Does God command u to read the bible daily?

I wouldn't use the word 'command' here. I think that it's important to us people to read the bible. It's same thing with many other things too. It's important for us to pray, to have communion, take part in services, to nourish our faith.

Sometimes it is very difficult to do these things, but there is a certain thruth in saying: Take care of a habit so the habit will take care of you.

If you have some daily things you do, then it's easier to do them also at those time they feel somehow difficult. The habit carries you over some rough times.

I myself visit almost every morning Taizé site http://www.taize.fr/en/ensrctop.htm where there is a bible readings and daily meditation for the day. For me it's a good way to start the day.

Jesus did tell us to pray and ask God for daily bread, and there are Scriptures which refer to God's word as bread (Matthew 4:4). So maybe that is what was meant?

TryingToLive said:

I was at church the other week and someone mentioned something about god wanting us to seek wisdom daily..and from this I gathered he meant wisdom about the bible. Is this really in the bible? plz help.

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Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." The Bible is the Word of God.

Question: How often do you eat?

TryingToLive said:

I was at church the other week and someone mentioned something about god wanting us to seek wisdom daily..and from this I gathered he meant wisdom about the bible. Is this really in the bible? plz help.

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It's a nice idea. But not a command.

Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." The Bible is the Word of God.

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The only Word of God the Bible mentions (John 1:1) is Jesus. Feed on Jesus every day.

I wouldnt say it was a command, but it is very important to read the bible everyday. God should have our first, and our last words. Our faith is strengthened through reading the word of God.

So reading the Bible everyday is like taking your daily vitamins... Its not necessary [daily], but it can be at times, and it is ALWAYS beneficial.

Prayer is essential every day. NEVER compromise on that.

God Bless, metal.

I'm in my third year of being a committed Christian. I believe that I was saved by starting to read the Bible at the very beginning!

This year I started one of the Bible-in-a-Years and it's been quite an adventure. It makes it easy as the readings are divided by OT,NT,Psalm and Proverb. And I am totally amazed at the wisdom there and how applicable it is to my life. I would love to see everyone try this for their first time through. Next year I want to use a devotional Bible. The year after, who knows! But I do consider it important to read every day. It keeps me stable. I can "feel" it when I have skipped a few days but what joy to spend the time catching up!

I also believe that Bible study groups are VERY important, in addition!

HotMetal - I'm sloppy on the prayer except in relation to understanding my Bible-reading, but will use your post to encourage me! Thanks!

TryingToLive said:

I was at church the other week and someone mentioned something about god wanting us to seek wisdom daily..and from this I gathered he meant wisdom about the bible. Is this really in the bible? plz help.

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Joshua 1:8-9

Do not let this book of Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it; then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-Breathed and is useful in teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

I would think that rather than a direct command which would be law and not Gospel, is rather strong. I think it is wise to be in the word everyday as we gain much wisdom from God and his word. Anytime we arm ourselves with God's word we are preparing for Battle against the powers of darkness.

Well, I thought I had read a scripture somewhere that encourages Christians to read the scriptures but the only thing I could find was:

[bible]1 Timothy 4:13[/bible]

However, I also found another good reason for reading scripture which is to prove all things. You can do this by reading scripture to find insight from God on a specific thing:

[bible]1 Thessalonians 5:21[/bible]

Acts 17:11 " Search the Scriptures daily"

