The Book

Bible reading and study, anyone?


Solomon disregarded the book. We have a book, the Bible, the written word given to us. Though not quite a singular book, it is an inspired compendium of books, of different genre, by different authors written over a course of history, providentially preserved and handed down to us. To launch and sign-in to our blog-site, we have this window that prompts; whether we have done our “quiet-time”. Is quiet-time enough?


"It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"(Mat 4:4)


The gospel of John begins with “In the beginning was the Word”. Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, said “ I am the Bread of life”. It could be well submitted that man can survive without eating bread. Granting such an assertion begs the question then; what does that man live on? We often skimp over or make the presupposition that, a lack in the devotion to the word is just that, a mere deficiency. We deny the obvious and the inevitable, that we would have to be ingesting another in substitute. A distorted perception? Consider the amount of media amassed and invading our space and all the time. Examine entertainment cable and television, advertising, paper and electronic media, the internet, ipods and blueberries, computer games, bloggers and chat-rooms, contemporary language, their philosophies, fashions and norms. The latest fads, the latest gurus. Information technology exploded and imploded. We are immersed and bombarded, simply to imbibe and absorb for the entire duration whether we know and care to admit it or not. A more astute or realistic conclusion would be, that for all conscious time, we are always listening to and are constantly being assaulted with words, only whose? To what end, this pelting by torrents that point, invites, suggest, encourages, attract, detract and so floods our minds and senses. There are armies of piped-pipers out there; effectively who do we happily follow? Wherefrom are we deriving our sustenance? What building blocks do we use for growth and maintenance? What powers our strength? How do we live? A healthy child displays a healthy appetite. A healthy appetite for food promotes related growth. Consistent growth pronounces maturity. The sequence really is quite organic. It does not just happen. Our liberality, procrastinations, and permissive freewheeling have made us so pickled and calloused so as not to know and be cognizant despite the glaring signs and dire consequences. It is self-deceit to imagine, contrive or submit that we are untainted. It is undeniably unreasonable, to not commit to an absolute life-necessity; to feed right . A popular computer maxim is “garbage in, garbage out”. Others would be quick to submit that we are what we eat. It does not take a whole lot of polluted food to cause diarrhea and illness. It is a fallacy to expect healthy growth from swill, not unless we are pigs.



As Christians, we profess to love the Lord, and by extension His word. But we have no qualms about describing bible-reading as a tiresome bore. This marks one of the most blatant contradictions in Christendom today. We would indeed be hard-pressed to defend our claim if despite years of declaring His Lordship, we have never be able to finish reading the bible from cover to cover? After years of proposed sincere and ardent discipleship, how many times have we read and reread the book? Would a frequency of once every year reflect a decent and acceptable pace? Though not about claims, ascetics or ritualistic performances, but how else can we imagine or propose that we do have an appreciation of the writ, when we have never read the whole. And should we have finished reading the bible from cover to cover, and for so many circuits, what of it? Is the bible so simple a book as not to require contemplation and deep researching? Can we properly understand completely the holy writ on this side of eternity? Is the injunction to meditate on it night and day spurious? We heartily champion with our lips, the inerrancy and sufficiency of the bible. Can the bible be inerrant, all sufficient and yet be irrelevant? We reveal and confirm our inconsistency, by not pursuing a careful, studious understanding of the complete book. If the script be true, it’s exposits will be reflected and translated into our own practical personal realities . Does our study of the holy writ engender holy lives or does it just vaunt itself in verbose wielding knowledge of script, doctrine and theology? Our ways belies our protestations correctly pointing to our true priorities and confidences; our life-pulse.


It is commonplace to find persons who must have the morning papers, to read the sports columns, to check out the headliners or cartoons, to be challenged by the latest crossword or sudoku puzzle. Others have a craving for coffee, caffeine, nicotine or some manufactured adrenalin rush to jumpstart the day. Without this starter or primer, the day would just not seem to go right. How many can honestly say, that the desire for the word ranks par with such? In truth, we have, we despise the word. It will not require hours of intensive search to find, some hobby, some interest, some game, some subject that so engrosses and surpasses our attention to the bible. Engrossed? Enmeshed would be a more faithful admission. “Lovest thou Me?…more than these? ” . Better to take a pass or pause for a well-considered answer.


In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (Eph 6:16-17)


Paul’s writings do illustrate the church and Christians as military. The word has been eloquently equated to and depicted as a sword. It is ludicrous to envisage a soldier, dressed up in armor with shield and helmet. rushing to war without his sword. It is equally foolhardy to commit troops to battle, holding swords , who have never been trained or exercised on effective swordsmanship. A lackadaisical attitude in times of peace will exact a very costly death toll when war is finally declared. And yet, we have been so lulled, dulled, anesthetized, duped and bribed even, to forget that we are at war, and that neither peace nor ceasefire has ever been declared. Our troops have been sniped off the walls, some have deserted, others captured, and still countless having disappeared from under the radar whilst we continue singing victory songs. Summon a roll-call; how many are unaccounted for? Riffle the registers, or better yet our memories. Is not falling asleep on watch-duty in the war-zone, treason? How much more if we have left the gates wide open and with our eyes wideand fully opened as well? Did we missed the muster hall?



When the enemy is finally upon us, would that then be the occasion for sword searching, cleaning and polishing, time enough to whet our swords, train for skills long since forgotten, if not lost. The unlearned teaching the untaught. Would it pain us, to see our troops mown down to die because they have never known the sword, and how to use it, and not to win advancing battles but merely to preserve their own lives? How many of us, our churchmen, our youth, our friends, our children, will be found among the fallen, the dead? Will an apology however profuse, be enough to account for or negate the losses? Of our loved ones? What would suffice the Lion of Judah? To what avail, our cries then. A responsible standing army we are? Or would not a designation of being derelict, more apt. Our actions, stature and status reveals our doublespeak. In the call to make disciples, of ourselves and others, have we been actively propagating disciples/soldiers or fodder? Do we resemble the LORD’s army by any stretch of the imagination?


So we neither feed right nor soldier right. Is quiet-time enough? It can certainly be a good place to start, but is it sufficient? Our inconsistencies, contradictions and evasive procrastinations, are painfully and undeniably in our face, except that we are inexplicably impervious. Is it as simple or naive as, we living in denial? Can it be that we are so far gone, gangrenous or doubly seared that we can no longer respond? If we will not, it would be prudent and timely to rethink the probability that, we may indeed be unwilling because, we were never His sons to begin with. Our ways attests our sonship and our love. There can be no love for the Father or the Son that is not demonstrated by the love for His word.


This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Jos 1:8)



Bible-reading and study anyone? Still no?




God bless.



/ckh