What to Do with Your Bible Gen.1:1 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Beginning with the first page of your Bible as you read, in chronological order, you begin to see exactly what to do with your Bible. You need to:
Believe the Bible – Gen 1:1 – God created the heaven and the earth – we are Bible believers – skeptics don’t believe the Bible even before they read it and only read it looking for reasons not to believe it – the devil’s objective is to get you to doubt it [Gen 3:1] – believe it even if you don’t understand it – the profound truths are plain [Prov 8:8-9] and even the simple can get them [Prov 8:5] – 1 Thes 2:13 shows you that the word of God works effectually in you that believe – as you believe it, your faith will grow and abound [Col 2:7].
Read the Bible – Gen 1:1 – the Bible was written to be read [Is 34:26] – it won’t do you any good to profess that you believe “the King James Bible is the word of God” if you are not even reading what you profess to believe – I believe that of the people who profess to be Christians more don’t read the Bible than do – when you read it the first time through your Bible is going to be milk to you [1 Pet 2:2] – it cannot be anything more than that because it is so new to you and you are so young in your spiritual growth [Is 28:9-10] – young Christians who dive into the Bible looking for deep dark secrets and fulfillment of prophetic references to the antichrist before they have read through the Bible several times don’t grow; they become deformed.
Meditate upon the Bible – Gen 1:5-10 – pay attention to what you are reading [Jos 1:8; Ps 1:2] – the Bible is more than personal devotional material – this firmament is outer space and the waters above the firmament are what enclose our universe and separate us from the 3rd heaven – too often you are thinking about what is on your mind rather than what is in the Bible when you are reading it – that will do you very little good – you should digest what you are reading.
Study the Bible – Gen 1:26-28; Gen 2:7 – here God refers to himself as a plurality “us” – reading helps you become familiar with the Bible and studying helps you to learn it [2 Tim 2:15] – when you come across something that you don’t understand mark it down and study it out – look at every word – compare similar verses – contrast dissimilar verses – go over the truth again and again until you get it – God is three persons in one God [1 Jn 5:7] – so we see that he made us a tri-part being, as well, with a soul to match the Father, a body to match the Word and a spirit to match the Holy Ghost.
Obey the Bible – Gen 2:16-17 – the Bible is to be obeyed – Ex 24:7 – God gave Adam a simple commandment to keep and he didn’t keep it [Gen 3:6] – Adam and Eve died as a result of their disobedience – when you live your life in disobedience to God’s word, there is a price to be paid – you will be destroyed [Prov 13:13] – you cannot disobey the Bible and prosper in the end – by contrast, when you obey the Bible the Lord prospers your way and gives you success [Jos 1:7-8].
Live the Bible – Gen 4:4-8 – the Lord responded to both Cain and Abel concerning their offerings – Abel did what he knew God would accept [Gen 3:21] – Cain refused to do what he knew God would accept [Matt 4:4] – and look what happened – the Bible should establish, guide, strengthen and change your life – too many people live by what they hear on the news or by the suggestions and speculations of others – the Bible doesn’t direct their lives; their thoughts and emotions do – then they wonder why things in their lives don’t work out.
Preach the Bible – Gen 5:21-24, 29; Jude 14-15; 2 Pet 2:5 – that’s what Enoch and Noah did – they lived in generations similar to ours and they stood up and proclaimed the truth against the people of their day – we should not back down from the truth – some will hear and respond to the preaching [Jn 8:32] – many, on the other hand, will reject the truth, but we are to preach it nonetheless [2 Tim 4:2-4].
Memorize the Bible – Gen 6:5, 8:21 – the thoughts and imaginations of man’s heart are evil – as he thinketh in his heart, so is he [Prov 23:7] – therefore, we need to memorize the Bible to change our thoughts and the sin that follows our thoughts [Ps 119:9, 11; Phil 4:8] – when we memorize the word it talks with us along the way to keep us in God’s way [Prov 6:22-23].
Conclusion: now if you will do these things, which most professing Christians won’t, you will find God true to his words and you will find your life changing in ways that you never dreamed were possible.