Do you own a Bible? (If you don’t, we’ll give you one.) Polls say that about 85% of Americans do. In fact, the average household has four copies lying around. (Quick: where are all the Bibles in your place?)

Now, do you actually get around to reading it? Again, polls indicate that half of the folks who own a Bible read it three-four times… a YEAR! Others read it less often than that.

So, what can we surmise from this? Perhaps many people value/honor/revere the Bible – they would feel wrong if they didn’t have one around somewhere – but they don’t actually consult it, much less study it. Why not?

Maybe they tried before and found the language difficult to plow through. (Consult this brief comparison of the various translations and paraphrases. By the way, we typically use the Common English Bible in worship.)

Maybe the Bible doesn’t seem to be about the concerns of the reader but about whatever God wanted to discuss. Perhaps some parts were violent or otherwise against the character of Christ, so they threw it aside.

What is the goal here, after all? Being able to win a Bible Trivia Contest? Getting a quick word of guidance or comfort? Feeling religious?

What if our goal of regularly studying the Bible was to come in contact with the Word of God, namely Christ (John 1:14)? What if our investment in that living encounter with Christ shaped our hearts over time, even if it didn’t ‘pay off’ right away?

The Old Testament passage for this Sunday [Jeremiah 31:31-34] has God promising to write a covenant on our hearts. What would that be like? In the New Testament passage [2nd Timothy 3:14-17], Paul coins a term to try to convey what’s going on in the Old Testament (they didn’t have New Testament scripture yet, of course). He writes that it is “inspired” or “God-breathed.” What can that mean?

What would you do differently if you were invested in “the Word”?

As always, I would really love to get your comments or questions — ahead of time or afterwards. Just click here.