By Chris WittsSaturday 27 Jun 2015Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Harry Houdini,who lived some 50 years ago,was famous for his ability to free himself from handcuffs,ropes,chains,straight jackets,locked trunks and just about anything else. He often issued challenges for people to confine him – but he always found a way of getting free.
One day a prison official challenged him to get out of a particular prison cell. Houdini accepted the challenge. He was blindfolded,placed in the cell and the cell door was closed. Houdini was then told to remove the blindfold and try to escape from the cell.
Immediately he began to work on the lock – fiddling with it,jiggling it and turning it this way and that. No matter what he did he was unsuccessful. Finally,after nearly two frustrating hours,the great Houdini gave up. He couldn’t get out.
At that point,the prison official walked to the door of the cell and pulled it open.
The truth was,the door had never been locked. If Houdini had known that truth,he would have escaped.
The Bible is the source book of Christianity. It has stood the test of time for more than 2,000 years. It is the inspired Word of God. It contains 66 books and was written over a period of more than 1,600 years,yet it has one major theme and hangs together from beginning to end.
The Bible is God’s message to the human race. It tells us that God created the world,and that He is a God of love. It tells us why our world is in a mess. And it tells us God’s solutions for the world’s problems.
Reading the Bible leads us to know who God is and why He created the world. Then we can know who we are and what the purpose of our existence is. In this Bible verse (John 8:32),Jesus promises that if we continue to read the Bible,we will come to know the truth and that knowledge will set us free.
Reading the Bible takes time,effort and discipline. In 15 minutes a day you can read through the Bible in a year. Discipline yourself to find the time. And try to make it the same time every day.
But don’t just open the Bible at random each day and read. Use a Bible reading plan found with the pages of some Bibles,or obtain one from a Christian bookstore or local church. Or read in three different places daily starting in Genesis,Job & Matthew respectively. The three sections are roughly the same length so you will finish them at about the same time. If you read a chapter a day from each section and two chapters from each on Sunday,you’ll read the entire Bible in one year.
Find at least one word,phrase or verse and think deeply about it for a few minutes each time you read. Your insight into Scripture will deepen and you’ll better understand how it applies to your life. And the more you apply the truth of Scripture,the freer you will feel.
What does regular reading of the Bible free you from? From all your hang-ups – fear,anger,pride and guilt – those things that keep you from being all you were meant to be. This is what Jesus is talking about.
His promise is that there is a way out. Read His words. Look at life as He sees it and a wonderful thing will happen. There will be a change in you. You will be given a life that you never had before and you will be freed from your hang-ups.