“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5:12-14
Scripture is food for the Christian. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 when he responded to the first temptation.
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4
With this response Jesus modeled his reliance on Scripture – having spent forty days without any food at all, drawing his strength from his relationship with the Father by meditating on the many Old Testament passages he had memorized. And by quoting this verse Jesus taught his followers that our spiritual lives depend on our consumption of Scripture. Just as bread sustains us physically, so God’s Word sustains us spiritually.
Do we believe this? Do we live like this is true?
You may be on a low-carb, anti-bread kick right now, but all of us are pretty well committed to our eating habits. We know how it feels to miss a meal – how we drag and struggle through a long afternoon. We also know how it feels to get a good boost of nutrition (often with an assist from caffeine).
Do we experience this regularly in our souls?
If your consumption of Scripture translated directly to your consumption of food, how many calories would you be taking in? Are you getting a solid 1500-2000 calories each day of God’s Word? Are they solid meat and potatoes drawn from a rich chapter or two? Or are you just snacking on a spiritual M&M here or a Biblical Jolly Rancher there?
Kristin and I have found a Bible reading plan to be a very helpful tool for our spiritual nourishment and growth. We have used several different plans that guide you through the whole Bible in one year:
- This year we are using Nicky Gumbel’s Bible in One Year. Nicky is the creator of the Alpha study, which helps thousands of seekers come to Jesus each year. He (and his wife) provide a daily devotional that enhances and illustrates the reading for each day.
- Last year we used the Taylor University Plan. This happens to be our Alma Mater and it provides an Old Testament section, New Testament, Psalm and Proverb for each day.
- Very similar to the Taylor plan (and arguably the basis for it) is this plan from Robert Murray M’Cheyne.
- Bible.com (YouVersion) has several other full Bible plans here. One I’m intrigued by comes from the Bible Project, which has fantastic video introductions to every book of the Bible (and more these days).
The YouVersion Bible App (Bible.com) is just one tool that offers hundreds of Bible reading plans and devotionals. Choose one that fits your schedule and interest. If you’ve never read through the whole Bible maybe start by reading through the whole New Testament this year and dive into the whole enchilada next January.
Are you hungry for hope?
Are you thirsty for truth?
Are you dying for encouragement?
Are you in need of inspiration?
Everything you need for this moment and this day is found in this book.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
2 Peter 1:3-4, NIV
Read those verses again more slowly. “EVERYTHING.” How has God given us everything we need? Ah… “through the knowledge of Him.” That’s Jesus. How do we have any knowledge of Him? The Bible. And that is where we find those “great and precious promises,” that enable us to “participate in the divine nature” and escape the deceptions and entrapments of sin.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Because Scripture comes directly from God – “breathed out” by Him – it gives us everything we need to be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
This is the doctrine of “the sufficiency of Scripture.” Here is a simple overview of this doctrine from Pastor Kevin DeYoung. If that just isn’t enough for you, here is a longer one from TGC.
But don’t get sidetracked by human blogs. Feed on God’s Word. Feast on the promises of God!