“SON, DON’T SKIP IT”

I was reading a Christian literature. I was enjoying it so much that I took the book into the restroom that morning. As I read, I got to a portion of the book that had some quotation of Bible verses. The Bible excerpt was quite long. I skimmed through and skipped it so I could continue reading.

The Lord saw my folly. The Spirit of God said to me, “Son, don’t skip it. Go back and read the Bible portion diligently”. I saw my folly. I humbly returned to the scripture portion and began to read again.

Friends, the words of man may sound exciting and you may be in a hurry to read the opinion of men but the Word of the Lord is still the foundation upon which everything stands.

Do you know that most times we find pastors and teachers who take time to read Bible passages as they share with us as boring teachers? The ones that excite us the most are those who just preach at us without bothering us with “open your Bible to”.

If you will be helped, the opinion of men must not be your sure word. You cannot stand on the exciting words of men’s wisdom. When the storm hits and life tests come, it is the so-called boring verses that become the arsenal for your victory.

Let me ask you: How many portions of the scripture do you know? But how many quotable quotes of a pastor do you have in your head?

A young preacher prepared his first sermon and took it to his spiritual father. He had six pages of “heavy and ready to give it to them” message written. The loving father pulled out a red pen and began to cancel until there were just about two pages left.

He threw four sheets of the message on the floor and held on to two. He pointed to the four on the floor and said, “Those are your words”. He pointed to the two he was holding and said, “This is God’s Word”.

He then told him, “If your world will listen to you and you will build anything that will last, it must be on God’s Word and not your words”. The lesson sank.

Beloved, stop skipping the Bible passages. Read it patiently and painstakingly. That is where the victory is. That is where the power is. Let the seed find root in the ground of your soul so it can withstand the heat and the thorns of life while it produces a great harvest for you.

If you are a minister, set yourself free from the pressure of exciting people. Be passionate but let the scriptures speak. Let them see the Word and not just your oratory skills and brilliance. Do not say, “Because of our time, let us skip the scriptures” and then you do the talking. The aim is not to finish your message. The assignment is to deliver God’s message.

When men are taught the Word of the Lord, they become rooted but if all you have is some exciting rootless words, it will soon dry up and in the battle, you will see that all you have is a wooden sword, a caricature of the real thing.

Read the scriptures. Do not skip it.