Reasons people don't read their bibles

In many ways, the words are the closest we can get to our Creator, and the only way faith transfers from one generation to the next.
Bible related products, apps, and topical books are not the answer. We have access to bazillions. Cartoons won’t build our faith, movies won’t renew our minds, and seminars won’t feed our hearts.
The Bible text is alive. So why do we settle for being once-removed from the source? Why aren’t we meeting God through His word?
Too many Christians either haven’t been engaging with the Bible, or are engaging with it in ways that don’t deepen their walk with God. As a result, the Bible doesn’t have a place in normal everyday conversations.
 

People don’t read the Bible because they don’t like the Bible. 
But… People don’t like the Bible because they don’t read the Bible. 
Lately, I’ve seen a brighter and brighter spotlight placed on the Bible. To me, this marks either an attempt to finally have the Bible erased from our culture once and for all—or a genuine hunger for God. I trust the latter is true, but we all play a role in the outcome.
Here are 8 reasons we don’t read the Bible. (And I have an antidote for this at the end of the post!)

1. The Bible is optional 

After all, we have TV, internet, and plenty of “wise” voices touting answers. The faith message has been oversimplified with trite expressions:
Love God, love people.
Why do I need to read that dusty book when I have a four-word synopsis?
Many people see more verses of scripture on Facebook memes than in their Bible. And to them, Facebook replaces the Bible.

2. Many church leaders don’t expect us to read the Bible

I didn’t say leaders don’t want people to read the Bible, they don’t expect it.
How can we tell? Are you expected to bring your Bible to church?
When our kids were babies and toddlers, we didn’t expect them to feed themselves, or even know how. So we fed them little bites of baby food. Eventually we expected them to feed themselves, and even make their own meals.
Expository pastors are content to feed spoonful at a time. Thematic-preaching pastors enjoy bringing a topical flavor-of-the-month. Both have a place, but shouldn't we be encouraged (and expected) to do some self-feeding at home?
College professors expect their students to read the textbook outside of class. But many pastors don't expect the same of their flocks.

3. All we hear is mission and vision

An unintended consequence of church branding and mission statements is constant preaching of vision, and funding for mission.
In a growing number of churches, vision has replaced discipleship. The A-B-C's (Attendance, Baptisms, Cash) are measurable… spiritual growth (and Bible literacy) is difficult to assess.
Even when “discipleship” is programmed, there’s not an emphasis on personal Bible reading. (See #2)

4. Google faith

We can google a Bible verse, or blog about a verse, any time we want. So why read what's around it?
100 million people have downloaded the YouVersion Bible app. I celebrate that fact.
My question is, with accessibility to scripture climbing by the day, why is faith and Bible engagement declining?
Since we can always google the Bible when we “need” it, we rarely read the book.

5. Failure

For some, even thinking about that leather-bound book triggers memories of personal failure. And who wants to be reminded of that?! If you've ever tried a 365-day read, you know what I'm talking about.
For others, disappointing and confusing experiences reading the Bible have triggered resignation (keep that book away from me).

6. Your parents don’t read the Bible

I’m talking to your kids, now.
If you don’t read it, your kids won’t, statistically speaking. If you’ve given up, they may never begin.

7. Bible bullies

Sincere believers are often told, overtly and covertly, that they are not smart or educated enough to truly understand the Bible.
Sounds like something Martin Luther railed against 500 years ago! (This year is the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the reformation, by the way.) He went on to translate a version of the Bible in their language so more people could read it.
Like others before and after, he was persecuted for giving such a “lofty” book to lowly people.
Today, some bestselling authors actually tell their followers that without the benefit of their education and knowledge of “historical context” they can’t possibly understand the Bible.
So why try?

8. Paul predicted you wouldn’t read it.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. (2 Timothy 4:3)
Okay, The Apostle Paul didn’t predict you wouldn’t read it. But he predicted many would find more entertaining alternatives.
Therefore because you have time to eat, play and do other things that don't necessarily add up to you, you must make up your mind to start reading, and start now !

God's word is basic for salvation

If you think studying the bible is a boring activity, and that it has nothing to do with your daily living, you are only surcharging yourself because in actual sense it is your daily fuel meant for your sustenance and existence in this crooked and perverted world that is corrupt after its most basic nature.

If you desire to make a godly living devoid of unnecessary pressures, just rely on a constant study of God perpetually and constantly. One thing that seperates an unbeliever from a Christian is the peace of God that parvades the life of a Christian, principally due to the fact that he relies on the fact that he is not of this world and no more in darkness.

