Greetings to you, my dear friends! Grace and peace to you from Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ! We are talking about God’s treasure which is His Word. We saw that every person who considers himself to be a disciple of Jesus Christ must search the Scripture. But in order to do that we need inner motivation which comes when we fully understand why we need to read the Bible. You can deceive ourselves by thinking that if you are not a teacher of the Bible, you do not need to read and study it on a daily basis; you might think that it is meant for those who are called to teach and preach the Word. But Jesus told His disciples that they must all do it. Has it ever happened to you that several days go by but you do not open your Bible, even though you know that you need to read since it is important and beneficial to you? There is some type of paradox hidden in it. We do not do it even though we know it makes us unhappy. We know we should do it, but either consciously or unconsciously avoid it: we are either undisciplined or the Bible bores us. It could be that you open the Bible, read some of it and find nothing new or exciting; so you lose any interest and on the next day you do not open it. If that is how you think, it means you lack some important understanding. We must have inner thirst for the Bible. We become thirsty for the Word when we realize why we need it. If I showed you my Bible, you would see that most of the texts are underlined or somehow marked. It means I have ready it many times in order to receive some revelation from the Word. Even though I have read the whole Bible several times, I still read it over and over again. And it brings me joy, because I have obtained the key for understanding of why I need to do it. This understanding helps me and motivates me to abide in the Word daily.
«All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness» ( 2 Timothy, 3:16).
The Bible is profitable! The reading of it is profitable personally for me. We read the Bible because it is profitable. Sometimes we do things that are not profitable and forsake the Bible which is profitable. Apostle Paul pointed out that there are profitable and unprofitable things. Here it says that the Scripture is profitable – for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness. What is doctrine? Doctrine shows us which direction we should take. When we read the Bible we receive doctrine, which means we start to see where we should go. Through the reading of the Bible we are shown the direction for our thought life, our words and all other areas of our lives. Besides, the Bible is profitable for reproof. Quite often we start walking the way the Bible has shown us, but then we somehow get distracted, lose the right direction and get sidetracked. It is through reproof that we are shown that we have taken the wrong path. Often we see how a person starts alright, with right motives and desires, with correct understanding of what he or she needs to do, but then something changes and he gets sidetracked. But when we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit is able to reprove us, showing us our mistakes and telling us when and where we got off the right path. The Bible is also profitable for correction. Correction shows us how to get back on the right track. It is also profitable for instruction in righteousness. Instruction in righteousness shows us how to get back on the right track – what particular steps we should make. So, God’s Word is profitable for us. Every time when we read it, we receive direction (most of us tend to underline it in our bibles). We see the goal for our lives. The one who does not read the Bible does not have clear directions for his thinking and lifestyle. And God wants to direct and guide us through His Word. May God help us comprehend the importance of His Word! It is important and beneficial for us! And we must love the Word and abide in it continually! May God abundantly bless every one of you! Till tomorrow! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
