How was your time reading the Bible today? Do you remember what you read? Did it transform your attitude or perspective? Did it move you to worship? Or was it a struggle to push through and maintain focus as you read the Word of God? Or did you pause from your busyness to spend time with God at all?
As we saw on Sunday, in Romans 8:31, Paul asks the question, “What then shall we say to these things?” It’s an important question… not just in its context in the passage, but as a principle when we read or hear God’s truth. How will I respond? What does this mean for me? These questions are a prompt to respond, which is our worship.
To worship God is to respond to Him with a recognition of His worth. What better prompt for worship than to read the Bible? But if I haven’t made that important, or if I do it to complete my daily duty, I miss the great privilege God gives me of reading His Word. The Bible is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16), and it reveals the character, heart, and will of God. It calls for my response in worship! When I read the Bible, God reveals Himself, and I behold Him for who He is!
Paul uses the question in Romans 8:31 not for a quick answer, but to provoke reflection and meditation, as he asks six more questions. I can also be tempted to read the Bible for immediate response. Perhaps I’m looking for God’s direction as I make a decision. Or perhaps I’m looking for one command or principle to obey. Neither of these are wrong; however, they miss a fuller purpose of opening and reading Scripture: to gaze upon God’s beauty and greatness (Psalm 27:4), to abide with Christ (John 15:4-7), and to know Christ more (Philippians 3:8-10)! When I read the Bible, God reveals Himself, and I behold Him for who He is!
How do I respond to my time reading the Bible with worship? My worship is more than just song or prayer. My worship is to see and acknowledge God’s worth with my heart and life. It starts with reading Scripture unrushed, to see God and to reflect with purpose. My response is a series of intentional decisions. First, in belief: do I trust this to be true? It must be more than just knowledge! Second, in view: do I consider or “calculate” this to be true? This word is used in Romans 6:11 and 8:18 to emphasize more than knowledge or conceptual trust, but a mathematical calculation, accounted for as true. Finally, I worship by responding in practice: will I live in light of this truth?
My prayer is that you and I would be committed to daily Bible reading that is fruitful to transform us by seeing more of God and responding more to Him – that, when we read the Bible, God reveals Himself, and we behold Him for who He is!