Healthy Exposure to God's Word

Today's Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16
"All Scripture is . . . profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness."
Read it online at the Bible Gateway: (NIV) (NASB) (KJV) (The Message)

The close connection between God and the Word of his grace is illustrated in Romans 15:4-5: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus" (Romans 15:4-5).

Paul tells us here that we receive endurance and encouragement from Scripture. Then he names God as the source of endurance and encouragement. Endurance and encouragement are provisions of God's grace "to help us in our time of need." as we go to the throne of grace asking for it, God does provide. But he usually provides through Scripture.

If we are to appropriate the grace of God, we must regularly expose ourselves directly to the Word of God. It is not enough to only hear it preached or taught in our churches on Sundays, as important as those avenues are. We need a regular plan of reading, study, and yes, even memorization. Bible study and Scripture memorization earn no merit with God. We never earn God's blessing by doing these things, any more than we earn his blessing by eating nutritious food. But as the eating of proper food is necessary to sustain a healthy physical life, so the regular intake of God's Word is necessary to sustain a healthy spiritual life and to regularly appropriate his grace.

If we're to appropriate the grace of God, we must become intimate friends with the Bible. We must seek to know and understand Scripture's great truths about God and his character, and about man and his desperate need of God's grace.