GIVE ATTENTION TO THE READING

          In Matthew’s account of the temptation of Christ we read Jesus’ response to Satan:  It is written, ‘man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ (Mt.4:4).  Living in an environment where Bibles are abundant and The Holy Scriptures are easily accessible, why are we so lax in our reading of the sacred text?   In an in-house survey done last Sunday, only five out of forty respondents noted that they read the Bible everyday.  The most common reasons for not reading included:  too busy … hard to understand … and I don’t read period!.  Is this a case of taking Scripture for granted?  How can it be that people who yearn to be Christ-like can disregard the very means of becoming so?  How can we claim to be Christians and yet not have an earnest desire to let the word of Christ richly dwell within us (Col.3:16)?   In a tell-it-like-it-is fashion, someone has written:  “You are either in the Word and the Word is conforming you to the image of Christ, or you are in the world and the world is squeezing you into its mold.”   A steadfast and vigorous reading (studying) of the Word of God is essential to acquiring the mind of Christ.

          How wonderful it would be if we could experience a revival in this realm of Bible reading and study.  The Old Testament conveys the exciting story of a young king named Josiah who recovered and rediscovered THE LOST BOOK (cf. 2Kgs.22 & 2Chron.34).  While God was pleased with the king’s response (2Kgs.22:18-20), for many in Israel it was “too little, too late” (2Kgs.22:17).  They had wandered so far astray and had so insulted Almighty God that punishment was inescapable.  Let us pray that such is not the case with us.  We must stop dissing The Word.  Let us open our minds & hearts to living Word of God, inviting Scripture into our lives.  Let‘s resolve to read the Bible with intentional regularity and determination.

                                                                                    Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ

P.S.  In the near future we hope to begin a new sermon series on “How To Read God’s Word For All Its Worth”.