Revelation 21:23-24 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

This is practically a direct quote of Isaiah 60, though in greatly condensed form. One of the glories of Scripture is how the same truths keep reappearing, woven in as a beautiful tapestry. It is no wonder that people have become Christians simply on the basis of the Bible’s amazing internal consistency. Those who wish to discredit it (because they don’t want to obey it) point out seeming contradictions, but objective reading in the total context dissolves those problems. If we approach the Bible antagonistically, we will get little good out of it. However, if we approach it as God’s love letter to us, His banquet table to feed our souls, then the delights never end. Reading the Bible as a duty is such a waste! Reading it as a privilege and a blessing brings the very presence of God into our lives.

I keep coming back to how blessed I am to have grown up in a family that loved God and loved the Bible, for generations going back, even. It is indeed a joy to share the riches of the Word with others, and especially so when they catch fire and start digging into it, feeding on it themselves. I am to be gentle but insistent in teaching the believers to place God first in priority by placing the Bible first in their daily schedule. We need the nourishment to start each day! Many say they can’t get up in time to have devotions before the rest of the day begins, but that’s all a matter of what time they go to bed at night. The devil tricks us into thinking that late nights are a treat, when early mornings with God and His Word are a far better one!

Father, as I rejoice over Your abundant grace toward me, keep me from putting down or looking down on those who haven’t yet learned to appropriate the blessings You have for them. Help me teach, admonish, and encourage with all gentleness, love, and authority, so that the believers may grow strong as Your disciples, in turn going on to raise up others, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!