How Not to Read The Bible

There are times many believers need an answer from God for various matters in their lives.

So we resolve to do ‘abrakadabra’ with God…by what I’ll like to call ‘Lucky Dipping’.

‘Lucky dipping’ is that method of inquiring direction from God in which you carry your Bible and first pray to God to speak to you via His word…and then you open it to read wherever your eyes first gaze deeply upon.

Have you been there before?

Where you are told that the Bible is for ‘direction’ and because of the urgency or anxiety of the current issue you are facing, you just need a word from God.

So you tried ‘Lucky Dipping’!

Hmm…

A story is said of a man who needed direction from God and decided to pick his Bible to get a direction from God…

Lord, speak to me from your word…

So he ‘lucky-dipped’…opened his Bible and his eyes went straight to an interesting verse in the book of Matthew;

‘So Judas …went away and HANGED HIMSELF…’ (Matt 27:5)

Lol…

The man was like: ‘that can’t be God’s word for me…so he tried again and his eyes went to another verse in the book of Luke;

‘…Then said Jesus unto him, GO, AND DO THOU LIKEWISE…’ (Luke 10:37)

Rara o…

Lol…

This can’t be God’s word for me… so he decided to ‘lucky-dip’ for the last time and this time, his eyes went to a verse in the book of John;

‘…Then Jesus said to Judas, "What you are about to do, DO QUICKLY…’ (John 13:27)

Lol…

First…Judas hanged himself…

Second…Jesus said go and do likewise…

Third, …Jesus said, what you are about to do, do quickly!

Can you see the danger of ‘Lucky-Dipping’?

Yes, God can choose to lead you by a verse of the Bible…but not that you carry your Bible to tell Him to do that by ‘lucky-dipping’.

That guy would have just endangered himself for nothing thinking it was Jesus that was telling him to do so!

So how should the Bible be read?

Here is your answer:

‘…STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a WORKMAN that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING the word of truth…’ (2Tim 2:15)

The word of God is to be STUDIED (not ‘lucky-dipped’)

As a WORKMAN (that is, with great diligence and commitment not ‘abrakadabra’)

And must be RIGHTLY DIVIDED (that means it must always be studied in its context and through the lens of the work of Christ).

Please get this: any believer that diligently studies the word as described above will have his spirit-man ‘activated and alive’ to be sensitive to the ‘leading of the Holy spirit’.

This is when you can have this kind of experience recorded in Psalm:

‘…Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path…’ (Psalm 119:105)

Hmm…

Also note that God has blessed the church with gift of ‘teachers’ who will help you understand the word.

This also requires diligence.

It will reflect in your choice of local assembly, your sacrifice in ensuring you attend organized conferences where the Gospel will be taught and how you invest in books and tapes of Teachers proven to be deep in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is how to avoid ‘lucky-dipping’!

Be a ‘student’ of the word.

And you will be among those who testify that ‘…The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple…’ (Psalm 119:130).

Amen.

Akinyera Damilola