Making the Bible Part of Your Day: Three Graces Every Day

Introduction

You hold your Bible in your hands, in your own language, and you can open it at any moment of the day. That seems ordinary to you. And yet, about four hundred years ago, in Japan as in much of Europe, most believers had never read a single line of Scripture for themselves. Since Francis Xavier's arrival in 1549, the Gospel had spread throughout Japan, reaching close to a tenth of the population. But the Catholic Church of that era refused to translate the Bible into the language of the people: only trained clergy had access to it, in Latin. When persecution struck, the faith of most Christians collapsed in a very short time, because the seed of the Word had not been planted deep in their hearts.

The Reformation, through Martin Luther and others, restored one essential truth: the Word of God is the sole absolute rule of our faith, and every believer needs to have it in their own language. Thanks to that (and to the almost simultaneous invention of the printing press by Gutenberg), you can today keep your Bible open on your kitchen table. This is an overwhelming grace. Pastor Ogi, drawing from 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and 2 Timothy 4:2, invites us not to let this grace lie dormant. Here are three reasons to make the Bible part of your day, every day.

Outline of the Sermon

1. Making the Word Part of Your Day Feeds and Strengthens Your Faith

Paul writes to Timothy: "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:14-16).

Notice the verb: "continue." The Word is not something you visit on Sunday morning, it is something you make part of your life. Just as naturally as you pick up your chopsticks at mealtime, you should have your Bible within reach in everyday life. An old pastor used to say that Scripture is like dried squid: it is a bit tough at first, you have to chew it, but the more you chew it, the more flavor it releases, and that flavor, far from running out, deepens over time.

Six months of reading may not change much that you can see. But a year, three years, five years, ten years spent faithfully making the Word part of your day, and the people around you will see the difference, even if you do not notice it yourself. It is often others who first notice what God has been shaping in you.

Listen to this verse he drew from his own personal reading: "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live." (Ezekiel 18:32). God takes no pleasure in anyone's ruin. He wants you to turn around, the Greek word for "repentance," metanoia, literally means "change of direction." It is never a shame to turn back toward Christ. It is even the most courageous and most natural act a person can take.

2. Making the Word Part of Your Day Makes You a Witness, Without Forcing It

The second invitation comes from 2 Timothy 4:2: "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

That sounds intimidating. But "preaching the word," in everyday life, first means living with Jesus in view. Most of the people around you (family, coworkers, neighbors, classmates) know practically nothing about Scripture. How will they taste the truth of the gospel? Through your words, your attitude, the way you live day to day. They perceive the grace of Christ through the one who lives in communion with him.

Pastor Ogi recounted something a neighbor said to him recently, very simply: "It's a blessing that there's a Christian church in our neighborhood. Just its presence gives us a sense of being protected, deep down." Without any grand display, the presence of a community that makes the Word part of its life becomes itself a witness. All you need to do is give your best each day to what has been entrusted to you, in prayer, gratitude, constant joy, and to hand over each day to the Lord. That is what it means to preach the Word.

And while you simply live where God has placed you, he is at work beyond your reach. That week, a brother who had started coming to the morning services made his confession of faith in Jesus after the service. No one had "worked on him." The Lord works while we live in his Word.

3. It Is Not Your Own Strength That Builds Your Faith: It Is the Lord, Through His Word

Third point, drawn from 2 Timothy 4:10-17. Paul, near the end of his life, lists those who abandoned him: Demas, Alexander, everyone who left him alone at his first trial. And then, in verse 11, he slips in this line: "Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry."

This Mark is the evangelist. A young man from a well-off family in Jerusalem, it may have been at his house that Jesus ate the Last Supper, it may have been at his house that the disciples were gathered at Pentecost. During the first missionary journey, Mark had accompanied Paul and Barnabas... before turning back home partway through. An abandonment. On the second journey, Paul flatly refuses to take him along again. Barnabas insists, there is a rift, they split up, and Barnabas takes his cousin Mark anyway to give him another chance. Later, Mark joins Peter. He translates his preaching, he listens to it, he absorbs it, and from that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, comes the Gospel of Mark.

This young man, who had failed at everything, ended up becoming "useful to me for ministry" in Paul's own words. That is the power of the Word. No matter your failures, no matter how badly you have stumbled: as long as you do not walk away from Scripture, as long as you keep making it part of your life, the Lord keeps speaking to you, rebuilding you, and using you.

You have, here on earth, a mission that God has prepared for you: to pray, to praise, to give thanks, to serve in a way no one else can in your place, to reach people no one else can reach. It is through the Word that he shapes you for that.

Key Takeaways

• Make your Bible part of your day as naturally as you pick up your utensils at a meal: within reach, every day.
• Spiritual fruit does not show up in a few weeks, but after a few years of faithfulness, your surroundings will see what God has woven into you.
• "Repenting" means changing direction. It is a natural act, never shameful, always blessed.
• Your daily presence, soaked in the Word, is already a witness, even without a religious speech.
• Mark failed before becoming "useful for ministry." Your failures do not disqualify you; the Word rebuilds you.

Personal Application

• Where could you physically place an open Bible this week (desk, nightstand, bag) to make it more natural to pick up?
• When did you last feel the need to "change direction" on a specific point? What are you waiting for to do it?
• Who around you is watching your life closely without your realizing it? What would they say about your attitude this week?
• Can you name a "Mark" in your life (someone who has stumbled) toward whom you are tempted to be Paul rather than Barnabas?
• What specific mission is the Lord reminding you of these days, through his Word?

Verses Cited

• 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (LSG)
• 2 Timothy 4:2 (LSG)
• 2 Timothy 4:10-17 (LSG)
• Ezekiel 18:32 (LSG)
• Acts 15:36-40 (LSG)

FAQ

How long each day should you read the Bible?

There is no single rule. What matters is not the length but the consistency. Five minutes kept up every day weigh far more than an hour once a month. Start where you can: a psalm, a chapter of a gospel, a passage from Paul's letters.

Which book should you start with if you are just beginning?

A gospel (often Mark's, short and vivid) remains the most natural point of entry. Then the Psalms for prayer, then Paul's letters for doctrine.

What should you do when reading feels dry?

Remember the dried squid: chew, do not spit it out. Pray before you open it. Reread it quietly aloud. Note down a verse. The flavor comes with the chewing, not from the very first bite.