Devotional presented to River Street Cafe, Friday 18 September 2015
and Friday 20 January 2017
and Friday 20 January 2017
Read 1 Peter 2:1-5
When
one of my daughters was five year-old she would asks us every night if we would
read the Bible to her since at Sunday school the teacher sang with the
children, “read your Bible, pray everyday and you’ll grow, grow, grow …” She
took this truth to heart and has been faithful in reminding us to read her
Bible.
Reading
the Bible has also been very important to me since I was in elementary school.
I personally have tried to read my Bible everyday since I was ten or nine. I
can’t imagine not reading my Bible regularly. It is exciting. It is
transformative.
The
very first doctrine of The Salvation Army, of which I am an Officer, states
that, “the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration
of God, and that they only constitute the Divine rule of Christian faith and
practice.”
In
Romans 1:16-17, Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes... For in the gospel a righteousness from God is
revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is
written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”
The
gospel is contained in the Bible. The word ‘gospel’ (Gk: euangelion) itself
means ‘good news’ or ‘good message’ (cf. Isa 40:9, 52:7). It is the whole
Christian message. It is the information, from none other than God, that Jesus,
God’s unique Son has become the spearhead of God’s ‘kingdom to come’ and the
news that, in this new kingdom all that is bad, even sin and death themselves,
have already been defeated.
The
Bible is exciting. It is given by the inspiration of God Himself and gives us
examples and encouragements on how to live a life where we are truly free to
serve God. It contains the good news that Jesus died, rose from the dead, and
is coming back for us. The power of the gospel contained within can transform our
lives completely as we accept the truth of Jesus’ gift of eternal life. 1 Peter
2:2 reads, ' As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you
may grow.' Why should we read our Bibles? We should read our Bible because as
we do we will indeed grow, grow, grow.
Do you
read your Bible on a daily basis? What other ways can you grow and what can you
do to encourage others to do the same?
[1] Based on the article by Captain Michael Ramsay, Why Should I
Read the Bible? Nipawin Journal (February 2008) On-line: http://sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#Bible
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