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Verse:“So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” —Isaiah 55:11, NASB
Do you love the Bible? If so, how frequently do you read it? In April 2013, Religion News Service carried an insightful article entitled “Poll: Americans Love the Bible but Don’t Read It Much.”48 Doug Birdsall, president of the American Bible Society, explained, “I see the problem as analogous to obesity in America. We have an awful lot of people who realize they’re overweight, but they don’t follow a diet... People realize the Bible has values that would help us in our spiritual health, but they just don’t read it.” This is a problem not only for the overall population but also for Christian denominations.
During the 2008 General Conference Annual Council in Manila, Philippines, the Follow the Bible rally was launched to promote both personal and collective study of God’s Word. The ceremony included the dedication of a special Bible with each of its sixty-six books printed in a different language.
From Manila, the Bible went on a twenty-month travel itinerary around the world as a visual appeal for people to spend more time studying the Bible.
On September 18, 2009, the traveling Bible arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, in the region where most of the Bible’s events occurred and where many of its books were originally written. The Bible ended its journey at the 2010 General Conference Session in Atlanta, Georgia. Today, it is on permanent display at the General Conference headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Reading the Bible is vital, but is it enough to read the Bible in short devotional snippets? No, it is not.
Superficiality is one of the greatest sins of our generation. In the parable of the sower, Jesus warned about the dangers of merely hearing God’s word without understanding it and of not being deeply rooted in His Word (Matthew 13:19–21).
Ellen White stated, “Every one should feel that there rests upon him an obligation to reach the height of intellectual greatness” and that we should “become giants in the understanding of Bible doctrines and the practical lessons of Christ.” Let’s take these inspired counsels more seriously and dig into the Bible!