Stay In The Word

"Stay In The Word!" has been my mantra for a long, long time now. In fact, I have said it for so long that one of the schools that I used to hang out at and do chapel from time to time gave the saying to me on a plaque which hangs in my office today. My current assignment from God at my current church I have the same phrase and say it every week and ask our students if they have read their Bibles everyday for the last 7 days. We do a kind of count down to about 4 days a week.

This 4 days a week means that the students that have raised their hands, Sunday School Teachers too, have read their Bible over 50% of the days in any given week. I wish I could tell you that this about 100% of our folks in our Sunday School and Youth Ministry on any given Sunday, but it is not. However, I can tell you that it runs 50% or more of those present almost every week. So why do I tell you this? Because I am upset about churches that meet, greet, do church and then go home and never stress the Word of God or teach it.

I read this just the other day and I quote it for you now:
"IN my good friend Joe Ball’s article in the Western Recorder he stated that several surveys indicated the following:
          “Only 16 out of 100 of those who regularly attend our churches read their Bibles everyday;     
          another 32% read the Bible at least once a week. This mans that more than 50% of people who  
          come through our doors on a regular basis only read their Bible occasionally, perhaps one or two
          times a month, if at all!”

As church leaders, concerned citizens, and Christian parents or guardians, we should be appalled at this number. The only way for our country to become better is to be in God's word and apply it. Even secular colleges and universities state that incoming Freshman should have read several 'classics' and one of those books it the Bible! Come on, we gotta do better!

So what are we to do? Well several things. We should be an example for our students and kids, read it for yourself in front of them, with them, challenge them to do it; question them when they say they have read it. Just do it!

I guess what I am saying is that as Christians we should want to read the Bible, to spend time with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords; the one who died for us. For me I just don't understand a Christian that doesn't want to read God's Word, I don't! I understand you not liking asparagus or carrots but the Bible? Come on, belly up the the Bible and Stay In The Word!