Search, Study, Stand, Reason

Search the Scriptures John 5:39

Study to show thyself approved unto God... rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Like most Christians I have little devotional books which I read on a daily basis. The kind that gives a short text, followed by a little lesson on how to apply that Word to our lives. These are good aids and should be used regularly, but is that what the apostle John and the young preacher Timothy are meaning in the verses above?

The answer lies in the words used. Searching and Studying are not passive. They show action in learning deeply, and not on a surface level. A few years ago I was asked by a friend if I had ever read the Bible like I would read any other book, from the front, all the way through to the back, skipping nothing? Sadly, having been on the way for a number of years, I had to say I hadn’t. I relied on other people’s devotionals which could easily be done in 5 minutes flat!

When you read a book, or a magazine, or a newspaper, you read for more than 5 minutes, and if you are interested in the subject you are reading, you read from the beginning to the end. Cover to cover is how it is usually described. So, why not with the Word of God? The Bible was printed and put into the hands of the common man many years ago, to take the power of the Word out of the hands of the clergy of the day, and placed into the life of ordinary people to read. And read it they did. Not in 5 minute convenient slots during the day, but read earnestly. Like a sponge soaks in water. They had been given the gift of life, and they read it as a book, from Genesis to Revelation.

This simple action of reading, searching and studying the Scripture caused a revolution in the lives of the readers, but also in the churches of their day. They searched, studied, then stood on the promises they found, and it changed the course of their lives and their country. Do we do that? Do I? Let’s take the Bible down from the shelf and start to read it like never before. Search it, study it, and then stand on the authority of God’s Word. You know it makes sense to use your head, so what better way to finish with than these wise words…..

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18