Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

• Psalm 105:3-4

I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

• Job 23:12

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.

• Isaiah 33:14

“Jerome, one of the early Christians, said, ‘Ignorance of the Bible means ignorance of Christ.’ Job once said, ‘I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.’ Jeremiah said, ‘Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.’ To read the Bible one needs a ‘quiet time.’ Christian students often ask, ‘How do you maintain your spiritual high? What do you do on a daily basis?’ I tell them about my ‘quiet time.’ Some days it is in the early—sometimes late—morning, sometimes evening. Without it, my Christian life would be a wilderness. Isaiah said, ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isaiah 40:31). So gain the strength of eagles, as the prophet suggested. Set a time each day when you can spend a few minutes alone with God.”

• Billy Graham, Day by Day with Billy Graham (Devotion for 23 January)

I often write about reading more of God’s Word.  It was so good of Billy Graham to tie several Scriptures together.

As Jerome said, and I have written recently, how can you know Jesus without reading the Bible?

I was taught Bible reading with no discussion about having a relationship with Jesus when I was young.  I missed out on so much, but without reading the Bible, thinking we have a relationship with Jesus when we do not know Him, is not just irrational, it is dangerous.

If we do not know something about a friend, we fill in the gaps.  We create a friend that is to our liking, and that is the danger of not reading the Bible with regard to our relationship with Jesus.

Keep reading the Bible, and you will learn even more than the time before.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.