God made it clear throughout His word that we are to obey His word. How do we know how to obey if we don’t read the instructions?
“The Bible,” Billy Graham says, “is the road map of life.”
We find His path for our lives in the Bible as God speaks to us in His living word. In His word, God also reminds us of the power and promises that He has so graciously given to us.
Below are a couple of alarming statistics – the first one is an older statistic but the current one below the first statistic shows that this number would be pretty accurate today. These statistics confirm the need to ask yourself, and God, am I spending appropriate time in the word? It certainly is a legitamite question. God can give us the strength and the time we need to make any changes if necessary – check it out the stats:
Library of Congress Survey (2003)
In American homes the Bible has taken on the status of an icon
with little practical value. When asked, “What book has most influenced your
life?” in a recent Library of Congress survey, respondents awarded the Bible the
top position. But only 34 percent of American Christians read God’s Word on their own during the week, and of that group, only 13 percent claim to read it daily.
“Americans revere the Bible,” says pollster George Gallup, Jr.,
“but, by and large, they don’t read it.” (Christianitytoday.com)
Gallup Poll – 2011 (Christianpoll.com, July 9, 2011)
Gallup polls have tracked whether Americans take the Bible literally for the past 40 years, check out the stats below:
Which of the following statements comes closest to describing your views
about the Bible — the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken
literally, word for word, the Bible is the inspired word of God but not
everything in it should be taken literally, or the Bible is an ancient book of
fables, legends, history, and moral precepts recorded by man]?
Actual |
Inspired |
Fables |
No opinion |
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
2011 May 5-8 |
30 |
49 |
17 |
3 |
2008 Dec 4-7 |
27 |
50 |
21 |
3 |
2008 May 8-11 |
30 |
46 |
22 |
3 |
2007 May 10-13 |
32 |
45 |
21 |
2 |
2006 May 8-11 |
28 |
49 |
19 |
3 |
2005 May 2-5 |
32 |
47 |
18 |
3 |
2004 Nov 7-10 |
34 |
48 |
15 |
3 |
2002 Dec 9-10 |
30 |
52 |
15 |
3 |
2001 Feb 19-21 |
27 |
49 |
20 |
4 |
1998 Jun 22-23 |
33 |
47 |
17 |
3 |
1993 Jun 18-21 |
35 |
48 |
14 |
3 |
1991 Nov 21-23 |
32 |
49 |
16 |
3 |
1984 Nov |
40 |
41 |
12 |
7 |
1984 Sep |
37 |
46 |
12 |
5 |
1983 May |
37 |
43 |
11 |
9 |
1981 Dec 11-14 |
37 |
42 |
11 |
— |
1980 Jul 29-Aug 2 |
40 |
45 |
10 |
6 |
1978 Apr 18-May 1 |
38 |
45 |
13 |
6 |
1976 Aug 24-27 |
38 |
45 |
13 |