Reading The Bible

Some people find a lot of pleasure and benefit from reading the Bible often.  They enjoy the experience of digging deeper into the Bible message and discovering some of the wonderful wisdom and spiritual enlightenment freely offered to anyone who prayerfully and truthfully searches its pages. Reading the Bible is a road to the discovery of the reason why we have been created. Many prophecies in the Bible give us a vision of the wonderful future God has planned for the earth and people on it. In fact the Bible message promises that God intends to bring the world into a state of beauty, of peace and in harmony with himself. It is strange how so many people have a yearning to live in the kind of world God promises but are not prepared to accept and believe his word. So it comes down to an individual choice, a personal desire to know what God has provided for us to understand about himself and his purpose.  We can freely explore and discover this for ourselves. Jesus gives some very encouraging words for us "Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you". (Matthew 7:7) The message here is that good results are achieved by a persistent attitude of wanting to know God's message for us.
Anyone searching for an understanding of the Bible message will know there are many different interpretations and opinions on offer. This also encourages us to make a personal commitment to exploring the Bible for ourselves. Never forget the reassuring words, "whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him". (Hebrews 11:6)

He comes at an hour you do not expect  (Matthew 24:44)

We are in a world where there are so many distractions that a desire to know the truth of the Bible message can be loosing the important place it should hold in our lives and consequently the relevance of its message for us today can also be lost. This is why Jesus said "when the Son of Man comes, will he find the faith on earth?" Many people realise the world is degenerating in many ways steadily downward. This situation we are witnessing today was clearly foretold in the Bible. "Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand. For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; turn away from these". (2Timothy 3:5)
As a result of the ignorance of God's word Jesus Christ warned that His return to the earth will be completely unexpected and most people will be taken by surprise. And perhaps one the the most serious and tragic warnings the the Bible provides for people living in these days is, "at the revealing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with the angels of His power, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He shall come to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all those who believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that Day". (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10)
These words above present a blunt and grim warning and are written in the Bible with the hope they are sufficient to encourage us to prayerfully read the Bible to know how to escape the coming judgments and be with Jesus Christ. He encourages us with these words, "Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man". Luke 21:36 

The secrets of the kingdom of God

There are many prophecies in the Bible that refer to the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of God s kingdom upon the earth. The Bible good news extends grace to everyone who believes, a promise of being joyfully welcomed into that kingdom and never again experiencing the pain, sorrow and death, which every living person knows is part of this life.  Jesus told his disciples there were details about this kingdom that were secret, known only to certain people. On many occasions crowds of people flocked to him and on one occasion his disciples questioned him why he spoke to the people in parables. They wondered why he didn't speak plainly to them instead of making it difficult for some to actually understand his message. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven." (Mark 4:11-12) What was the point, didn't he want people to understand? The record of events gives us the answer to this question in the response of his disciples when it says, "And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables". (Mark 4:10) The key to understanding the "secrets of the kingdom of God" is simply being motivated by a desire to know, which in turn inspires us to search for answers from the word of God.

The saving power of the word of God

So read the Bible and pray to God for help to understand. A consistent routine of adopting the keen attitude of the disciples will yield its benefits in time. In the Acts of the Apostles we read of the Bareans who exhibited a genuine desire to understand God's message. "Now these were more noble than the people of Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, searching whether the things they heard were true". (Acts 17:11) The Bible is the word of God in the sense that people were inspired by God through his spirit to write the words. The Word of God is able to enlighten us to christian truth and living. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path". Psm 119:105. It gives us moral and spiritual guidance. The Word of God tells us the purpose of God, why we are here, what God has done in past and what He has planned for the future. The Word of God is able to provide us with the information and instruction necessary to have a share in the Kingdom of God. For example, "the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus". And in another place, "I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified". (Acts 20:32) 
If you have difficulty with reading or studying the Bible you are welcome to contact us, we would love to help. You are welcome to tune into our radio program which is broadcast with the prayer that it will encourage listeners to be aware of the truth and relevance of the Bible’s message, and to assist you to learn, understand and believe in the good news of God's invitation to participate in the creation of his kingdom upon the earth.  If there are any Bible topics that you would like us to discuss on the program you are welcome to contact us and we will be pleased to explore and broadcast it.