Encouragement for Slow Readers

00:00:00.000 | Pastor John, here's a very common question that we get emailed to us by friends who listen

00:00:08.740 | into this podcast, and it usually goes something like this.

00:00:12.000 | "I don't like to read, period, and it has nothing to do with the Bible.

00:00:15.840 | I just don't like to read.

00:00:17.600 | How do I stay motivated, then, to read on a daily basis?"

00:00:22.400 | Let's start this way, six very short and I hope very obvious statements that have huge

00:00:32.080 | implications about reading.

00:00:33.520 | Number one, the Bible is a book.

00:00:36.240 | Number two, it is inspired by God.

00:00:41.480 | Number three, it is all true and profitable for our faith, our salvation, our holiness.

00:00:50.520 | Number four, it lies dormant and useless unless it is read.

00:00:59.680 | Reading is the only key that unlocks writing, even inspired writing.

00:01:07.560 | Five, therefore, we must have this message either by our own reading or through the reading

00:01:16.880 | of another.

00:01:18.600 | Six, so if we do not read, and millions, of course, can't read, quite apart from whether

00:01:26.960 | you want to or not, millions can't read yet, they're pre-literate.

00:01:34.760 | Even if we do not read or can't read, then we must avail ourselves of others' reading,

00:01:42.800 | namely by live or recorded reading of the Word.

00:01:51.000 | So this is probably why Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.12, "Until I come, devote yourself

00:02:00.200 | to the reading of Scripture."

00:02:01.840 | Now, almost all the translations say "public reading of Scripture," and that's probably

00:02:07.640 | right.

00:02:08.640 | Paul is telling Timothy, "Be sure the Scriptures are read every gathering.

00:02:15.360 | Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching."

00:02:19.480 | Many, probably, among the new believers, perhaps couldn't read, yet they were dependent on

00:02:29.600 | the reading.

00:02:31.040 | So today, we can listen.

00:02:34.080 | For example, the ESV study Bible, I was just using it the other day at the gym.

00:02:37.920 | I just clicked on it.

00:02:40.120 | The ESV study Bible has a little part to its app that can tell you to read what you're

00:02:46.960 | looking at.

00:02:47.960 | It reads it to you, and the reading is good.

00:02:49.920 | I like this guy, the way he reads to me.

00:02:54.040 | And it scrolls as you read, so you can let him do the reading while you actually look

00:02:58.840 | at the words.

00:03:01.800 | So that's my compromise answer to the question.

00:03:07.800 | The Word of God going into our minds and hearts day and night is essential.

00:03:16.520 | Psalm 1, "Meditate on the law of the Lord day and night."

00:03:20.640 | It's essential if we're going to be like trees planted by water when the desert winds are

00:03:26.200 | blowing from all around us.

00:03:29.620 | So if you can't bring yourself to read, then by all means, listen to the Word of God every

00:03:36.200 | day.

00:03:37.200 | Now, before I quit, I've got to ask a few questions to our friend.

00:03:43.400 | God might use these questions to stir you up to more freely and joyfully make the effort

00:03:51.480 | to read.

00:03:52.480 | So here are my questions.

00:03:54.080 | Number one, have you seriously considered that God himself has appointed reading as

00:04:00.480 | the way to know the mystery of Christ?

00:04:03.960 | That God himself, no fluke of history, no conspiracy of intellectuals, but God himself

00:04:11.600 | decided that it should be so.

00:04:15.000 | Ephesians 3, 3 and 4, "The mystery was made known to me," the apostle says, "by revelation,

00:04:21.120 | and I have written briefly."

00:04:22.720 | By reading this, it's a participle, by reading this, you can perceive my insight into the

00:04:30.640 | mystery of Christ.

00:04:32.000 | That's amazing.

00:04:33.680 | God has appointed reading as a pathway into the mystery of the living Christ.

00:04:41.080 | Wow.

00:04:42.080 | Number two, here's a second question.

00:04:45.480 | Have you considered there are millions of people around the world, and there have been

00:04:50.700 | millions in history, that would have given almost anything if someone would teach them

00:04:56.720 | how to read.

