Have you ever gone to a play or a ball game and had an usher come up to you and ask if you knew where you were seated?

The choice is yours, not his!

Many times we Christians go through times of tribulation and testing that do not end in a short time.

Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully, meditatively, searchingly, devotionally and study it constantly through and through until it becomes a part of your being, generating faith that will move mountains!

Reading your Bible doesn't have to be a duty. It can be fun, enjoyable, and incredibly relevant in your daily life. Even for the majority of Christians who do read their Bible on a daily basis, they do so out of a sense of duty to either God, or a sermon, or whatnot. In many cases, they get nothing out of their Bible reading. This can very easily be changed.

To begin with, reading your Bible and getting something out of it is not the same thing as studying your Bible. The in depth study of the Scriptures requires much more time and energy. But in reading your Bible, to get something out of it to help you today is actually not a very difficult thing.

THE GOAL

When you read your Bible keep in mind what you are trying to accomplish. The goal ought to be to get something out of the Bible for today. I recommend reading your Bible early in the morning. Some may feel they cannot do so due to schedule or habits. But morning is still the best time. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So too, reading your Bible in the morning is probably the best time of the day.

Psalms 63:1 - O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Proverbs 8:17 - I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Either way, however, your goal is to get something for each day. You want something that will, in some way, help you today.

READ FOR QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

For some reason, most people get it into their heads that they must read a certain amount of their Bible each day in order to be spiritual. This is simply not true. The best way to read your Bible is to read until something jumps out and succeeds in arresting your interest. And then you stop reading.

This is what you are looking for. Once you find something that intrigues youstop! Don't read any further yet. That may very well be the verse or passage that God meant for you to day.

So many people pass over something that God intended for them because they are too intent on reading so many chapters a day or so many pages. If the very first verse you read intrigues you, then stop reading. Focus on that verse or passage.

MEDITATE ON VERSE OR PASSAGE THAT INTERESTS YOU

Interestingly enough, there is not a single reference in the Bible that says you should read the Bible. Instead, the Scriptures teach us to meditate on what we read. Notice the following passages:

Joshua 1:8 - This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Psalms 1:2-3 - But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalms 77:12 - I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

Psalms 119:11 - Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalms 119:15 - I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

It is the meditation on the Word of God that brings the Bible alive to you. Without this mediation, you'll struggle seeing the relevance of the Scriptures in your life.

From here, you can do several things. Write down the verse or passage that has succeeded in griping your attention and carry it with you throughout the day so you can refer to it often. Think about it. Maybe cross reference the passage to see what else the Bible may say about this subject or idea. But always keep that one verse or passage at the center of your thoughts.

You'll certainly want to make sure you have read the passage in context, so I recommend reading the verses before and after to familiarize yourself with the overall theme and background. You might even want to do a bit of study on the historical background of the passage as well.

Armed with this information about the passage that intrigues you, attempt to think about it throughout the day. Pray about it. Talk to God about the verse or passage that has interested you.

LOOK FOR THE RELEVANCE OF THE PASSAGE DURING THE DAY

As you go about your daily living, look for the relevance of the verse or passage to be verified in your life somehow. I guarantee that if you are looking for it, you'll find it.

Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

It is incredibly exciting to see that the Bible is real and alive. But you'll miss it if you only read and then go about your day without the thoughtful meditation on His Word that God requires.

You don't have to read a lot of Bible for the Bible to become real to you. If you do this, you will get more out of your Bible than most Christians who merely read the Word, but don't meditate on it. Each day, God will demonstrate the power and relevancy of His Word to you as you think on and meditate on what He gave you that morning in your reading.

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Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com CHRISTIAN WRITERS

Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV) “For thus says the High and Lofty one Who inhabits eternity…”

The idea is a little hard to wrap around our minds, but when we realize even a fraction of the possibility, we grow to understand a concept of God that will amaze us, which in turn comforts us. That His promises are as true now, as they were back then, not only because of the world’s repetitive nature, but because He is a God that remains the same since He sits enthroned in the infinity of eternity.

A long time ago the prophet Habakuk asked the Lord about the social decline of his land. God began his answer saying, "Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told" (Habakuk 1:5). As I read it, I realized what a great and encouraging promise that is to us, even in these times. Just like the numerous other verses that we use to encourage others and strengthen ourselves, we read the Scripture and God reveals some practical & specific application for our lives. Our bible studies & worship services always remind us of what God has said and how He is still speaking to us through his Word, the Bible. Then I paused and took a step back and gave it more thought and asked myself, “how come so many verses do apply so accurately now”?

What I personally found amazed me. We always hear that the reason theses verses we study are so applicable is because human history is a constant cycle. I think it was Malcolm Muggeridge who said, “new news is just old news happening to new people”. I believe that this statement carries a lot of truth. Even Solomon says, “ there is nothing new under the sun.” The issues of war, politics, power, money, spirituality, death and such things are always present and we are caught having to deal with essentially the same things as those centuries before us, seemingly having learned nothing from our past. And though that is undeniably true, there is something else I’d like to add to this thought. There is a greater, far more profound idea that we can explore.

