Read your Bible

With all the talk of new year's resolutions, there seems to be a lot around about two topics: losing weight and reading the Bible more. I'll save the weight loss for another post.

My pastor spoke yesterday about reading the Bible. He thought it was a fitting sermon to start the year with: Read your Bible!!! His sermon was great - informative, applicable, motivating, convicting, and even pretty funny. If you want to hear it, you can download it here (1/7).

I woke up this morning and looked up my next Catechism question. This week begins Question 2 from the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,[3] is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.[4]

Basically, how can we know God? By His Word. How can you know how to glorify Him? Find out in His Word. It all comes back to His Word.

I can also talk about this another way... Why am I feeling lost and alone? I'm not in the Word enough. Why don't I feel like God is a little distant? I'm not in the Word enough. Why am I so distracted in life? I'm not in the word enough. It all comes back to His Word.

Hubs and I started thinking about our Bibles and Bible Study tools. We have a small amount of money set aside for "continuing education" per year. Enough if one of us wants to take a course at a local community college, or take a community class or something like that. We're thinking we might get a good set of Bible Study reference books and use our continuing education money for it.

I also have a tendency to have too many Bibles. Yet, here I am again. There are two Bible features I've just discovered. First: do you know they sell wide-margin Bibles or Journaling Bibles for taking notes in the margins? I've dreamed of something like this, but didn't know they actually sell them. Also, our pastor mentioned something I've never heard of: an interleaved Bible. In an interleaved Bible every other page is blank on both sides. You can buy them in some places, although it seems hard to find, or you can have a book binder re-bind your Bible this way.

I don't know where this is all going except to say that I need to read my Bible more. I am convicted and compelled, and now I just need to do it.