The Believer & The Bible
A new year is here and I am sure that reading your bible more is at the top of the list ‘againnnn’ Fear not you’re not alone in this battle. It is a battle because our flesh and the enemy doesn’t want us to read the bible. There are countless stories of trying to read and falling asleep but if you pick up a magazine or juicy thriller you find yourself reading until dawn. So why is this?
Why is the bible important to you?
The first question is why is the bible important? I think once we understand its importance in our life we would become more intentional. The bible can be looked at as a road map, a manual on who God is, who we are in him, how we should live and what’s to come. That’s how I break it down.
As a Christian I’ve struggled with reading my bible, which confuses me at times because I’m an avid reader, but it’s the truth. Just before the New Year I looked into the mirror and said ‘Shauna you have to get into the Word more, you have to go deeper’. A few days later I received a call from a friend asking if I wanted to join a weekly bible study. Here was my opportunity to get into the Word by making a commitment to this group. If we are not making the effort and being intentional about reading the Word we are in trouble.
Why? The Word shows us who God is. Think about this…How can we commit our life to God? Serve him? Worship him? Preach, sing and witness about him and we don’t know him? It’s through the Word, prayer and time spent with him that builds this relationship and strengthens our faith. Romans 10:17 (KJV) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The Word is the solution
The Word holds solutions to problems and answers to questions but we would never know this unless we open it and dive in. The Word sustains us in some of our most difficult and darkest times by bringing comfort. In 2021 I lost my two oldest siblings weeks a part. I was believing for their healing and when they passed I shut down. I couldn’t pray, I couldn’t read but because of what I had read and heard over the years the scriptures were coming back to me to bring comfort. There was some push and pull because I was hurting, I was grieving but the truth is the Word of God is life. He was leading me to scriptures that would sooth, enlighten and comfort me in my grief. I began to slowly come out of the funk. If I had not known the Word maybe I would still be there but it shows how important the Word is for our very survival.
In Psalm 119 there are 176 verses and in many of them David is talking about the Word. He rejoices in the Word, he is awed by the Word, the Word is true and pure. David understood the importance of the Word for his life. It’s a long chapter but its worth the read but we are talking about reading so you can do it.
Psalm 119:105 (KJV) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
The Word is being fulfilled daily but to know this we have to know it. It’s our spiritual food that helps to build up our spiritual muscles. We need physical sustenance to survive so it is spiritually, without it we can’t fight the enemy of our souls.
Matthew 4:3-5 (AB) And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’
Jesus the Christ who is the Word used the Word on the devil when he was tempting him. Jesus said it is written every time the devil said something to him. My goodness! Really digest that, Jesus used the Word so how much more should we? We have to be intentional about it. We have to grasp the fact that without it we can’t grow, we can’t fight, we won’t have strong faith. You can’t speak the Word to the enemy like Jesus did if you don’t know it. In other words to put a Word on it you have to know it! To know it begins with reading it.
Here are some tools you can use…
We’re all at different points in our walk so what works for me may not work for you. So here are some tips on how to read your bible.
YouVersion is an awesome app with daily verse of the day and bible plans, this is a great way to get started.
Find a focus for e.g Faith, then search scriptures and stories on faith.
Join a bible study group or get a study partner this will help with being committed to studying.
The Bible Project is another one that takes you through the bible. They have a podcast and a Youtube channel.
Audio bibles.
Whichever way you choose the key is to be intentional and don’t be intimidated. Make a plan and do your best to stick with it. Remember this, just like physical food is vital for our physical strength and survival, so is spiritual food (the Word of God) is vital for our spiritual strength and spiritual survival.
The very practice of reading (the Bible) will have a purifying effect upon your mind and heart. Let nothing take the place of this daily exercise.
Billy Graham