PSALM 119:161 – Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.

THEME OF THE DAY. OUR HEART ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD’S WORD. How do we approach God’s Word? I am not referring to how we read and study it. The question is more of attitude than action. And the answer to the question will go a very long way in building a life of consistency in God’s Word and a life of consistency obeying God’s Word.

What I am about to share is something uncomfortable to read, but rest assured it was uncomfortable to write first. In a recent survey, it is estimated thirty-seven percent of professing Christians read their Bibles daily. Now I know reading the Bible doesn’t make us good Christians, but not reading the Bible consistently guarantees we won’t be good Christians. We can’t be. Christianity is a life that is based on a Book that takes us to the Author of the Book to know Him, and then live for Him. If we neglect the source of the Christian life – God’s Word – then, we simply cannot live the type of life the Book tells us is the Christian life.

And now here comes the uncomfortable part . . . if we are Christians struggling to have quality, even daily quality time, in our Bibles with the single pursuit to know God, we don’t have a time problem, we have a heart attitude problem. Please don’t dismiss me with the thought, “Pastor Jim, you don’t know how full my life is. You have no idea all the demands upon me; the responsibilities I have. I am barely keeping my head above water in life. I want to read my Bible. I want to know God, but I really am pressed for time.” Though I may not know the full life you live, I know the full live I live, and the full lives of those Christians throughout church history, and in all cases, the God who is sovereign, who gave us our lives right where we are, does not allow us to use life as an excuse to ignore Him by neglecting His Word. Really, friends, neglect of the Bible is a heart attitude issue, not a time issue. Granted, we may not have multiple hours to give over daily to read and study God’s Word, but we have time. Perhaps we free up time by saying “no” to television, surfing the internet or being on Facebook. Or we refuse to allow a hobby to become an obsession, even an idol. How about social activities? Maybe we say “No, we are not participating in this one. Enough is enough. I am filling my life up with too many good things that are keeping me from the best thing – God revealed in His Word.” By the way, don’t say “no” to church things for worldly things. That itself is a revealer of where our hearts are located – in the world, not heaven.

So, how do we overcome a misconceived time problem that is really a heart attitude problem when it comes to quality time in the Word? Make today’s scripture a daily prayer. What is the heart attitude of the Psalmist toward God’s Word? He was in awe of it. If we get “the awe factor” toward God’s Word, we won’t neglect it. We will be gripped with how God has preserved His Word through history for us. We will be overwhelmed with gratitude that we have His Word. And when the “awe factor” shapes the heart toward God’s Word, time won’t be an issue. Time will be safeguarded in the Word, not compromised for the world or sacrificed on the altars of worldly pleasures or pursuits.

PRAYER: “Father, build within me an awe for Your Word that will move me never to neglect being in Your Word.”

QUOTE: “When the ‘awe factor’ over the Bible is lost, neglect and appreciation for the Word soon follow.”