The first five verses of John pack quite a punch. They show the eternality of Christ along with his power, authority, and victory as the light of the world that has not and cannot be overcome by the darkness. It’s a great introduction to a phenomenal book:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to listen to Christ teach during his earthly ministry?

Truly it would have been unforgettable! He spoke with authority and truth. No teacher compared. He was God’s Son, sent to bind the broken hearted and heal the spiritually sick. He came with grace and truth into a world that was lost in hate and deceit.

Today, Christ doesn’t walk among us as he once did. But thankfully he didn’t forget about those who weren‘t around for that period of time. In his love he gave us the historical record of his ministry. He gave us the written Word! The Word that has been sustained throughout history. It is the foundation for every part of life. It’s the compass for our chaotic lives. Within its pages is the record of Christ’s ministry, and so much more! For Christians, it should be the most important book in our library.

We should be able to quote verses, if not entire chapters, from memory because of how often we read it… right?! I mean if Christ is truly our Lord, should we not be enamored and completely in love with his revealed Word?
Sadly, I don’t think that’s the case with most people who call themselves Christians. I’m not saying I read his Word as I should and that I’m some sort of super Christian, because I’m definitely not. I’ve just recently been mulling over the idea of Christians who don’t really ever get into God’s Word. It intrigues and bewilders me.

One thing I’ve been learning recently in life is that facing up to challenges is what’s necessary in order to mature. The feeling of progressing through and accomplishing a challenge is awesome and helps us grow.

So here it is – the challenge. This new year will bring a lot of changes to each of us, both good and bad. Let’s make it our goal to begin the year with a change for the better. A change that will have amazing effects in our lives as well as the lives of others.

Christians, resolve to spend more time in the very Word of your God! Memorize and apply it. Don’t make excuses. Instead, stand up and pursue this challenge because it truly is what God wants.

It’s so easy to make excuses like, “I really want to read my Bible, but I just don’t have time. I’m too busy.” But really think about it. Are you comfortable taking that excuse to the throne of the one who willingly chose to step in and pay your debt? One day we’ll have to answer for how we lived our lives on this earth. My desire is to be able to say I spent my time living in accordance with his Word. How then can I live in accordance with a Word that I never take time to dig into? See my point? Reading and knowing Christ’s Word is a vital, if not one of the most necessary, parts of being His follower.

He died for you; can you take a little more time out of your day and choose to read the sixty-six books he gave you?

This is a challenge for me and it may also be for you. But don’t you want to face up to a challenge like this? I know I do. Jesus could’ve made plenty of excuses to not come to earth and die for us, but he didn’t, he chose to give himself up for us.

I know what I’m going to do with this challenge…. How about you? What will you do?