Wednesday 22 April 2020

When Was The Last TIme You Read The BIble? TIps To Help You



You know this popular children chorus right?


Read your Bible.
Pray every day (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow (repeat 3 times).
Read your Bible.
Pray every day.
And you’ll grow, grow, grow.¹

This song in its simplicity teaches us a lot. It teaches the importance of reading the bible and prayer. It teaches the link between Christian growth and the Bible. For many Christians, we know the place of the Bible in our Christian walk and do desire to read and study it. David said, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (Psalm 119:18). In the same Psalm, he said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105). I cannot finish with Psalm 119 without mentioning verse 11. But I won’t quote it; assuming that, you either know what it says or you will look it up. The article is to help you read your Bible and that’s a good place to start. Look up the text.

Though we know the importance of the Bible in our Christian life, sometimes we can go months, if not years without reading it simply because we get busy. But regardless of our busy schedule, we must take the time to read Scripture. R.C Sproul says it well


I could plead with you to study the Bible for personal edification; I could try the art of persuasion to stimulate your quest for happiness. I could say that the study of the Bible would probably be the most fulfilling and rewarding educational experience of your life. I could cite numerous reasons why you would benefit from a serious study of Scripture. But ultimately the main reason why we should study the Bible is because it is our duty.~ R.C. Sproul²

In this article, what I attempt to do is to help you with some simple, uncomplicated, easy steps to follow to hopefully get you to read Scripture if peradventure, you have fallen off a long time in reading Scripture.

Desire to Read and Study Again.

Somehow we are conscious of the necessity of reading and studying Scripture (I will use reading and studying interchangeably in this article), but the desire is just absent. We are caught up in a busy life and nothing suggests to us “read your Bible”. The cares of daily living confront us and the Bible is not the first on our agenda. But, it should be if we are going to make any progress in our walk of faith. So, as the deer pants after the water brooks, our souls must also thirst and pant after God through His word. (Psalms 42:1-2). Pray to God that through the Holy Spirit, a desire will be stirred up in your heart to study.

Make The Time

Desire is not enough. We must consciously set aside time for this one important discipline in our lives. The best time, in my opinion, to read the Bible, is in the mornings. This might not work for everybody because of time schedules but I believe it is the most reasonable time. In the morning, our mind is fresh and alert. Now never expect your Bible study time to be “fulfilling” every time. There may bland days when it feels like a waste of time. But, however it feels, we must labour to study. Make the time, but if you break it, don’t feel bad. Catch up again.

Have A Plan To Study: Study Systematically

You have to open the Bible and read it in a systematic way. Not cheery picking verses from different places in the Bible every day. By systematic, I mean in an orderly manner; follow an organised pattern: page by page, chapter by chapter until we are through with the whole book. With this, we grasp the whole concept of the Bible. The gospel according to John is a good place to start with for me.

Keep Notes
Keep a notebook and a pen when reading. Make notes, write things you believe God is communicating through His word. Also, make an investment in Bible commentaries, Bible reference materials, bible dictionaries. It all makes the study of the Bible fruitful. If you can, use more than one version.

Reflection

Desire and studying Scriptures alone will not produce the full benefit of the word in our lives. We have to take desire and study to another level—Reflection. We must reflect and think through what we read and study. It is said that, if you know how to worry, you can meditate on the word. Just “worry” about the word. Ask questions in your mind. Turn the word around. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Joshua 1:8 and Psalms 1:1-2)

Share/Obey/Do

Studying the word is not for our benefit alone, we must also try to share what we learn from our reading. Again, knowing the word is one thing; obeying its teachings is another thing. It must be our desire to obey what we read.

Read Christian Literature
Read good books written by other Christians: Pastors, Theologians etc. This will help stir a desire for the word. Much has been written about and from the Bible. It will help to read great minds and the things they have written from Scriptures. It will stir you up to want to dig further into Scripture and most importantly grow in your knowledge of the Lord as Paul prayed for the Ephesians (1:16-18)

Make Use Of Technology
Do you ever consider your spiritual life when investing in the most latest mobile technology? These days you have no excuse not to read the Bible. You can carry the Bible anywhere on a smartphone etc.

***Article also published on graceandtruthgh.wordpress.com

Note
1. Mission Bible Class, “Read Your Bible Pray Everyday Song”, https://missionbibleclass.org/songs/english-songs/bible-songs/read-your-bible-pray-every-day-song/, accessed 20th April, 2020
2. R.C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture ( Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2009), Kindle Edition

When Was The Last TIme You Read The BIble? TIps To Help You

You know this popular children chorus right? Read your Bible. Pray every day (repeat 3 times). Read your Bible. Pray every day....