"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." II Timothy 3:16.
I believe, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the fastest ways to succeed is to read. When I was in my early 30's one of my mentors, Reverend Paul Price, told me something that I have never forgotten. He said, "Great leaders are great readers." From that day onward, I began diving into books that would help me grow spiritually and all other aspects of my life. Reading great books will take you further than you will ever go on your own. Of course, my number one book to read is the Bible.
I have found over the years that many believers either don't read the Bible enough or don't let what they're reading change them.
If you are in the first group, you need to start reading more. You need to set yourself up on a spiritual and personal growth plan immediately.
Regardless of which group you are in, many Christians read the Bible but never allow it to change them.
Let the Bible be the number one book in your reading arsenal, and read other good books that will help you develop in all areas of life.
Here are some thoughts I have developed about reading; I call it the four levels of reading:
If you want INITIATION, start to read
If you want INFORMATION, study what you read
If you want INSPIRATION, think about what you read
If you want TRANSFORMATION, act on what you read
1. Initiation
You have to start reading if you're going to benefit from it. It sounds simple, but let's be honest, if you have your Bible and other books you "intended" to read piled up next to your bed, you haven't initiated yet.
According to the Pew Research Center, the average high school graduate only reads one book per year the rest of their life (that number is actually inflated due to avid readers who read much more. It also doesn't mean they completed the book, just that they read something from it).
The most avid readers tend to be great spiritual leaders, great mentors, and CEOs who average 4-5 books per month. If you want to initiate personal, professional, and spiritual growth, you must start reading the Bible and other books as often as you can. The more you read, the higher you'll go.
2. Information
Reading the Word of God gives you the power to overcome any temptation or crisis, or problem that comes to your life.
Jesus overcame Satan's temptation in the desert by quoting from the Word of God. He told Satan, "It is written."
Reading other books besides the Bible will inform you of what you need to succeed. The more information you expose yourself to, the greater your awareness. And the greater your awareness, the greater opportunities you'll have.
Your mind is a cognitive library. Studying is a way of collecting information that you can store in the library of your mind. Now that you have that information, you'll be amazed at how many opportunities will come up for you to access that library and use that information.
Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
Don't gloss over what you read. Make sure you are focused and gathering information that you need for your future success. It's not enough to simply initiate your reading; you must study what you are mentally digesting.
3. Inspiration
The Bible is the only book that has life. Jesus said: "My words are spirit and life."
Books provide knowledge, but the Bible inspires you.
The word "inspire" comes from the Latin word "inspirare," meaning to "breathe in." Thus, when you read the Word of God, your inner spirit is awakened to life. "Inspired" is to have something invigorating in your spirit.
Inspiration is the pathway to innovation.
The Word of God will inspire you; it will breathe life into your soul. All it takes is one idea inspired by his Word to launch your possibilities to a new level.
When information goes from our mind to our heart, it inspires us. The more you can surround yourself with resources that will inform you and inspire you, the further and faster you will go. Information must lead to inspiration to change us. It's not enough to just inform yourself; you need to find things that will also inspire you.
4. Transformation
The highest level of reading leads to transformation. When you take the initiative to read the Word of God, then study to inform yourself, you'll be inspired within, which will transform your life.
Initiation + Information + Inspiration = Transformation
The purpose of reading the Bible should be to be transformed. If you want the Word of God to change your life truly, you have to live out the principles you are learning.
Too many Christians don't take what they read and live it. Transformational reading enters through the eyes, stores information in our mind, inspires our heart but then transfers to our actions. If you want to transform your life powerfully, live out what you read from the Word of God.
American philosopher Mortimer Jerome Adler said, "In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you."
We only change when the benefit of doing something different is greater than the comfort of staying the same. Let the reading of the Word change you.
Have a blessed week,
Pastor (Rev. Elias Limones)
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