by Tim Bayly on January 5, 2016 - 12:28pm
(By David Wegener.)
Thy words were found and I ate them …” Jeremiah 15:16
You accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. 1Thessalonians 2:13
- Reading the Bible plunges us into a spiritual bath. It cleanses. It is the tool normally used by the Holy Spirit to show us our sin and bring us to repentance. God uses His word as a hammer to break us...
- Reading the Bible builds our faith. Faith does not focus on itself. It looks to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we look to His promises, His character, His warnings, our faith will grow.
- Reading the Bible directs our prayers. It tells us how we should pray. Praise God for His character. Pray the entire Psalter. Plead with Him to fulfill His promises in our lives. Heed His warnings.
- Reading the Bible reorients our lives. Our culture tells us to follow our dreams, to live for today, to please ourselves. The Bible tells us that we are not the center. God is. His plan is ultimate. We live for eternity.
- Reading the Bible matures us spiritually. We move from babes to children to adolescence to maturity. We live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. All of them. Don't just read your favorite parts.
- Reading the Bible fills us with the word of Christ. To be filled with the Spirit of God is to be filled with the word of God. The two always go together. Both are commands of God.
- Reading the Bible renews our mind. The world is trying to squeeze us into its mold. Only by meditating on what we read will we be able to escape worldliness.
- Reading the Bible warms cold hearts and makes the warm heart even hotter. It will enliven our affections so that we love Jesus most of all.
- Reading the Bible hardens our wills to obey Christ no matter the cost. Obedience takes determination and encouragement and endurance and the Scriptures provide it.
- Reading the Bible fosters personal discipline. We live in an undisciplined age. The disciplined person will always stand out. There are many ways to learn discipline. Regular Bible reading is one important way.
While I was growing up in the church, we used this saying that I never hear any more: "Either sin will keep you from this Book or this Book will keep you from sin."