In Exodus 3, Moses asked God what he should answer the people when they asked who sent him. The answer God gave him was “I AM WHO I AM.” Most of the time we read pass this statement as mere poetics and that God was just being dramatic in his answer. But when God (v.14) clarifies what Moses should say: “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”, then we should pay a little closer attention. God wanted to communicate his name to Israel as “I am”, not “I will be” nor “I was”. I believe there is a major significance in the way God specifies this. It looks like a grammatical error at first until you look at what God might be implying. Someone said that, “God is not a being with a lot of time, He is outside of time completely”. That He is a God that is in a constant state of “now”, hence the name “I AM”. Revelation 1:4 says, “…Him who is, who was, and who will be…" The reason why he is the same yesterday, today, & forever is because He is outside our concept of time, able to look at the beginning and the end of what we consider as history, just as easy as the present. The Lord is above it all. Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV) says, “For thus says the High and Lofty one Who inhabits eternity…” Let's think this through. Paul Says in Colossians 1 that the Lord made everything, both visible and not visible. Some will point out that this statement means He created not only matter, energy, and the atoms, but even the concepts of logic, truth, knowledge, space, & time- that He made absolutely everything that exists. If we venture out and entertain the idea that God even made "time", then it must mean He himself is outside of time- or at least outside of our concept of what time/history is.

And so if our God is like that, then his written word, which his primary means of communication to us, might bear some of the same qualities. The book of Hebrews says, “For the word of God is living and powerful”. God stuffed life & power in His word. It is alive and its breath came from the almighty “I AM”. And so I’d like to propose that the reason why The Scripture is so applicable for contemporary life is, not only because we live in an endless repeating cycle of human events and emotions, but also because the Bible is a direct connection to a being who is outside of time, who Himself is always the same and therefore always effective and relevant. The idea is a little hard to wrap around our minds, but when we realize even a fraction of the possibility, we grow to understand a concept of God that will amaze us, which in turn comforts us. That His promises are as true now, as they were back then, not only because of the world’s repetitive nature, but because He is a God that remains the same since He sits enthroned in the infinity of eternity.

How can you get the most out of your searching of the Scriptures? Here are seven guidelines from Whitfield, adapted from his sermon "The Duty of Searching the Scriptures."

In all these ways, then, search the Scriptures. Taste and see how good is the Word of God (Psalms 34:8); it will then be sweeter to you than honey and the honeycomb and dearer than gold and silver (Psalms 19:10).

1. Have always in view the purpose for which the scriptures were written: to show us the way of salvation through Christ. Jesus adds in John 5:39 that the Scriptures "testify" about Him. So look always for Christ in the Scripture. He is the treasure hid in the field, both of the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament, you will find Him in the prophecies, types, sacrifices, and shadows; in the New Testament, He is manifested in the flesh to become an atonement for our sins as a priest and as a prophet to reveal the whole will of His heavenly Father.

2. Search the Scriptures with a humble, childlike disposition. God hides His meaning from those who are wise in their own eyes and reveals it only to babes in Christ (Luke 10:21) -- that is, to those who realize they know nothing yet as they ought to know, who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6), and who humbly desire to be fed with the pure milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2).

3. Search the Scriptures with a sincere intention to practice what you read. A desire to do the will of God is the only way to know it: "If anyone chooses to do God's will," said Jesus, "he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." (John 7:17). But to those who consult His Word with a desire neither to know Him nor to keep His commandments, He never will reveal Himself, even if they should search the Scriptures to all eternity.

4. Apply everything you read to your own heart. Whatever was written in the Book of God was written for our learning. And whatever Christ said to those in earlier times we must look upon as spoken to us also. All the precepts, threats, and promises belong to us and to our children, as well as to those to whom they were immediately known.

5. Labor to attain that same Spirit by which the Scriptures were written. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God . . . because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). The words Christ has spoken are spirit and life (John 6:63). Their true meaning can be no more understood by the man without the Spirit than a person who never has learned a language can understand someone who is speaking it. If we are strangers to His Spirit, we must continue as strangers to His Word.

6. Before you read the Scriptures, pray that Christ, according to His promise, would send His Spirit to guide you into all truth (John 16:13). Intersperse short prayers while you are reading; pray over every word and verse, if possible. And when you close the book, ask God to engraft the words you have read into your heart and bring forth in you the fruits of a good life.

Do this, and you will draw God's Spirit into your heart. You will experience His gracious influence and feel Him enlightening, enlivening, and inflaming your soul by the Word. You will then not only read, but alos mark, learn, and inwardly digest what you read.

<em>7. Read the Scriptures constantly. Dig in them as for hidden treasure; take as many pains in constantly reading God's Word as miners do when they dig for gold and silver. The Scriptures contain the deep things of God, so they can never be sufficiently examined by a careless, superficial, cursory way of reading. They require an industrious, close, and humble application.

The psalmist reveals that a good man meditates on God's law "day and night" (Psalms 1:2). So search the Scriptures not only devoutly but also daily, for in them are the words of eternal life (John 6:68).

In all these ways, then, search the Scriptures. Taste and see how good is the Word of God (Psalms 34:8); it will then be sweeter to you than honey and the honeycomb and dearer than gold and silver (Psalms 19:10).