Are You A Hungry Man Or Woman?

The Discipline Of Bible Reading

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“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3

I pray that you know Christ and love him above all else. May today be the day you cling to Christ!

Are You Hungry?

1 Peter 2:2 says,

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation."

If you’re a parent, you know very well how a baby longs for food. My son and daughter both cried for their milk. In fact, they never cared what time of the day it was. It could be noon and it could be two in the morning!

God has put in us a need that drives us to feed and want food. Physically. This is of course for energy. It’s for nutrition. In the same way, Christian’s must read their Bible and eat.

They must partake in their “spiritual milk.”

Something has to happen first, though. We read in the verses before this, things like,

“since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God..” 1 Peter 1:23

And then again in 2:3,

“If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

In order for the “hunger” for the word of God to begin, the person must hear and taste. This happens when the person is told the Gospel or hears a sermon. One minute it all sounds like noise, and then in an instant, they taste. They hear. The words become honey to their lips as David says in Psalms 119:103,

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

This only happens when a person has embraced Christ as their treasure. (Do you genuinely love Christ?) When they are born again. When the Spirit illuminates the scriptures and shows the son as wonderful! That’s when they have, “tasted that the Lord is good!”

When this happens, the taste buds of their spiritual tongue turn on. Then they are as babies who long for the spiritual milk. They read the word of God with delight and savor his words like the sweetness of Honey on their lips.

They grow up into salvation. They become more and more certain of what is true. Indeed, they love truth! They cling to the words of God. They love them. They love Him.

So the first part of the discipline of reading our Bible is asking ourselves,

“Do I have a longing for Gods word?” And “Is Christ worth more to me than anything?”

It’s a very serious question and one that deserves great contemplation. Because, without a regenerated heart, becoming a new creation, and without the Holy Spirit in our life, this discipline will not be what it needs to be. It will be mechanical and lifeless. It will be scholarly instead of intimate. So we must analyze our inner-man and see if the longing is there. Do we actually love Christ as our ultimate treasure? If not, cling to Christ, now!

The Word Is Vital

After we can say for sure that we have tasted, we will find the word of God is vital. It’s more vital to carry around than a wallet or a purse. It’s more vital than eating! It’s more vital than our sports or hobbies! It’s more vital than our rest! It’s more vital than all the money in your bank account.

Here’s how David puts it in Psalms 19:10 when he says,

"More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb."

What do you consider “most valuable” to have throughout your day? When we pack our brief cases, what is vital to have? When we load our purses? What is vital for our travels? Makeup? A survival kit? A gun for protection? Our debit cards?

Why? Why is it so important? Why would I say it’s more vital than all these things? It can’t pay for my gas or buy me food. Am I being outrageous?

Well, next to knowing God rightly and Savoring his son deeply, there are three things that a man or woman of God will need the Bible for. (There are more than three, but these three are some of the main ones.)

The Word Will Lead

Psalm 119:105 says,

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

The Bible has wisdom about life and how God has made things to work. It will tell us what is evil and what is good. We don’t have to decide these things for ourselves. It will lead us in the understanding of things most of the world is very confused about. Things like,

• Origin. Where we came from. How it started. Look no further than Genesis 1.

• Family, marriage, and how many sexes there are.

• What people are like. Are they basically good? Or are they sinful?

• Finances

• Teachings on honesty, integrity, and ethical living.

• How to be saved

• Understanding of Gods Character.

• Hope in suffering.

• Help in how to love rightly.

• Understanding on why abortion is wrong.

• Who should lead a family. The roles of a husband and wife.

• Guidance in raising children.

• Knowing Gods will

  The list is long and indeed endless. Gods guidance and leading is in His word. Do you see it like this? Is this precious to you?

  Read what Paul says to Timothy,

  "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

  The discipline of reading our Bible is vital! Many go and pay men and women for counseling and advice, this isn’t wrong or bad, but don’t we trust the word of God for this? Men can say, “I don’t understand it!” But do you really read it? Is it vital?

  Lastly, read these words in Romans 15:4 and think on them. It says,

  "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

The second part of this verse will be our next point.

The Word Will Comfort

“…through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

We as Christians are promised dark nights of the soul. I would even say more than the man or woman who doesn’t know God. We will see things as they really are. We will want our loved ones to know Christ and see him as treasure, like we see him. But they wont. They will call us names and even reject us. Not only will this happen in our family but everywhere we go that we speak the truth. Here is how Jesus put it,

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.“ Matthew 10:34-39

When you become a follower of Christ, expect pain. You will need comfort when you love the truth and cling to Christ. Because men hate the truth. Read how John explains why this is so,

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." John 3:19-20

You see, men hate the light. Besides this persecution, we also have suffering and pain. We have the battle of the flesh. We have sin that entices us. We have our own fears and doubts. We have a war.

