10 Reasons to Pick up Your Bible Today by Charles T. Crabtree

The TPE Blog will be running some of the best past articles from outgoing assistant general superintendent Charles T. Crabtree. This one was published in Today's Pentecostal Evangel Dec. 11, 2005:

10 Reasons to Pick up Your Bible Today

By Charles T. Crabtree

An open letter to those who need to reconnect with God’s Word

Dear Friend:

It has come to my attention you are not as diligent in reading, internalizing and applying the Word of God as you were in the past. I cannot overstate how critical it is for you to re-establish Bible reading and study as a high priority in your daily schedule. Please prayerfully consider these reasons why it is absolutely necessary for you to become a person of the Word.

Reason 1. The enemy of your soul does not want you to be a person of the Word. Since our first parents in Eden, Satan has sought to destroy God’s children by questioning God’s Word. He was bold enough to tempt Jesus by misapplying the Scriptures. If Jesus found it necessary to use the Scriptures to defend himself in this world, your knowledge and application of God’s Word are more than choices; they are matters of spiritual survival.

Reason 2. The Bible is a priceless treasure. For thousands of years, God has protected this precious Book from extinction. Believers have died to protect it. Evil regimes and false religions have done everything in their power to keep you from having a copy of the Word of God. Millions of your brothers and sisters in Christ would give their last dime to have a Bible, let alone the three or four copies that many American Christians possess.

Reason 3. The Bible is your resource for absolute truth. In a day of spiritual confusion, moral relativism, and intellectual hypocrisy, you hold in your hand a direct communication from God, which gives you spiritual clarity, moral certainty and intellectual revelation. The Bible consists of more than little black letters on a page. It is a “contract” in force between God and man. Every word is true and unchanging.

Reason 4. The Bible is your manual for living. Its Author is your Creator. God knows why you exist and the best way for you to live. No matter how much money and time you spend on “self-help” books, you’re far better off getting back to your “God-help” book. God is the ultimate expert. He loves you and wants you to succeed. Ultimately, He cares about your eternal destiny.

Reason 5. As a child of God, you should keep up on all the blessings your Heavenly Father desires for all His children. God’s promises in His Word are not reserved for a few “super saints.” They are for every believer. Most Christians do not have any idea how “rich” they are in Christ. By some counts, 7,000 promises are yours. Others have found many more. Find them and claim them. The Maker of Bible promises will never die, has all the resources to fulfill every guarantee, and is not running for political office.

Reason 6. The Word of God is powerful. It is powerful for many reasons. The Bible is the Word of the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent God. Every word of man is conditional and temporal, but God has the final word. The Bible is our powerful defensive and offensive spiritual weapon (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12). It is a word of healing and deliverance (Psalm 107:20). People who curse God or refuse to admit He created the world would be shocked to know He sustains the universe by His word of power (Hebrews 1:3).

Reason 7. The Scriptures should be your “food for thought.” The thought processes of the world have become so evil and depraved you must overcome the ideas and philosophies from darkened minds by daily planting the incorruptible seed of the Word of God in your heart (Romans 8:5-8). Everyone knows that positive thinking is better than negative thinking. Imagine how your day would brighten if you met every challenge with a divine promise and every situation with a divine truth.

Reason 8. Those who neglect the written Word of God will soon have serious questions about the living Word: Jesus Christ. The spirit of Antichrist is certainly evident and prevalent in our culture, but truth about Jesus’ past and present and future is clearly revealed in the Scriptures. Remember, we are saved through faith in Jesus and “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, KJV).

When Peter stepped out of a fishing boat in a storm and walked on water, he didn’t begin to sink until he took his eyes off Jesus (Matthew 14:22-31). Believers are in serious trouble when they do not constantly read the Word, which reveals Jesus. Like Peter, those who do not keep Christ in plain view will be dragged down by the storms of life.

Reason 9. Every person has a desire to know about the future. It is amazing to what lengths people will go to see beyond the present. This innate interest feeds fortunetellers, astrologers, palm readers, clairvoyants and other charlatans. Their lack of accuracy is pathetic, yet millions continue to seek their counsel. You have in your possession the greatest Book about prophecy ever written — the Bible. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19).

When people speak of the future with fear and panic, they have taken their future out of the hands of God. They have neglected the words of Jesus: “Set your troubled hearts at rest. Trust in God always; trust also in me. There are many dwelling places in my father’s house; if it were not so I should have told you; for I am going there on purpose to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1,2, NEB).

Reason 10. How would you like to hear God speak to you? How would you like to sit down and listen to the teaching of Jesus, the greatest Teacher who ever lived? You can every day by opening the pages of the Word of God. It really is a letter to you. As you read it, the Spirit of God will quicken and reveal life-giving truth to you.

Reading God’s Word should never be viewed as a laborious task or even a duty. It is a wonderful privilege to open the Book every day and receive divine insights into the nature of God, the purpose of man, and the truth about time and eternity.

The Word of God is vital if you are going to live a victorious life. I pray this letter stirs a fresh desire in your heart to know divine truth. Remember: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [emphasis mine] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, KJV).

Charles T. Crabtree is assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.