Then six months later you see your friend again, and you’re still in the same shape. “It’s the greatest book I’ve ever read,” you say. “I underlined parts of it, memorized whole sections, and even started a study group about it.”

But you never practiced what the book taught, so it didn’t change you.

Do you find yourself doing the same thing with God’s Word? You may mark your Bible, but do you let your Bible mark you?

The book of James says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV).

To receive the blessings of the Bible, you have to respond to it and let it change you.

If you haven’t practiced intentionally responding to God’s Word, it might be hard to know where to start. Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you read a passage of Scripture:

• Does this show me a sin I need to confess or an attitude I need to change?
• Does God give me a command to obey or an example to follow?
• Is there a prayer in this passage of Scripture that I can pray for myself or for other people?

Start with these questions. As you put them into practice, you’ll soon find that you’re not the same person.

There’s a translation of the Bible called The Living Bible. That’s what each of us should be—a living Bible. The best translation of Scripture is when you translate it into your life and let it change you.