The significance and sufficiency of the Scriptures for the saint’s sanctification is something strongly stressed within its sacred pages. The Bible is the milk that Christians require for growth in grace, just as newborn babies need their mother’s milk for physical growth (1 Peter 2:2). The word of the Lord is the meat that makes the hungry believer stronger (Heb. 5:12). The Scripture is the revitalizing rain that hydrates the thirsty soul (Isa. 55:11). It acts like sandpaper, smoothing away errors in our thinking and living (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and like a hammer, it nails God-glorifying truth into our hearts (Jer. 23:29). It is no wonder, then, why Christ taught that the bread of Scripture for the heart is more essential than physical bread for the body (Matt. 4:4).
This is why believers need daily meals of God’s word to remain strong and continually sanctified. Healthy Christians are hungry Christians who feast every day on the generous banquet laid out in God’s word. Without the soul-nutrients in Scripture, we will limp and faint in the Christian life. But with the mind-renewing nourishment found in the Bible, we can run the race of godliness with endurance.
Unfortunately, in such a fast-paced world, getting the most out of Scripture is often hindered by hurried reading. Anyone can read several chapters of the Bible in one sitting without a single verse or truth deeply penetrating the soul. But just as food must be slowly digested before it can strengthen the body, the faith-food of Scripture likewise takes time to digest. It is better, therefore, to carry one truth from God’s word throughout the day than to rush through a hundred. The blessed believer of the first Psalm is not blessed because he merely reads the Bible—he is blessed because he “meditates” upon it from dawn until dusk (Psalm 1:2). Thus, I am persuaded that the most effective approach for extracting the most truth from Scripture is by focusing on one truth daily.
That is why I have written yet another title in this devotional series called Bible Gleanings. This one-hundred-day devotional is like the other two—written to help you digest one truth from Scripture daily. Each entry leads you to a fertile field of biblical grain, where you may glean until your basket is full. My prayer is that you may feast upon the rich pages of Scripture and “grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2) as you read the pages of this book.
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Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, their much-prayed for son, Oliver, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.
