Before I go any further, I would like to calm your spirit by saying that I'm sure you truly feel as though you are telling the truth. You truly do believe in your heart that the Bible is truth and that God is its author. I did as well. It's at this point that I would like to introduce the idea of actual belief and practical unbelief. What do I mean? Actual belief is when we truly believe in something and that belief produces actual evidence in our lives and in our actions. Practical unbelief is when we say we believe something, yet it does NOT produce actual evidence in our lives and in our actions.

Many sincere people, both inside and outside the church, make claims to faith in God and his Word; however, there is very little evidence to prove it. They "believe" in God, but do not acknowledge him. They "believe" the Bible, but do not spend time in it. Honestly speaking, many "believe" what they want to believe, regardless if there is anything substantial there to support it. They "believe" what they've been told. They "believe" what they feel is right. Is this you? I'll confess, this was me not very long ago. It took God calling me to preach his Word to get my attention. I had to ask myself, "If I'm going to preach, I must know what I believe and why I believe it."

If we truly believe that the Almighty creator of heaven and earth has spoken by his Spirit through his Word, why are we not trying to listen? The answers to life's hardest questions are contained on every page, and yet we leave it closed and abandoned day after day. Why are we constantly filling our minds with useless information as we blankly stare at boxed containers with flashing images of wondrous colors comfortably perched in our favorite spot on the couch as our mind goes numb and we drift off to sleep? The answer is simple. We do not believe the Bible. We say we do, but we don't. For if we truly believed, there would be nothing on this planet that would keep us from it.

I challenge you in this new year to read your Bible. If you can't or choose not to, stop saying you want to. You're not doing yourself any favors by heaping lie after lie and heaps upon heaps of untruths that simply bring greater condemnation. I speak to you, as I had to speak to myself. If we do not know what the Bible says and where it says it, how can we profess to know what's in it? But if you do commit yourself to reading his Word, you will find that it is a spring of living water that quenches even the most desperate thirst. It comforts when you need comforting and corrects when you need correcting. Seek God's face and his fellowship. I can assure you that it will be worth it. As the psalmist says in Psalm 34:8 "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"