What Charlie taught about the Bible
Read the actual Bible itself, and let the Word of God fill you up.
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
“So first and foremost, read the actual Bible itself. I know that sounds to be a simple answer, but reading the word of God will never turn void… But the more seriously you take your faith, the deeper your journey will be, the more profound with splendor and glory and joy you will have that experience.”
When a new Christian asked where to begin, Charlie gave the simplest answer he could: read the actual Bible itself. He said he knew it sounded too simple. But reading the word of God, he told them, will never turn void, which echoes the promise in Isaiah that God's word does not return to him empty.
He believed the Bible was set apart. Speaking at a Sunday service, he held up a Bible and called it the inerrant Word of God, and said it is special. He was also honest about the struggle. He said Satan is always trying to distract him from reading it, so the pull to stay away is real and worth resisting.
“This is the inerrant Word of God. It is special. I know that Satan is always trying to distract me from reading the Word of God. Satan hates it when you try to read the Bible.”
“Number two is dig into the word and know it is the word of God. And this right here is a USB drive waiting to be inputted and downloaded into your operating system to protect you from the ransomware and malware attacks against the enemy. It's waiting for you. It says, please download it, please. It's waiting for you just to download it because as soon as you do, you start memorizing scripture, you're filled with the word.”
In a message at Awaken Church, he pictured Scripture as something waiting for you. His picture was a USB drive, ready to be downloaded into your life. Open it, he said, and as soon as you do you start memorizing Scripture and you are filled with the word. He wanted people to have it in their heads and not only on a shelf.
He also said reading is only a start. For a new believer he pointed to commentaries and to other books written in harmony with Scripture, to read alongside it. But the center never moved: the Bible comes first, and the rest are helps for understanding it.
And he promised a reward for taking it seriously. The more seriously you take your faith, he said, the deeper your journey will be, and the more splendor, glory and joy you will have in it.
Living it today
Open a real Bible today, not a feed, and read one chapter, the Gospel of John if you do not know where to begin. Read it slowly, and underline the one verse you want to carry with you.
A prayer
Lord, thank you for your word. Give me a hunger for it and a quiet place to read it. Fill my mind with what is true, and let it do in me what you sent it to do. Amen.