Only a proper knowledge of your position, vantage point, strategic status in Christ would make you know you are more than a conqueror.

All this comes from an adequate, fervent, and unending study of the scripture. It does not matter how much of God's word you know you still need to study everyday to keep yourself abreast of yourself, don't let anything deter your progress because yourself is your spirit and every activity you do ends in this world but the word.

THE BELIEVER CAN NEVER GO TO HELL AGAIN, NO MATTER WHAT!

THE BELIEVER CAN NEVER GO TO HELL AGAIN, NO MATTER WHAT!
The believer can never and will never go to hell again or anymore because, not only did Jesus go as an atonement for his nature of sin and depravity, Acts 2:31-32, I Peter 3:19, 4:6, Jesus Christ actually went as him, yes, I repeat, as man, that he might destroy or paralyze him who hath the power (strength of , vigor or dominion might of death) because of Adam's transgression, which passed upon humanity, even over those who had not sinned after the similitude if Adams transgression, Rom 5:11-14) . Heb 2:14.

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he wages of sin is death, which Jesus was after being made a propitiation or sacrificial atonement for. The gift of God through Christ Jesus is eternal life, Rom 6:23.

Human righteousness is filthy in God's sight, as it answers to menstrous clothing, Isa 64:6 By the deeds of obedience to a written code shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God, Gal 2:16, 3:11, for it is written that, the justified or righteous man shall be called righteous, not by works of fleshly performance, but by faith in the justifier through atonement. For by one sacrifice he hath perfected forever those who are sanctified, heb 10:14.
Man's sin nature, which was in the world way beyond, and before human errors of commission and omission came, has been atoned for at the mercy seat of Christ's suffering of death, and glorious resurrection.

 God is now justified as the justifier of the ungodly, because man had received the hammer blows of divine justice and retribution in the death of the propitiatory sacrifice for sin. Nothing can take man to hell again, no sins or bad attitudes, nothing , I repeat, nothing, for God almighty would be unjust to send man to hell after his sin nature which is stronger and greater than his sins have been atoned for by this same man in Christ Jesus.

At salvation, God is justified to yield eternal life to the faith of Christ filled man. The process is divine, and this life which is given on the basis of Christ's suffering of death is irreversible. Eternal life which is always eternal can never be lost. Eternal life could not have come and did not come by right deeds, how then can it be lost by wrong deeds? Deeds do not come into play here in anyway, so eternal life can never be lost if ever possessed.

What is takes to be given this life by God is faith in the living Christ's death, resurrection and nothing more, John 3:16, I John 5:11. Eph. 2:8-9. If you stop having faith in whatever sense, the life is irreversible if ever possessed.
Obviously, we argue against of the power of God to save and keep saved because we are deep illiterates of salvation.

Excerpt form Rev. Ade Adebayo's facebook post

Survey: Being a Pastor’s Wife Is Good for Faith

Survey: Being a Pastor’s Wife Is Good for Faith

Though expectations have shifted, spouses still feel the weight of church drama.

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Today’s generation of pastors’ wives fill a different role than the dressed-up, casserole-toting caricature that came before them, but they still feel the pressures of being married to ministry.

About 1 in 4 Protestant pastors’ spouses in the United States works a full-time job outside the church, while about 1 in 5 holds a paid position at church alongside their spouse, according to a  survey released Tuesday.

Younger spouses expressed more frustration than older ones over how their position impacts their friendships and finances. About 7 out of 10 pastors’ spouses say they have few people to confide in, LifeWay researchers found. More than half don’t feel enough emotional connection to others, or worry about being betrayed by people at church.

“Over the decades of my ministry, the role of women married to pastors, as well as of women in general, has radically evolved,” wrote Kay Warren, who advised LifeWay on its questionnaire, in the preface to her book on being a pastor’s wife, Sacred Privilege, which came out in May (excerpted here).

“From behind-the-scenes, mostly-in-the-home pastors’ wives of my mother’s generation to women copastoring or serving as the senior pastor—as well as everything in between—the role of the pastor’s wife has not remained static.”

Warren, wife of Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, dismissed old advice on tuna casserole preparation or demure fashion as laughable compared to the real-world stressors experienced on this side of ministry.

Younger wives (96% of respondents were female) indicated more challenges in building relationships, facing church conflict, and dealing with the feeling of “living in a fishbowl,” according to LifeWay.

