Read and Live
By Jack Wyman
It’s a great event. A historic undertaking never previously attempted.
Five hundred Americans—from a wide variety of backgrounds—are taking turns publicly reading passages of the Bible.
America Reads the Bibleis a national initiative designed and promoted by Bunni Pounds, the founder and president of Christians Engaged, based in Texas. Bunni has a passion for Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and the duties and opportunities of American citizenship.
As part of America’s celebration of its 250th birthday this year, Bunni thought it would be great if there could be some way to return a national focus on the Bible. This is the book that has had a more profound impact on the world and on the United States than any other.
Readers are gathering at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., where the continuous public reading of scripture began last weekend. The event will run daily from 9:00 AM until 9:00 PM. Organizers expect hundreds of participants and millions of viewers through radio broadcasts and livestreams.
President Trump, from the Oval Office, read a passage from the Old Testament. It includes the hopeful promise of national renewal.
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (II Chronicles 7:14).
It’s quite a promise. It’s quite an appeal. Though it applies to Israel, the famous passage has often been appropriated to include America. It’s a national call for humility, prayer, and repentance. The last president to publicly call upon the United States to repent of its collective sins was Abraham Lincoln, during the dark days of the Civil War.
God does not say he will restore the land if the people elect the right president, belong to the right party, go to the right church, vote, and condemn their enemies. Humility and repentance are what God seeks. The renouncing of wickedness is his command. God tells the nation to seek his face, his will, and his forgiveness. Not with words alone, but with sincere and contrite hearts.
The promise God makes is one America needs. It’s the promise every nation needs. Healing, renewal, and restoration will not come without spiritual and moral revival. They will not come without humility. They will not come without repentance.
If this nation continues to turn its back on God instead of seeking his face, then we shall have no reasonable expectation that he will hear us from heaven and deliver our nation from its presently dangerous course. The nations that forget God will not be rescued (Psalm 9:17).
God loves us. He cares about us. As individuals, as families, as communities, and as a nation. “My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place” (II Chronicles 7:15). God speaks of his temple. He speaks of our needs and of our prayers.
America Reads the Bible is a wonderful initiative and we should pray for its success. Bible reading is central to the Christian faith. We should read God’s Word daily, take it seriously, and study it diligently. Unless we permit it to change our hearts and lives—to make us new creations—we shall remain in the darkness.
The Bible has not been given to us as an interesting collection of nice stories, nor as a list of ethical precepts, nor as a guide to a better way. Yes, it is all these—but it is so much more.
God’s Word is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). It points us to the way of salvation, to the promise of heaven, and to the transformation of our hearts. To the comfort of our souls and the renewal of our minds.
James tells us to be doers of the word, and not hearers only. When we ignore what we hear; when we go back to living the way we did before we heard the word, James says we deceive ourselves (James 1: 22).
The Bible is God’s timeless and unchanging message to man. It is the living voice of the living God. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). God changes lives through the power of his Word.
“The Bible is not the light of the world,” said Charles Spurgeon, “it is the light of the Church. But the world does not read the Bible; the world reads Christians.”
Wrote A.W. Tozer:
“The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God.”
Americans want to live in a great country. We want a government that serves us well and honorably. We want an end to our divisions. We want an end to hatred and violence. We seek a good and decent respect and compassion for one another.
What if every American read Paul’s letter to the Galatians:
“For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Suppose we, as Christians, resolved, God helping us, to practice these virtues—to live by them every day? Would we not gradually become better people? Nicer people? Better neighbors? Colleagues? Church members? Activists? Parents, spouses, citizens, voters?
Wouldn’t a simple living by the Golden Rule found in the Bible make a powerful difference? Even in Washington?
Christians want spiritual revival to come to America. We pray for that. What if each of us determined to ask God to start that revival in our own lives? In our own hearts? Instead of seeking a Christian nation, what if we decided to live as Christians in this nation?
Yes, we must read the Bible.Gve
May the Bible also read us—and change the way we live.
To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.
Full Archives of America Reads the Bible here: https://app.pureflix.com/