We need the scriptures for comfort. We need a rock to set our feet upon. We need words like in Isaiah 41:10,

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Or words like we find in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4,

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction."

You and I can’t make it without reading our Bibles! It’s our very life line. Do you see?

The Word That Fights Sin

Psalm 119:11 says,

"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

The last reason I want to give you, is the word of God keeps you from sin. As a Christian man or woman reads, they will find that their focus and desires change drastically. The Bible calls this, “Renewing your mind”

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

This renewing, makes sin less attractive in a sense. We are lead into lust after lust because we have Gods spirit and his truth. This is vital to hold on tight as a Christian.

One thing you need to know in relation to the importance of reading your Bible, is that you are in a war. Not a war with others. In fact, the biggest war as a Christian, is the war in ourself. Here’s how Paul puts it in Galatians 5:16-17,

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

The war is between your flesh and your spirit. The war is against sin. Our sin, our families sin, our neighbors sin, our coworkers sin, our states sin, our countries sin. All the sin is bombarding us, daily. If we don’t care and spend our days scrolling Facebook and YouTube, where do we think we will end up in the fight with sin?

John Owen, an old dead guy, once said, “Kill sin or it will be killing you.” He’s right. Most of us live this war in complete carelessness. This needs to change.

So, how do you and I walk by the spirit? Is it a flippant emotional ride? Something like an exorcist we see in the movies?

No, it’s the word of Christ dwelling in us richly. Like we read in Colossians 3:16,

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.“

That’s how the spirit works in our lives. We know the word of God so deeply that we walk in a way that is “by the spirit.” Indeed we have the spirit of we are in Christ!

As a Christian, you must spend your time in the word of God.

We must “put to death” the sins that we find in our lives.

Colossians 3:5

"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

This happens with truth. This happens with the spirit. This happens through your discipline of reading your Bible!

How I Can Do This

That’s the biggest thing, isn’t it?

What do you have to lay aside? Maybe it’s Facebook, hobbies, YouTube, or even Substack!

Would you skip a meal? That’s a common question I hear when someone asks why they should read. But, it’s true. You eat because it’s important. You eat because you love it.

Maybe you don’t see it as important. That’s a red flag, my friend. You probably aren’t fighting sin. You’re probably very comfortable. That’s dangerous. I would ask you to wake up.

You know how to read. You have time. Do it. That’s the answer.

DO IT.

Do you ask how to read Facebook post? Do you ask how to go to work? Do you ask how to eat? Do you ask how to play games? Maybe you do at first, but not for long.

The thing is, we do what we deem important. We do what we love. We need to love our Bible. We need to see it as vital.

This is a straight forward answer, and I don’t say it in to insult you. Many will make bible reading almost a mystical exercise. I don’t want you to walk around looking for the perfect environment to read. I don’t want you to wait for special feelings before you read. Believe it or not, God has made this very simple. I know reading certain books and listening to certain people preach, one would think you have to learn to float in order to understand and read the Bible. No.

What do you need?

1. You need to have God’s spirit to understand.

We read this in 1 Corinthians 2:12-14,

"Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."

So if you’re a Christian, you will have understanding. Many say “I don’t get it.” Well, read until you get something. You will understand something! (If indeed you are a Christian.)

2. You must know how to read. Indeed if you made it this far on this article, you have accomplished reading.

3. You also need a Bible. I would suggest ESV or NASB translation. But you need a Bible. Get a plan. There are many reading plans online. You need to have a way to fill your years with consistent reading. This is a life long thing. This book is your second heart; you need it to live. A plan will help you. Or start in Matthew and get though the New Testament. Then go to the Old. But just start somewhere. The spirit will lead you in your understanding.

4. Lastly, you should pray. Plead for wisdom! Seek it like gold! Read how James talks about this in James 1:5,

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

The word of God is Vital my friend. Make time and get serious about it! I hope you never read another one of my articles, if only you read your Bible in its place! Unsubscribe and subscribe to your Bible! That would be awesome! What are words on any article or in any book if they rob you from the word of God? You’d be trading the words of the creator for words of the created. You’d be trading gold for rusted metal. A diamond for a rock.

I hope this has encouraged you. I hope you feel like reading your Bible! Stay strong my friend! I’m praying that God works in our hearts that we may fall in love with Christ and His word.

Cling to Christ!

Scripture for further reflection

PSALM 19:7–11

“The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

HEBREWS 4:12

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

2 PETER 1:20–21

“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

PSALM 12:6

“The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.”

PSALM 18:30

“As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”

PROVERBS 30:5

“Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”