00:04:58.920 | They have intuited that not being able to read makes a person a blind man in a world

00:05:05.920 | of light.

00:05:07.960 | In other words, have you thought seriously what gift you have?

00:05:12.880 | You probably got it in the third grade.

00:05:15.920 | What gift you have that you simply can read, a gift that many would almost die to have.

00:05:24.440 | Number three, third question, have you considered that the greatness of what you read really

00:05:32.720 | can turn reading into a pleasure, even for those who don't like the act of reading

00:05:39.920 | itself?

00:05:40.920 | For example, let me illustrate.

00:05:42.760 | Would you enjoy reading a letter that begins, "Dear sir, you are the beneficiary of a

00:05:49.280 | million-dollar inheritance.

00:05:51.280 | Please read on."

00:05:52.280 | Seriously.

00:05:53.280 | What would happen to your pleasure factor in reading?

00:06:00.000 | Or here's another question.

00:06:01.580 | Would you find pleasure in reading a note from your doctor telling you your surgery

00:06:08.720 | was completely successful, the cancer is entirely removed, and the likelihood of it returning

00:06:14.760 | is virtually zero?

00:06:16.160 | How would you feel as you read on through the paragraph?

00:06:19.840 | Would reading be a burden?

00:06:22.160 | Would you find pleasure in reading a letter from your long-alienated son telling you that

00:06:27.920 | he has trusted in Christ and would like to come home?

00:06:31.840 | Would that be a burden to read the rest of that letter?

00:06:35.720 | Would you enjoy reading an affidavit from your attorney explaining that the legal suit

00:06:40.600 | against you and your business has been dropped?

00:06:42.840 | Would that be a burden?

00:06:43.920 | Would you find pleasure in reading that letter?

00:06:46.280 | In other words, it is possible that if you saw enough glory, enough beauty, enough thrilling

00:06:53.600 | news in what you were reading, that you would have the motivation to do it with joy.

00:07:01.360 | And lastly, I would ask, have you prayed?

00:07:04.800 | Have you asked for the illumination and motivation that you need?

00:07:11.400 | But I'll end where I began.

00:07:12.400 | I don't want to make it impossible.

00:07:15.360 | I'll end where I began.

00:07:16.800 | Don't let your disinclination to read stop you from taking the Word of God in.

00:07:25.240 | Listen with your phone in the bathroom.

00:07:28.280 | Listen in the car.

00:07:29.280 | Listen when exercising.

00:07:30.640 | Listen, listen, listen.

00:07:32.680 | Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

00:07:36.280 | Those are some great motivations for reading in general.

00:07:39.720 | Thank you, Pastor John.

00:07:41.040 | And if you struggle to read the Bible in particular, which is not an uncommon problem, see also

00:07:45.800 | episode number 438, which is titled "Six Tips If You Find the Bible Hard to Read."

00:07:50.720 | That's in the podcast archive.

00:07:52.540 | We turn our attention to prayer next week and welcome a special guest to the podcast,

00:07:57.280 | Tim Keller.

00:07:58.360 | You may have heard of him, and you may know that he has a book on prayer releasing soon.

00:08:01.880 | So I've gathered up 10 questions on prayer.

00:08:03.520 | We'll get him on the phone, and I'll ask him rapid fire.

00:08:06.200 | And if everything works right, I'll ask him two questions in each of the five podcasts

00:08:09.720 | next week, beginning on Monday.

00:08:12.280 | It should be fun.

00:08:13.280 | I'll start by asking him to explain what our prayerlessness says about us, and then I'll

00:08:17.200 | ask him how he learned to pray by using the prayers of the Psalms.

00:08:20.840 | I'm your host Tony Reinke.

00:08:22.160 | Have a wonderful weekend.

00:08:23.120 | [END]

00:08:25.120 | 1.

00:08:26.120 | What is prayer?

00:08:27.120 | 2.

00:08:28.120 | What is prayer?

00:08:29.120 | 3.

00:08:30.120 | What is prayer?

Encouragement for Slow Readers

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