Though Bibles exist in multiple varieties, translations, and availabilities, Bible-reading on a regular basis has gone down drastically. According to a recent Gallup poll, in terms of frequency of readership, 16% of Americans say that they read the Bible every day, 21% say they read it weekly, 12% say they read the Bible monthly, 10% say less than monthly and 41% say that they rarely or never read the Bible. Can it be? Americans are bibliophobes (from bibliophobia – having a fear of books) after all – 84% being “afraid” to read it every day, while 41% choose to avoid this “fear” by rarely or never reading it at all! Wow! Jeremiah said, “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;” (Jeremiah 15:16a) Jeremiah found sustenance in and resultant joy from his experience with God’s word. David wrote, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding.” (Psalm 119:103) David enjoyed the bounty of wisdom and insight that came from his time spent savoring the word of God. Yet we do not seem to abide in the same pursuit by which the faith of these two men has been long known. They received vitality and strength that sustained them in times of testing, trial, disappointment, and life’s challenges from their time spent with God’s word. We in America could have the same spiritual nutrition-supplied strength as did Jeremiah and David were we to spend our mornings in “eating” and “tasting” from the depths of the Lord’s Scriptural pantry. However, the majority of Americans, 5 out of every six, skip breakfast most mornings, and four out of ten never seem to eat at all! Sad, but God explains why we find our country so out of sorts with “understanding.” God had Isaiah warn, ”Their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 5:24b) We are in the straits we find ourselves because this country is absolutely starving.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 04:05:35 +0000