Yet if we cut ourselves off from the Bible, we also cut ourselves off from God’s amazing grace. We cut ourselves off from the wisdom we need to live as Christ’s followers in this world.
I can’t make my way through life without the grace and wisdom the Bible reveals. Neither can you.
Lord, there are so many voices telling me what to believe. Help me to cut through the clutter and tune in to your divine speech. Help me to listen and learn. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — Bob Heerspink
Dr. Robert Heerspink was director of Back to God Ministries International from 2006 until 2011, when he passed away. He had previously pastored several Christian Reformed churches. Bob loved to write and was a frequent contributor to the Today devotional.
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