So much for the catchy title but did Jesus really say reading your Bible is powerful? Preachers and teachers say that from the pulpit and many other Christians make the same claim – but did Jesus really say it? If you discovered He did – would you make a greater effort to read it every day?

Maybe you are at the stage in your Christian journey where you need something powerful in your life. You’ve slipped into the humdrum mode and nothing looks too exciting. You have little energy for the things of God. The spiritual adrenaline is just not flowing. You are giving-in to yourself more and more. You feel like you are in a slide. Deep down you are worried.

Is it time to go online to find the latest best-seller on how to experience ‘power’ in your listless, dull and going-nowhere-fast life?

The last time Christ prayed with His disciples before going to the Cross, He prayed for their preservation in a hostile world. He knew it would be an ongoing struggle for them to not cave-in to the pressures of friends and the community. He knew it would be a temptation for them to compromise their convictions. He knew that Satan would use every conceivable means to dim their light, shut their mouths and trip them up. Satan tried it on Him, so why wouldn’t he try it on the disciples too!

So what did Jesus do? He prayed for their preservation. His overarching concern was that they would remain ‘distinct’ from the perishing world. Here is what He prayed:

“Sanctify them (purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy) by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. John 17:17 Amplified

How can we be kept clean in a filthy world? How can we remain totally committed to Christ without our affections being pulled towards worldly goals and ambitions?  There’s only one way. Jesus said: “the secret of sanctification is the Bible!”

A Christian who is reading, studying, making personal applications and adjustments and enjoying the Word of God daily, will experience a power in their lives like no other power. Without reading and enjoying our Bibles, we will be weak, unfulfilled and ineffective Christians – poor excuses for ‘light’ in a dark world. All the other helps and props in our lives can only go so far and do so much for us. The real power in our lives comes from the Word of God.

The single most important way for me to be an effective Christian and to honor the Lord is to read, experience and enjoy the Word of God. There are many verses throughout the Bible that remind us of God’s powerful Word. You can think of some key verses that speak to the transforming power of the Word of God.

Based on the above, are you willing to adjust your daily schedule to increase your intake of the Word of God? Be sure of this: if your Bible is closed day after day, God’s red-warning lights are flashing. You may be doing many other things that look ‘Christian’ and that look ‘spiritual’ but if you are personally not enjoying your Bible – all the rest is just a shallow facade.

Just before you open your Bible to read, make it a habit to breathe a short little prayer something like this:

“Lord, I am getting ready to read my Bible, but before I do, I want to make this request:  It is the Living Word – please make me to feel its aliveness and personal relevance today. My desire is to submit, obey and bow to whatever You have in store for me in the verses I read just now. Draw me close to Yourself as I read.”

Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.

Warmly in Christ

Peter Ramsay

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