WHEN YOU READ

I hope everyone reading this has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is what life is all about. He is more wonderful, kind, caring and loving than can be described by human words. There is absolutely nothing negative that any reasonable person can say about this man. He came into this world—a world that He Himself created—lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death, all so that we could be saved.

Having a relationship with Jesus is as easy as breathing. The reason being that He wants the relationship even more than we do. We did not ask Him to go to the cross for us. He willingly went. So we should all turn our hearts and minds and lives over to Him. We should live completely for Him. And you probably want to develop a closer relationship with Him or you would not be reading this.

There is something that many believers neglect, and it needs to be remedied immediately in our personal lives. I am speaking of something that will benefit you and something without which you will never grow closer to Christ. We must get into the word of God and read it.

The Bible is more than just a book. It is the living word of God. It is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). God has given us this book to guide us into a deeper understanding of who He is. Christianity is a religion of revelation. In other words, we know who we are and we know who God is because He has revealed Himself to us.

The sole purpose of the Bible is to help us know Christ better and have a deeper and more substantial relationship with Him. It is as simple as that. The Bible has no purpose other than to guide people to know Jesus. If you read it for any other reason, you are reading it incorrectly. The Bible is a book about Jesus. And it is a book about relationships with Jesus.

Paul wrote, “By which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians‬ ‭3:4‬). There is no substitute for the Bible. When you read. Not if you read. How do you gain knowledge into who Christ is, and what a relationship with Him is all about? By reading or listening to the word of God. By meditating on the word of God. By making the word of God a part of your daily life.

Why don’t more people read it? Because they don’t find it interesting. Some of that is because of hardened hearts. We have an attitude problem. We do not appreciate the book that God has given us. Our hearts are not right with God. That is so often the case.

But that is not always the case. Many times it is because we have so much trouble understanding it. You will not read something consistently that you do not enjoy reading. And you cannot enjoy something you do not understand. The Bible was meant to be understood and enjoyed. The Bible is God’s love letter to you. And so whatever is standing in the way of it being understandable to you needs to be dealt with.

What translation you use is one of the most important decisions that will affect your reading. Stop believing the lie that the King James Version is the only “real” translation of God’s word. It’s a lie to even say that the King James is the best translation. It is a lie to say that the King James is one of the best translations. None of that is true. The best translations are modern translations written in our language.

The Bible was meant to be read by people in the language that they use in their day to day conversation. When Paul wrote the letter of Galatians, for example, he did not write it in words the Galatians didn’t use or in a language that was hundreds of years old. He wrote in their language because he wanted them to understand it.

The NLT, NCV, ESV, NRSV, NASB, NKJV and many others are far superior to the King James Version. Yes, you can learn about Jesus and know how to go to heaven by reading the KJV. If you enjoy that archaic language that’s your business, but there is no reason to make God’s word so confusing. So while it’s your decision with translation to use, if you are reading the King James because you have been told that it is the best translation, you have simply been lied to. And which translation you read from will have far more of an impact on whether or not you read the Bible consistently than anything else besides having a heart set on loving Jesus.

There is a right way and a wrong way to read the Bible. It has one purpose: to know Christ.

Dewayne Dunaway