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by Pastor Joe Garofalo
Sometimes we take it for granted, but God did really write us a book. He wrote it for the benefit of every believer, although He will not force us to read it. Without it however, we leave ourselves open to being misled, misguided and deceived— just to name a few of the hazards of not regularly reading the Word.
There are so many reasons I can list as to the absolute necessity for regular Scriptural intake, but I will just focus on one: it is the primary way of knowing God and His will for our lives. In fact, their are four main ways God communicates with us: the first and most primary is through His Word. The other three are through His promptings, through other people and through our circumstances. However— and this is absolutely key—any other way of how God communicates with us must be viewed through the lenses of Scripture. Let’s say, you get the notion to make a decision that might seem right at the time, but in hindsight, it turned out to be something total self-serving. Again, any prompting should be tested through the Word.
We know what His Word says about doing things out of selfish ambition for example (Philippians 2:3). The same goes for what a person might tell you or advise. Always check it with what you know about God through the Word (Prov 12:15;14:12). Also, God may be speaking to you through life’s circumstances. This is often seen through both closed and opened doors. Closed doors often will cause us to stop pursuing something, a new career or job, or even a potential spouse. Opened doors may have an opposite effect of continuing to persevere in something. However, these seemingly closed or opened doors are not necessarily a slam-dunk decision, and can be dangerous if viewed as such. Once again, making the right read has everything to do with spiritual discernment—the result of knowing God’s heart and will— which comes from His Word.
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s see what God has to say on the subject. In one of the most direct verses about His Word, He tells us that His living and powerful Word not only tells us about Himself, but it tells us about ourselves (Heb 4:12). Oh, and God’s Word is truth. Once again, not my words but the Lord’s. Jesus said it very clearly, “Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17).
So the question is, do you want to know the truth? Do you want to know the true and living God? Then read the book that He wrote just for us. Read it like your life depends on it— because it does.
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