’ HEBREWS 4:12 TM
If you want the benefits!Your Bible will speak to a part of you that can’t hear or receive direction from anybody else. It’s like a surgeon’s knife piercing to the deepest part of us: ‘…His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defence, laying us open to listen and obey.’ Others hear what we say and see what we do, but when we get alone with God and open His Word He exposes our thoughts and intentions ‘…cutting through everything…’ Thank God, we’re not left to our own devices! In Life Essentials, Dr Tony Evans writes, ‘I’ve had my car for several years now, but I went for about two years without ever reading the owner’s manual. That changed one day when my car broke down and I had to take it in for service. The store manager began showing me all the stuff my car was equipped to do. I didn’t even know half that stuff was available because I had never opened the book. He told me, for instance, that the car had a built-in speaker for telephone conversations, and showed me how to use the car phone without having an accident while trying to dial all the numbers. I listened in amazement, and quickly decided that it would be in my best interests to read the owner’s manual that came with my car. But I am not reading that manual just to check off how many chapters I read, or memorise various passages. I am reading it so I can enjoy all the good gifts the manufacturer gave me when I purchased the car.’ So, if you want the benefits, read the book!