I'm not against daily Bible reading or praying. Not at all. I just have a problem when people try to put others in religous bondage. Such as one needs to fulfill a certain "quota" of such activities. One might think if you don't pray more than 5 minutes, you must not be a really good Christian. I'm not saying you shouldn't pray more than 5 minutes, it's just the wrong mentality one can have of true spirituality. If you tell someone they are going to fall if they don't maintain a certain idea of "devotions" (in their understanding it could be fulfilling a 1 hour obligation of praying and Bible reading), I believe that is incorrect. Because our focus gets off of Jesus, who alone is able to keep us from falling, and on to what we do (our striving) to maintain some sort of spirituality. Remember, I'm not against praying and reading the Bible, I encourage it, but not with a religous mentality. Enoch walked with God. I honestly want to do the same. I don't want it to be religous, I just want to have a true relationship with God. (the Pharisees did a lot of praying and Bible reading...but they really didn't know God!!!). If you were married, how would your spouse feel if you got up every morning and thought it was manditory to spend one hour with them, or your whole marriage would be bad, and your day. And all you did was just ramble on and on...just to fulfill a one hour quota. If your focus is on the time spent and not on the person...it does not require a heart or love for the person at all...it's not really a relationship...and you wouldn't really need your spouse there in a sense, atleast not mentally. You're actually saying that it's not them that you are really interested in...it just a certain "apperance" of what you think a relationship is all about. It's like one thinking (I've been under this kind of thinking because I've been "required" to do such activities), "oh, no!!! I woke up late and missed my devotions!!! This is just going to be a miserable day...I didn't spend my time with God!!!...(forgetting that "this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it"-without conditions we put on ourselves)". In a sense you may be thinking that God is not going to be with you or as active in your life as he could have been if you would have spent that time with him. Or you may think..."oh, no!!! I wasn't faithful to spending 1 whole hour as I was "required" to. I only spent 59 minutes...my day won't be as good now...I'll have to make up that one minute to be right with God because God has established this authority over my life so I must obey them!!!" Some may think this may sound crazy...but for others who have been under anything similar to what I have...it wouldn't sound so unrealistic.

I'm sorry for writing so much...but to give one last example. When I had returned home from being a part of a certain ministry which had me spend 1 hour a day in prayer...(it's not bad in itself, just the mentality I left with)...I thought I should still keep up this "devotion" to God, or my life will be messed up, and I wouldn't be the kind of christian God would want me to be. I started doing the 1 hour thing again...and all the other kind of "ministry" and good deeds I thought I should do. But one day, right in the middle of my "devotion", God, the Holy Spirit, spoke to me. He simply said "Remember Me?" If you have ever had the Holy Spirit speak to you, you'd know that I'm not crazy...he does speak to people. And he said it with such love and mercy and I had realized what was happening to me...my focus was more on what I was doing, than on Him.

Being a Christian isn't so much about what you do, it is really about Jesus Christ and knowing him. In him we live and move and have our being, because he IS life. All our religion will just bring death. You can choose to seek what you want (fulfilling a certain quota)...I'm going to choose to seek Jesus, and not focus so much on the details.

TryingToLive said:

I was at church the other week and someone mentioned something about god wanting us to seek wisdom daily..and from this I gathered he meant wisdom about the bible. Is this really in the bible? plz help.

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The Bible is to be read Day and Night. Psalm 1:1,2 says:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law (Torah) of the LORD; and in his law (Torah) doth he meditate (Ponder, Study, Think of) day and night.

The Word of God is his Law, both Old and New Testaments. This "Law" is called Torah, which is better translated as Directive, Instruction or Teaching, and not merely Law. Though we are not under the curse of the Law, but are under Grace, we are to still read God's Word and apply it to our lives. And in so doing, it becomes our Wisdom. Deuteronomy 4:6

4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law (Torah), which I set before you this day?

The Torah Proper is the first 5 books of the Old Testament, however, the essence of the Torah is found throughout the entirety of Holy Writ, and especially the New Covenant (Testament), where it is said that the Greatest Commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself. For these are the greatest commandments and the whole of the Law, i.e. Torah.

Now about "god wanting us to seek wisdom daily". That would be in the Studying of God's Word. Proverbs is a great place to start

In Yeshua...
Netzari5730

cactusj said:

Acts 17:11 " Search the Scriptures daily"

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Was that private or public reading?

If we look at the verse as a whole, it seems to be simply commending the Bereans for reading the scriptures every day, rather than commanding that we do the same:

11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (NIV)

Reading the Bible, especially the Gospels daily is very helpful to develop our Christian faith and our walk with Jesus, espeically if read prayerfully, but to feel we must read scripture every day without fail is an unnecessary and unhelpful burden. Other devotional works can also be helpful.

Karin

cactusj said:

Acts 17:11 " Search the Scriptures daily"

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And that was the OT since the NT had yet been completed or compiled. In addition, there was no printing press so virutually no one had their own copy of any of the books of the OT and most for centuries thereafter (even following the canonization of the NT) were illiterate. So I guess the above is not to be taken literally, is it?