Richard Roberts
You never reach the place where you have no need to study the Bible. I’ve read the Bible through many times, but I keep finding new things in it that I’ve never read before. It’s the greatest love story, the greatest prose and poetry, the greatest storytelling volume, the greatest piece of nonfiction, with the greatest beginning, and the most climactic ending of any book in history. The Bible is a living book, and when you have the Word of God in you, you’re alive!
The best way to get the Word in you is to read it and meditate upon it. The late Dr John Osteen, who was the pastor at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, was my dear friend. He used to say, “Richard, you have to meditate on the Word of God.” And I’d say, “John, how do you meditate?” He would say, “I just keep saying the Word over and over again until it becomes a part of me.”
Pastor Osteen reminded me of the verse which says, Out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his [your] mouth speaks (Luke 6:45 AMP). If your heart is filled with the Word, it will flow out of you, and you will be prepared for any problem that may arise. When Satan strikes, you can use the Word of God to defeat him like Jesus did in Matthew 4:3-11. You may not have time to say, “Devil, timeout! Let me go find my Bible.” But if you have the Word living in you, you have “the sword of the Spirit” which is alive and full of power … sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12 AMP). With it, you can conquer. You cannot afford not to be armed at all times with this powerful weapon of spiritual warfare.