There is no substitute

Right now I have 3 books that I'm reading for class:  Lifestyle Evangelism, The 7 Principles of an Evangelistic Life, He That is Spiritual, and a leisure read, Halftime.  I can't say that I'm surprised by the amount of reading in seminary.  I knew there would be a lot.  Interestingly, one of my profs says the key is learning to read faster.  In fact, he says we actually retain more when we read faster.

While these books have been enlightening, reading about God and spiritual matters from someone else's perspective is no substitute for having an actual experience and encounter with Him through the living Word... the Bible.  It is so easy to fool myself that I have spent time with God during the day when I am doing an assigned reading in one of my books.  In actuality, these are someone else's words that I'm reading.  It is second-hand information.  Second-hand sources like books, commentaries, and sermons are great, but they should not substitute the one and only first-hand source - the Bible.  This is where God speaks to us one-0n-one.  It is a treasure chest waiting to be unlocked.  There is no substitute for spending some time in it.