I went to church every Sunday.

I volunteered at church. A lot.

I was part of a small group.

I listened to Christian music.

I had wonderful mentor moms.

I had solid Christian friends.

I thought I was doing good in the faith department.

But… there was one thing I didn’t do.

Just one thing.

Can you guess what that one thing was?

I didn’t read the Bible on a daily basis.

Therefore, I wasn’t:

• Planting myself in truth.
• Filling my heart and mind with the inspired words of God.
• Aligning my life with its precepts and commands.

The result of NOT doing that one thing was weak faith that uprooted when adversity hit.

The result was a subtlely distorted view of truth.

The result was a mind held captive to the lies of the world about who I was, what I needed and what I deserved.

The result was sin and wreckage in my life.

NOT doing that one thing changed the whole course of my life.

 

Without roots holding me firmly in the soil of God’s truth, I walked away from my faith for a solid three years. I lived according to the world’s standards and it almost destroyed me beyond recovery. When I was radically saved and came back to faith, I knew something had to change this time around. I just wasn’t sure what.

But God knew.

He saw that one thing – and he helped me see it, too. He provided a godly woman to mentor me, and in our first meeting, she spoke these piercing words through my heart like an arrow:

“Minta, this is what I feel God telling me to share: you’ve been a Christian most of your life, but you are still a spiritual newborn. You can only drink spiritual milk- the very basic words of God. You need to mature in your faith by spending time in God’s word. Then you can become capable of digesting spiritual food and grow.”

It was painful to hear but necessary truth. I went home from that meeting and started to read my Bible every single day. I haven’t stopped since.

Her words were straight from Hebrews 5:12-14: “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skills to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

I am so grateful that God opened my eyes and allowed me to see the one thing I needed to do:

get in the Word so that I could become strong in my faith.

From the Bible, we get what we need to run the race and fight the good fight.

2 Timothy 3: 16-17, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

Being in the Word is absolutely necessary.

There is no substitute for spending time in the Word. NONE.

My whole life, I underestimated the incredible life-changing power of the Word of God. I attempted to navigate life without the one weapon I needed most and I fell flat on my face. I will not make that mistake again and I’m determined to share what I’ve learned with others.

Dear friend, if there is one thing I can say to encourage you in your faith journey, it’s this:

Get in the Word of God.

Read your Bible. Every day.

It isn’t easy, but it’s worth the effort.

Do whatever you have to do: get up earlier, stay up later, workout shorter, get a different translation that’s easier to read, get an audio version you can listen to, find a commentary that helps explain its meaning, get a devotional, ask a mentor for help understanding it.

Just do whatever it takes to read your Bible! It’s been the difference maker in my life and it will be in yours too. In the Word we receive the power to be a follower of Christ in an increasingly hostile world. In the Word we get to know God in all of the fullness of his glory and majesty. In the Word we find strength to face trials, hardships, and suffering.

If you need help getting started, I wrote a blog a few months ago with some practical tips. You can read them by clicking here.

Do this one thing.

As always, I love hearing from you. Send me an email or comment on the blog and I will get on my knees for you. Feel free to forward, post or share this blog – I appreciate your help getting the word out. Let’s do this faith journey together.

Blessings!

Minta