WHY READ THE BIBLE? I FORGET, I CANNOT REMEMBER

Dear Members in Christ,

Why read the Bible? I forget, I cannot remember

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8

When told that we need to read the Bible daily or to read the whole Bible at least once in our life time, we often hear the excuse that there is no point in doing so as “I always forget” and “I cannot remember what I read”.

Whatsoever reason given for not reading God’s Word is not an excuse. As God’s children we are instructed to grow in the knowledge and perfectness of Christ. God also says “if you love me, keep my Commandments”. Growing in knowledge, striving towards the perfectness of Christ and keeping His Commandments can only come through with persistent studying and meditating on His Word, the Bible. True?

The Bible is God’s Word. We need to know God. We need to know the truth of God and shun false teachings. There is no other reason not to read. We must grow in the Lord!

Look and pray to Him. Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you and not give you the excuse for not reading and studying His Word. If you are prone to forget, and thus not remembering, this is a good reason to start reading the Bible regularly, repeatedly and consistently. You may think that you do not remember but if you continue reading and meditating on His Word consistently, God will enable you to remember. You may recall on past occassions, you were able to recall relevant Bible verses in moments of your griefs, needs, trials, loneliness and temptations or even when you shared the gospel or counselled others. Knowing and experiencing this, you should even invest more time and effort into reading and studying instead of wallowing in irrational excuses.

You may think that you may not remember what you read there and then, but rest assured, the truth of God’s Word is captured, retained and written deep into your hearts. Without being consciously aware you are able to discern the truth from the false when you are being exposed to tainted and corrupted biblical texts and teachings. Without the Word of God in you, you will not know the difference. You will tend to have itching ears. The Holy Spirit will indeed remind and lead you into all truth, in righteousness and holiness.

I had witnessed many brethren who had not diligently studied the Bible and when they were exposed to false teachings they were not able to discern the truth from the false! They gullibly swallow the wrong doctrines which they thought to be the truth! They were ignorant and will never learn the Truth. They would move from church to church to hear teachings that satisfy their own personal fleshly beliefs. What a disaster! Do you desire to fall into this category of carnal Christianity? God forbid!

“I forget and not able to remember” must also be examined from the spiritual perspective. It is a powerful but seemingly harmless tool of the master deceiver, the devil. Knowing this would you want to walk straight into this spiritual trap and happily ensnared therein? The true question that we need to ask is: why do we continue to delight in reading and watching many non-spiritual materials, knowing that we will also forget and cannot remember, yet we still continue without telling ourselves not to! Yet with the Bible, we tell ourselves not to! Pause here and consider: we are indeed an easy prey for the devil. He is smiling and celebrating his victory over us as we do not read the Bible regularly or not at all. He knows that without the knowledge of the Word of God, Christians will be spiritually weakened and helpless. The devil’s objective is for Christians to neglect, backslide and fall into sin. True?

The devil is afraid that if a person knows God’s Word, he will lose the spiritual battle over a soul. He wants more souls to be with him in the lake of fire at the end of time. He abhors Christian living a holy victorious life. He does not want Christians to worship the true and living God. Remember, the devil is a great strategist for the destruction of man’s soul.

Christians should read the Bible in order to know the truth. Yes, he may not be able to recall 100% in the short term but over time he will accumulate more and more spiritual wisdom, knowledge and understanding. As aforesaid, as you live for Christ, the Holy Spirit will help you to recall the Word of God within you. Without the Word of God in you, the Holy Spirit cannot assist you to live a victorious Christian life and also in your witnessing and sharing the gospel truth to others. Remember, a reading Christian will be a victorious living Christian. The Christian will not be devoid of the truth as God’s light is in him.

How and where do I start?

Pray and ask for God’s grace to overcome your self-doubt of “forgetting and not able to remember” excuse. The Lord will answer and lead you. He will cause you to remember and recall what you have read over time. Diligence, perseverance and dependency on God are the three important elements you need to have. Conquer the old man in you. Simply start today to read the Bible. Read at your pace and enjoy the Bible. Do not feel pressured. Enjoy God’s Word. If you need help to start reading and to study the Bible, do talk to matured God’s servants who will be able to lead and guide you.

You can also start motivating yourself by remembering short and simple verses or the verses that caught your heart during your quiet time. If need to, in addition to your own personal Quiet Time, you may want to start a study group to encourage and help one another. This group could consist of 2 or 3 brethren, or even your family members. Discipline is important. Set aside time and persevere. Start today if you have not!

Have the right time to read God’s Word daily. It should not be at your busy moments or the time that you will normally be distracted by your life or work routines. The best time is always before the busy day starts. Avoid late night before you sleep. The danger is that, after a whole day of awakening and busyness, you will be too tired to do anything else as the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Thus, avoid late evenings. It is also wise to avoid distractions like watching TV and unnecessary entertainment like surfing the internet and games before you have your quiet time. You have to prioritise.

Conclusion:

Finally brethren, if we do not fill our respective heart and mind with God’s Word, the devil will fill us with his evil mind and distractions of the world. We have to choose between God’s Word and that of the devil’s. Do pray for godly wisdom. The Lord be with us.

The Lord says “ … Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105

In Christ,

Eld. Choe Tong Seng