Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15.16

The Christian Ministry: Part I, chapter VII
Charles Bridges (1794-1869)
“Habits of General study, however well regulated and perseveringly maintained, will reflect no light or spiritual apprehension of the Gospel, independent of the special study of the sacred volume. Nor is it sufficient merely to combine these courses of study. Their connexion is not that of equality, but of the direct subserviency of General study to this specific purpose – a more enlightened and fruitful study of the word of God.”

I talk with many pastors over the course of a month, and I’m often surprised at how little the private reading and study of God’s Word is a part of their daily disciplines. For many pastors, most of their reading and study of Scripture is for preaching or teaching; very little is for the sheer necessity and inestimable delight of feeding on the Bread of God. This is an example of standing over the Word, picking and choosing from it to suit whatever we have determined our needs may be. What we need is to stand under the Word, and let it shower its cleansing and renewing life over all our being. Job regarded the Word of God as more important than his daily food (Job 23.12). Do we? Are we as faithful at feeding our souls on the Word of God as we are at feeding our bodies with the Lord’s daily bread?

In your own walk with the Lord, do you find your time in the Word sufficient to keep drawing you closer and closer to Him?

Let God Be True
Are you standing under the Word of God or over it? Download the free PDF study, Let God Be True, and examine your use of God’s Word in this light (click here).

Get a Grip on the Whole Counsel of God
Part of our course, Introduction to Biblical Theology, includes a whirlwind tour through the whole Bible, following the unifying threads of God’s covenant and the narrative of redemption and glory. Sign up for this free, online, self-study course (click here), or order the workbook, God’s Covenant, for your personal or group use (click here).

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.