Joanna Breault wrote for CT Women about the inevitable distance between pastors’ wives and the rest of the congregation:

When pastors’ wives walk up, the conversation goes quiet. Our remarks are often met with flattering-but-awkward deference. Our relationships still have a degree of distance. It is the pastor’s wife effect.

Sometimes these chasms are self-inflicted, the result of having been hurt in the past and keeping ourselves safely aloof. Sometimes they are the result of an unhealthy church culture that puts our husbands and families on pedestals. But sometimes they are the result of congregants not making peace with the fact that their pastor’s wife is just a regular person.

What should your speech be like?

What should our speech be like? What should be our usual way of talking?
 
  Colossians 4:6, NIV. “Let your conversation be always full of grace, . . . so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
God asks us to rid ourselves of foul language. It’s the biblical point of view to guard our talk habbits and we re meant to say pleasant words that would encourage our listeners,

 Colossians 3:8, NIV. “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”

“Dirty stories, foul talk and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, remind each other of God’s goodness and be thankful!” (Ephesians 5:4, TLB).

The Ten Commandments forbid the misuse of God’s name. It’s in the Bible, Exodus 20:7, TLB. “You shall not use the name of Jehovah your God irreverently, nor use it to swear to a falsehood. You will not escape punishment if you do.”

Our words affect our lives because your words could incriminate or set you free in an incident that requires that you talk in a good-mannered way  Proverbs 13:3, NIV. “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”

What we believe is reflected in what we say. , Matthew 12:34, 35, NIV. “How can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

God will hold us responsible for the words we speak. Matthew 12:36, 37, NIV. “Men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The words we use influence others. 1 Timothy 4:12, NIV. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
What should characterize our way of speaking? It should not be words that would offend the hearer but rather thanks to God form what He did in Christ Jesus who chose to die for our sins even when we never loved Him.

About '' Near death experiences"- The truth.

What about “Near-Death Experiences”?

Such experiences are very popular today. As mentioned in the pioneering work of Raymond Moody. Other books in recent years have purported to tell of people who “died,” went to “heaven,” and then were given a “second chance” to return to the earth. Some of those books have been extremely popular, and a few have been embraced by Christians. However, a close inspection shows that most of those books embrace unbiblical heresy, either the notion that we are saved by doing good works or the idea that everyone is going to heaven in the end.

In thinking about this question, we need biblical balance. On one hand it’s undeniably true that some Bible characters did see the Lord before they died. Stephen saw Jesus just before he died in Acts 7. Paul was evidently given a vision of heaven—perhaps during his stoning at Lystra in Acts 14. He alludes to the event in 2 Corinthians 12. However, it’s important to say that such revelations did not happen often even in Bible times. Not every believer had or will have a revelation of heaven. Could such a thing happen today? Yes, but we shouldn’t expect it or base our hope of heaven upon a last-second experience.
Let’s also remember that Satan is the great deceiver. He can create scenes that seem to be scenes of heaven but are actually creations born in hell. Some near-death experiences are demonic in nature. You should never base your hope of heaven—or the hope of seeing a loved one in heaven—on a supposed vision or revelation. The only reliable ground given to us is the eternal, unchanging Word of God.


There are obviously cases in the Bible of people who have died being raised to life. Both the prophets Elijah and Elisha raised boys back to life [1 Kings 17:17-24 & 2 Kings 4:32-25]. Jesus raises a number of people from the dead including Lazarus who had been dead for 4 days [Luke 7:11-15; Luke 8:49-56 & John 11:1-49]. Of course there is Jesus resurrection as well. So there is a precedent in the Bible for God bringing people back from the dead.

But as for our state between death and the resurrection, believers are in some sense in communion with Christ while they await the resurrection. [Luke 23:43; Phil 1:23] This is only an intermediate state until the resurrection and the coming of the new heaven and earth. [1 Thess 4:13-17, Rev 21:1ff].

It is possible that Don Piper and others have had such experiences. After all, Stephen, Apostle John and Paul did. The difference is because they were apostles, their writings are authoritative scriptures where as Don Piper’s is not. Personal experiences can be very authentic & edifying. But they can also be misleading and demonic [Matt 7:22]. Personal experiences are hard to refute because they are ‘personal’. Therefore we must always test such experiences against the sure revelation that God had given us - the Bible. [1 Thess 5:18]
If the ‘critics’ are correct and Don Piper is describing a heaven that is largely devoid of Christ, then we should be wary of what weight we give to his testimony.