Words From The Wheel

March Has Arrived!

Throughout the month of March, I am going to be sharing a lot of Scripture. I’ve done this a few times before, simply because the Lord laid it on my heart to do so. However, this time, it feels much more pressing, much more urgent.

I believe that more is accomplished by reading the Word than just about anything. It is a Book that is very much like an instruction manual for our lives. If we’ll only crack it open and take it in, it can bring about great changes. I’m not saying this because it sounds uplifting or because someone else has said it to me (even though they have, thank God!). I’m saying it because I know it to be true.

We can do a lot of things in our day to day lives, but it is my honest opinion that nothing, no nothing, is as important as spending time in the Word. Read along with me, and then spend some more time reading and studying on your own. You don’t have to worry about having the right highlighters or the right journal. You don’t have to worry if you’re applying the right “method”. All you really have to do is read.

If the Lord leads you towards something specific for your own personal time with Him, by all means, dive right in. But, I reiterate it again: nothing is as important as simply READING.

2 Corinthians Chapter 13

(1) This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

(2) I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will spare not.

(3) Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.

(4) For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

(5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

(6) But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

(7) Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.

(8) For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.

(9) For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

(10) Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

(11) Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

(12) Greet one another with an holy kiss.

(13) All the saints salute you.

(14) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Keep Reading and Studying

As I said earlier, don’t be more concerned about your method of study than you are about just reading. The important thing is to start. All the rest will come, as you are led by the Holy Spirit. What works for one might not exactly work for everyone.

In fact, I know it doesn’t.

I stress the fact of “just reading” because I let other things hamper my own reading experience. For a long time, I thought I had to have something to take notes in and something to highlight with and all these special things. I kept putting off the reading, thinking, “I’ll do that as soon as I get my new pens”. And before you know it, a week passes. Then a month. Then you wind up just forgetting for so long it seems hardly worth the effort.

No, by all means, pick that book up, or open that app, or even look it up somewhere. There are countless places online to read, and you can even download pdf copies if you like. If I’m not mistaken, you can even purchase a copy of the Bible at your local Dollar Tree for one dollar, or at the Dollar General for about five dollars.

Important Helpful Links

Here are a few links to get you started. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me personally. I really don’t mind helping!

Read and Study The Bible Online:

• Bible Gateway – Here, you can read the entire Bible online. There are also various Bible study tools available, though a lot of them require a paid subscription. You can also search words or topics right from the search bar on top.
•  King James Bible Online – Search words or phrases, or simply choose a book and verse to read. There are online tools available for online study, and community as well if you’d like to share or discuss your reading and study. They even have a mobile site and Bible trivia.
• One Year Bible – If you’re a fan of daily Bible reading throughout the year, this will be a good site for you. You can sign up for newsletters, download plans, and access links to commentary and more.
• You Version – This is actually an app for your mobile phone, and is the one I use myself. If you want, you can choose to read the Bible, by picking the book and chapter you’d like to read. Also, you can create digital highlights, notes and bookmarks, all of which you can retrieve whenever you want by accessing your account. There are also many plans to choose from, some as short as three days, all the way up to a year long. You can even set it up to send reminders to your phone, so you don’t forget.

Free Downloads

• The King James Bible (pdf) – The Authorized King James Version, 1611.
• The King James Bible including the Aprocrypha (pdf) – Includes “Preface to 1611 Version” and the books of the Apocrypha. **Note on Aprocrypha: some people swear they are inspired texts, and some swear they are not. They were never even considered to be included in the King James Version of the Bible, as King James himself said, “As to the Aprocriphe books, I omit them, because I am no papist…” Martin Luther believed them to be worthy of reference and issued this statement: “Aprocrypha: that is, books which are not regarded as equal to the Holy Scriptures, and yet are profitable and good to read” (From King James Version Defended, pg. 98).