Girlfriends In God Devotional 27th January 2023: The Blessing of Reading Through the Bible This Year

Girlfriends In God Devotional 27th January 2023: The Blessing of Reading Through the Bible This Year

GIRLFRIENDS IN GOD DAILY DEVOTIONAL 27 JANUARY 2023

Read and Meditate on Today’s Girlfriends In God Daily Devotional written by Wendy Speake.  God bless you as you study today!

TODAY’S TOPIC: THE BLESSING OF READING THROUGH THE BIBLE THIS YEAR

Today’s Truth
…be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them (Proverbs 4:20–22 ESV)

Friend to Friend
My grandpa read through the Bible four times before he believed it. Though he attended church during his growing up years, he hadn’t yet put his faith in Christ. Truth be told, the main reason he went to church at all was because, in his own words, “That’s where the pretty girls were.”

All was going according to plan until Grandpa asked the pastor’s daughter out on a date. She asked him, on the spot, if he had put his full faith in Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. When Grandpa couldn’t say that he had, she told him that she wouldn’t date him, then held to her conviction as he read through the Bible, cover to cover, again and again and again. After his fourth time through, he chose Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. While my grandpa didn’t end up marrying that pastor’s daughter, she will always hold a special place in my heart.

Today, whether you are already a believer or have not yet made that decision, I encourage you to prayerfully consider reading your Bible from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation. The whole Bible was given to us, so give yourself the gift of reading the whole thing!

There’s no hocus-pocus magic that happens just because you crack the cover at the beginning and make it through to the end, but there is a miracle available to those who are willing to seek God in such a committed way. God spoke this promise through the prophet Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Making the commitment to seek God in His whole Word will take your whole heart. It takes time and energy as we prioritize the seeking and the finding.

From start to finish, this sixty-six-book epic romance is the story of God’s lavish love. It’s all in there for us to discover—if we are willing to open it up and read it through. Most Bible believers aren’t actually Bible readers! Most Christians try to understand the entirety of God’s love by reading bits and pieces of His love letter. However, if we truly want to love Him back with our whole heart, His whole book will teach us how.

The opening words are, “In the beginning,” and the benediction concludes with an emphatic “Amen.” But it’s more than a story; it is life to those who believe (Proverbs 4:22). It is not merely the secret to a good life, but life itself. Our lives, practically speaking, feel much too busy to try to fit Bible reading in. Except we must because God’s Word speaks life into every fiber of your being every second of your day.

Let’s not casually consume God’s life-giving message in bits and pieces here and there. If God truly offers to save our lives, transform our lives, bring healing and direction to our lives, and be our very life, and He does, let’s intentionally sit down daily and ingest His word as a life-sustaining sixty-six-course feast. Let’s take the words of the Father and eat them, taste them and see them, believe and confess them. Allow each morsel to shape and transform us as we read. Let’s submit to seeking, then feast on what we find!

Grandpa read it four times before he believed, and yet most Christ followers who have believed have not read it through even one time. Allow me to personally invite you to seek God in the entirety of His Word this year, from Genesis to Revelation!

Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I want to know all of You, and I realize that reading all of Your Word will help me do just that! Please give me the courage I need to make this commitment — and, perhaps, a few friends to join me in the journey as I read my Bible all the way through from Genesis to Revelation.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Does the idea of committing to read through the entire Bible cause you to tremble with fear or excitement? Does the thought of feasting on God’s Word make you feel anxious, unsure where to begin?