Be honest with me. Does reading your Bible feel like a chore? If you could describe your personal quiet time in one word, would it be "boring"? Does Bible study rank somewhere between brushing your teeth and changing the kitty litter on your list of obligations?
It's okay if you answered yes. Let me rephrase that. I think it's normal if you feel this way. For many Christians, personal Bible study is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But then there are these folks.
"The Bible is alive; it speaks to me; it has hands—it lays hold of me; it has feet—it runs after me." —Martin Luther "The Bible is ... as necessary to spiritual life as breath is to natural life. There is nothing more essential to our lives than the Word of God." —Jack Hayford "God himself has condescended to teach the way: for this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God!" —John Wesley
What's the difference between those of us who feel like Bible reading is a chore and those rare Christians who read God's Word regularly and with passion? I think the answer might be that they simply read God's Word often and the rest of us don't. I often hear people say that they are praying for God to give them a passion for His Word. And then they wait for God to give them a hunger for the Bible equal to their passion for their favorite football team. Usually that passion never comes, and their Bibles remain unopened. I'm beginning to think this is a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. We wait for the passion to read God's Word before we will get serious about reading it often. Maybe a better course of action would be to start reading the Bible regularly and watch what passion God uses His Word to create. In other words, it's about making the choice to live like what God says about His Word is true rather than basing our Bible reading plan on how we feel. Isaiah 50:4 says that the Word of God "sustains the weary." Ephesians 6:17 calls the Word the "sword of the Spirit." Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." The Bible is worth reading. It has the power to change us. But that change won't happen until we start reading.