By F. D. Adkins
A while back, I was assembling a wall cabinet for the bathroom. I was in a bit of a hurry, so instead of reading the directions verbatim, I sort of skimmed and looked at the pictures. When I finished, it looked great… until I picked it up and the bottom panel almost fell off. In my rushed skimming process, apparently, I skipped over one important sentence which instructed me to insert two screws into the bottom panel. Hmmm… I suppose that would have explained the leftover hardware.
Last week, I committed 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 to memory: “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed into ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (KJV). As I recited these words, I thought about the importance of reading and absorbing God’s Word daily… really absorbing its TRUTH.
The shelf I had assembled was not sturdy or strong enough to hang on the wall because I had not thoroughly read the instructions. In the same way, my knowledge of God’s Word is not going to be strong or reliable if I do not read it daily and in context.
In various classes throughout school, my children had quite a few books to read which were usually followed by a test. If my children had only read the summary of a book or had depended on someone else to tell them what the book was about, they would not have done well. They would have missed important details that could only be known by reading the entire book themselves.
In the same way, if we do not read the Bible for ourselves, we may miss important details… details that we could use to defend against Satan’s lies.
Remember that the Word of God is an offensive and defensive weapon. If we know the TRUTH, we are already on the offense, and then when the enemy comes lurking, we can defend ourselves against those lies.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12 KJV
