A Personal Invitation

By: Jenifer Metzger

This book of instruction must not depart

from your mouth; you are to meditate on

it day and night so that you may carefully

observe everything written in it. For then you

will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

Joshua 1:8 CSB

Let's talk about the Bible for a moment, shall we?

This incredible book we carry to church once a week, or maybe we don't. This book that sits on our shelves and collects dust. This book that beckons us, yet, we are too busy to open it. This book that we see beautifully presented on social media, yet we are too busy trying to make it look just so that we don't really take in what the pages say. This book that we don't understand when we read. This book that we see as just a bunch of laws stifling us.

My friend, the Bible isn't just a rule book. You see, if it were just about rules and laws, God could have given us a bullet point list of dos and don'ts. Instead, He gives us His Word, an invitation for a personal relationship. A call to a hope-filled life with Him.

His Word is for us, it's for today. The Bible is our lifeline, our instruction manual, our personal letter, our chance to know the heart of our Father. It is a book that will remain forever and ever. My pastor often says, "The Bible isn't just timeless, it's timely." He also says, "The Bible doesn't tell us what has happened, it tells us what will always happen."

The grass withers, the flowers fade,

but the word of our God remains forever.

Isaiah 40:8 CBS

Before you ignore your Bible, before you think it's unrelatable. before you believe it just to be ancient writings, before you think you can't understand the words, before you push it to the back burner, remember, this is God's personal invitation to YOU for a relationship with Him. It's His call to you, His beloved.

Discussion:
1. Do you regularly read and study the Bible?
2. If not, what holds you back from doing so?
3. Have you asked God to help you?