You probably have a telephone/hand phone. You probably talk on it most days.
But do you read your Bible every day?

You probably have a radio. You probably listen to it most days.
But do you read your Bible every day?

You probably have a television. You probably watch it most days. But do you read your Bible every day?

You probably buy a newspaper. You probably read it most days.
But do you read your Bible every day?

What is your excuse for not reading your Bible everyday?

• But I get that at church – One of the ways the early Christians compensated  for their lack of personal copies of the Scriptures was to read extensively from the Bible as part of the church service, hearing the entire Bible read through in the course of each year.
• But I’ve already read it – There are those around the world who are too poor to own a copy the Bible. If you didn’t have it on your shelf, my guess is that you’d soon discover just how precious the Word of God is to you. You would then give much indeed to be able to read it again, and again.
• I find it hard to understand sometimes – We who have access to myriad opportunities for Bible teaching and unlimited access to books about the Bible should recognize our blessings on this score, trusting God and praying to Him to lead us into understanding.
• I’m just too busy to read it – if we don’t make a habit of taking time out to read the Bible, in what way are we fulfilling the Lord’s command to “stay on the alert” (Matthew 25:13)? Without keeping our minds close on the Scriptures, we run the risk of being open to the dangers of false doctrine and deception.

So, what is your excuse for not reading the Bible regularly?

(Dr. Robert D. Luginbill)

Prisoners use the term “dead man walking” when referring to inmates on the death row. Even though they are physically alive, their sentence is death. It could be argued that most of the people on the face of the earth are spiritually dead, even though they are physically walking. Generally speaking, this fact grieves each of us, since we would hope and pray that they would repent and turn their lives over to Jesus. An even more troubling thought, however, is that there could well be countless people who profess to be Christians who are spiritually dead men (and women and children) walking. Rev. Ed Wallen, President of Think Scripturally, a Christ-centered ministry of Bible Study Foundation, presents “Three Marks of the Walking Dead.” He encourages us to evaluate our lifestyle by Scripture so that we can determine whether we are spiritually dead, or are alive in Christ. Here are the three marks of the spiritually dead.

1. The dead are without life (Eph. 2:1). Another way of describing them is that they have no appetite for spiritual things. They have no appetite for the Word of God; no appetite for prayer; no appetite for worship; no appetite for fellowship with Christians; no appetite for witnessing and no appetite for work. They are without spiritual life; they are spiritually dead. They have no appetite for spiritual things.

2. The dead are without light (2 Cor. 4:1; Eph. 4:18). Put another way, they have no awareness. There is no awareness of their condition before God; no awareness of the judgment of God; no urgency in their thinking; and their lives are lived completely for the present. They are unaware of their lost, dead, and condemned condition before God; unaware of the future judgments of God and they do not have any desire to think seriously about such things.

3. The dead are without love (1 John 4:7-11). In other words they are not active in serving the Lord or others. Love is expressed in actions. If you have no desire to serve the Lord in obeying His word and in serving other who have needs, then you are without live and are spiritually dead. Do you love Christ?

So the three marks of a dead church member are: they are without life, light, and love; or in other words, – they have no spiritual appetite, awareness or activity. I ask again, are you spiritually dead or alive?
(BUDDY HANSON)

Two theological students were walking along a street in the Whitechapel district of London, a section where old and used clothing is sold. “What a fitting illustration all this makes!” said one of the students as he pointed to a suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: SLIGHTLY SOILED – GREATLY REDUCED IN PRICE.

“That’s it exactly,” he continued. “We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a coarse book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful thoughts; and so when the time comes for our character to be appraised, we are greatly reduced in value. Our purity, our strength is gone. We are just part and parcel of the general, shopworn stock of the world.”  Yes, continual slight deviations from the path of right may greatly reduce our usefulness to God and to our fellowmen. In fact, these little secret sins can weaken our character so that when we face a moral crisis, we cannot stand the test. As a result, we go down in spiritual defeat because we have been careless about little sins.
(SOURCE  UNKNOWN)

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After a violent storm one night, a large tree, which over the years had become a stately giant, was found lying across the pathway in a park. Nothing but a splintered stump was left. Closer examination showed that it was rotten at the core because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm; it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark. With the Holy Spirit’s help, let’s be very careful to guard our purity.
(OUR  DAILY  BREAD)

God brings people into His family –  and He doesn’t really consult us as to who we’d like brought in and who we’d rather were left out. As you look round at your church family, you can probably see a few people you wish God  had   left  out   –   and  there  are probably  a  few who wish He’d left you out as well.  If  it were left up to me,  I’d leave out all the people who aren’t nice to me and who can’t easily get along with me.

But you and I  aren’t  the ones who  make  the choice. God decides who’s  in His family   –  who  belongs.  Our job  is  exactly  the same as in our physical families  –   to learn to  get along  with whomever  God  puts  here. We’re  all part of  the  one family,  we all belong  on an equal  basis.

Will  we always get along  wonderfully with  each other? Not very likely.

• We’ll have differences of opinion.
• We’ll rub each other up the wrong way.
• We’ll have personality clashes.

And on  top of  those  things,  we’re still sinful people who Selfishly  want our own way  most of  the  time.  Yet,  we belong to this family and God wants  us to work  together.

If  it comes to a choice, which family should have priority – your earthly family or the family of God?

Can you develop true family relationships within a short meeting once a  week?  As a church,  should  we  be  doing other things to help develop the family relationships?

( BATHURST EVANGELICAL CHURCH )