In His Word

"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." Psalm 119:130

I liked reading this verse today. We had a discussion about this very thing this past week. We were all talking about the wonders of the Bible. And what do I mean by wonders? I mean how wonderful it is that there is always something in it just.for.you. You know how you can read a chapter in the Bible, or a few verses and you're like, Oh, that's nice, but it didn't totally speak to you or mean anything. Sometimes those times can be discouraging when you're trying to read your Bible the whole way through. But then! Then there's the times where the scripture literally comes to life and leaps off the page, searing it's words into your heart and your mind. Those times when you go why wasn't this verse here before? Why haven't I read this before? Those are the moments that keep me going back to the Bible for more!

That's one of the many ways we know that the Bible truly comes from God. It's timeless! We can read about Abraham and Moses thousands of years ago and still find application for our lives today. The Bible truly is God-breathed as it is alive and real and every day I become more and more eager to see what it has inside just for me.

I know that sometimes people can make a big deal out of the different translations of the Bible- I mean, which one really is the best one to read, and the answer to that is: whichever one suits you best. Growing up, I did all of my verse memorization in the King James Version for a time, so often when I think on a verse, in my head I'm rolling it around with a few thee's and thou's in it. Then I also spent some time in the New International Version, memorizing a few verses there, and enjoying reading the Bible in general more. Now? I really use several versions. The two hard versions of the Bible that I use the most are the New Living Bible and the New International Version, but I frequently find myself looking up a verse on Bible Gateway and then reading it in version after version, to see how it changes. Sometimes I do enjoy using the old fashioned KJV version, but then I also enjoy reading Shakespeare, so that language makes sense to me. The point here being that there is no one perfect fit- no one version that you must be reading. You may need to spend some time with a few different versions to see what is the best fit for you, and that's perfectly fine.

The entire point is to spend time in His Word. There are times where I really don't feel like reading my Bible at all. I can go several weeks or months without really feeling the inspiration to pick up my Bible. Usually at those times after a while, I realize that I really need to be back in His Word, and I'll go find myself a new Bible. Study Bible's can be fantastic for getting back into the Word, because they offer short little studies or longer more complicated ones. They make it easy to ease back into the practice of reading. Give it a try if you've been finding yourself void of Bible reading. Find a simple study Bible or even a few day study guide to help you get into the habit. The experts say that it takes 21 days to rid yourself of a habit or form a new one. Imagine how many Bible verses you could read if you started today by reading just four verses. Four verses in less than five minutes- that's 84 verses over a three week period of time. That's 84 words of wisdom from God Himself. That sounds like a great thing to me, and an easy one to start out with.

Now I need to get practical here and ask if you have a Bible. If you don't have a physical hard copy of the Bible and would like one, please send me an e-mail at erika@tummytreasure.com and we'll get in touch to get you a Bible.