Contemplative Bible Reading

Psalm 119:97-99

97 Oh, how I love your instructions!
I think about them all day long.
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are my constant guide.
99 Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
for I am always thinking of your laws.

Way down into Psalm 119 we find this expression of thanks. God, thank you for teaching me.

I read the Bible. I have read it start to finish every year since 1988. Why? Because I am better than you? Because it is part of a plan to do something? Because … let’s list the reasons. No, no, and no.

I read the Bible because of the reasons given above. The Bible makes me smarter than my enemies.

And please paraphrase the old cartoon about, “We have met the enemy and it is ME.”

The Bible makes me smarter than ME. I do far fewer stupid things when I read the Bible than when I don’t.

Ha! You might say. You still see me doing plenty of stupid things. Well, that is true, but ask yourself, “How stupid would Dwayne act if he didn’t read the Bible?”

Let’s not go to that place. Let’s try to stay with the results of reading the Bible. Thank you God for making the Bible available to me and most of mankind. Let’s note that there are more people on earth today who can read and have access to a Bible in their own language than ever before in the history of history.

Praise God. Just imagine how bad things would be otherwise.