When did Christians stop carrying a Bible to Church?

I have noticed ever since I started attending my Church about 4 years ago, no one really brought their Bibles with them to service. I found this strange, as I always did. Not that what I do is the litmus test for normal, well in my mind it is, but to most people maybe not so much and don’t even ask my wife…ha! I find it strange because the source of our knowledge about our faith lies within the pages of that book. We are to base our lives on the teachings from those pages  we hear about while in service on Sundays….yet most leave it at home as if they are going to see a movie and don’t want to crowd their seat up with “stuff”. 

Now do I think it is a sin or something to make a big deal out of? Well my short answer is no. Do I think not bringing your Bible to Church is a good thing? No I do not. Do I think it is indicative of the overall Bible ignorance that plagues this generation? A very confident Yes! If the only time you get your dose of Bible truth for the week is the hour on Sunday, you are missing the point of being a Christian. My Pastor has asked everyone to bring their Bibles every Sunday while we go through the entire Bible this year. He heard the pages turning after asking us to turn to a verse and said something like, “that’s a beautiful sound, the sound of Bible pages turning”. You know what? It was beautiful.

Why should we read the Bible and read it often? Because the Bible is literally "God-breathed", 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” In other words, it is God's very words to us. As Christians, I would want to know why you would not want to keep your Bible on you, if not everyday at least Sundays at service!

Early in my faith I found it hard to read the Bible consistently, but being the OCD freak I am, I took my Bible with me to work and I have done it for many years now, not only is it convenient,  but it gives you opportunities to witness, Amen!! Having my Bible on me more often, I believe, is one on several factors keeping me in God’s word. The largest factor is, I genuinely wish to know all I can about the contents of its pages, but honestly, sometimes I read it, well, because it is there. 

The Bible is so important that Jesus said of it, "Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" - Matthew 4:4. If we want to live life to the fullest, live the life of a Christian, as God intended us to, we must immerse, read and heed God's written Word.

Thanks for Checking in, God Bless >>John

Please leave comments if you have them, good or bad!!

Quick facts about the Bible Part 1

I hear from many non believers that the Bible is just a guide. That is has been re-written many times and changed so much that it does not resemble the original text. Due to this misinformation they don't place much importance in the Bible. This way of thinking could not be more incorrect and it actually makes me very sad that something so important was not given just the basic research you would do buying a car or cell phone.

Now I’m not going to go into great detail here, but I want to list some basic facts about the Bible. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but just a small amount of information for you to digest. In the future I will post more on this topic; it is just too large to take on in one post. Feel free to chime in comments area.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work," (2 Tim. 3:16)

The Bible consists of 66 books: 39 in the OT and 27 in the NT. The Bible took about 1600 years to write. It was written in 3 languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek) by about 40 authors and is internally consistent throughout.

There are presently 5,686 Greek manuscripts in existence today for the New Testament. If we were to compare the number of New Testament manuscripts to other ancient writings, we find that the New Testament manuscripts far outweigh the others in quantity.

Statistically, the New Testament is almost 100 percent textually pure, meaning what it says is consistent to the original manuscripts. Most of the variations in the almost 6000 Greek manuscripts are spelling errors and very minor word alterations.

We as Christians should have no problem being VERY sure that the translations are accurate and trustworthy in regards to what the Bible originally said. We have large amounts of proof available and if we fail to learn what this proof is, we have not done our due diligence. Let us be able to answer skeptic’s questions intelligently and with confidence.If we are not sure about our Bible, how can we be sure of our salvation?

Reality is not changed by what anyone believes. Jesus is our Lord and Savior whether we believe it or not. What -IS- changed by what we believe is our eternal life and where we will spend it.Don’t let secular society, Hollywood or anyone else tell you you’re stupid for what you believe. Equip yourselves with the knowledge to give an answer for why you believe as we are commanded.

"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence," (1 Peter 3:15).

A good start is here:http://carm.org/ - credit goes to them for the Bible facts….