Spiritual Growth & Bible Reading

Reading God’s Word

So why should you start reading your Bible? A great preacher named Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) summed it up nicely stating “A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone whose life is not.” God’s Word is packed full of stuff that will not only help you in the next life, but also with the life you live today.

Just as food is essential to physical life, so reading God’s Word is essential to spiritual life. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that “man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. That is - bread sustains your physical life, but God’s Word sustains your spiritual life. Jesus knew that without reading our Bible’s we could not survive spiritually. That’s why he made reading the Bible a requirement for all his followers. In John 8:31 Jesus said “If you abide in my Word, then you are truly disciples of mine.” The opposite is also true! Part of abiding in God’s Word is reading your Bible!

As you read your Bible God will transform your character and conduct to reflect the character and conduct of Jesus. The character of Jesus is summarized in Galatians 5:22 - “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” When you read the Bible the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God. This doesn’t happen all at once, rather bit by bit. Sanctification, like I mentioned earlier, is a life long process.

Tips on Reading God’s Word

1. How often should I read God’s Word

How often should you eat? Don’t stress over missing a day here and there, but the goal is to read God’s Word every day. Your physical body needs food on a daily basis and that goes for your spiritual body too.

1. How much should I read?

How much do you want to grow? Generally speaking, if you read your Bible fifteen minutes a day, or just read four chapters a day, you’ll go through the Bible in one year. However, I recommend getting on a one-year-bible-reading program. This will help you stay on track, expose you to all of God’s Word and eliminate having to choose how much to read each day. To get the NDC one year Bible reading program email mike@newdaychurch.cc and request it.

1. Do I have the time?

On average the typical Christian watches about three hours of television each day. We definitely have time. The question is whether or not we are willing to give the time. The principle here is “we make time for what’s important to us.”

1. When should I read my Bible?

The most important thing is that you are reading your Bible consistently, not WHEN you are reading your Bible consistently. However, the Bible certainly supports reading your Bible first thing in the morning.

Matthew 6:33 says “seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness...”

Mark 1:35 reveals that Jesus went early in the morning to pray and spend time with God.

Here are some advantages of spending time with God first thing in the morning:

1. The first influence, input, voice, advice, etc. of your day is God’s.
2. It gives God the opportunity to prepare you for your day by giving you something in your reading time that will directly apply to your life that day.
3. It gives you the opportunity to think about what you read for the rest of the day (while you’re getting ready, while you’re driving to work, while you’re on break, at lunch, on the ride home, gives you something to talk about with your wife (or whoever) at dinner, etc. It’s not bad if you read at night, there’s just not as much time to think about what you read.

EIGHT REASONS TO READ YOUR BIBLE EVERY DAY

1. Through the Bible we can come to know Jesus and receive his free gift of salvation.
2. Jesus read the Bible. When tempted Jesus quoted Scripture. If he could quote Scripture then obviously he spent time listening to and/or reading Scripture and if he did it, so should we.
3. By reading and then living God’s Word we can grow spiritually.
4. By reading God’s Word we get principles to guide us in Christian living.
5. When we read God’s Word our minds and then our lives are transformed by God’s power. As we learn to think differently we begin to live differently.
6. In the Bible there is so much practical advice for daily living. If your dealing with temptation, need tips on parenting, need help making decisions, need to strengthen your marriage (or future marriage), need help dealing with stress, etc. the Bible has something to say about all these topics and many more.
7. The Bible is God’s revelation of himself to mankind. In the Bible we learn about who God is and what he wants with us. We learn his likes and dislikes, what he is for and against, what he requires of us and much more.
8. The Bible contains truth. If you want honest answers to life’s questions, the Bible’s got you covered. The Bible is full of TRUTH. Want to know where you go when you die? Want to know what happens if you live for yourself and ignore God all your life? If you want the truth, you need to read God’s Word.

SEVEN TIPS ON HOW TO READ YOUR BIBLE

1. Before you begin reading, say a prayer. Ask God the Holy Spirit to illuminate your understanding of His Word.
2. Remember that there are various ways to expose yourself to God’s Word. You can read it, listen to it on your iPod, download free sermons from great preachers on the internet, subscribe to podcasts of great preachers, etc.
3. Read the Bible humbly. When you come across a passage and learn that you need to change a certain area of your life, don’t get proud and resist God’s instruction. Instead, humble yourself by admitting to God your fault and need for change and then ask for his help.
4. Meditate on God’s Word. As you think about and ponder what you’ve read God will reprogram your mind. You will learn to think differently (i.e. about life, about right vs. wrong, about what’s really important, etc.) and then you’ll be ready to begin living differently.
5. Be open to change. The purpose of Scripture is to make us increasingly more like Jesus. Don’t be satisfied with the acquisition of information, rather seek life transformation. Be willing to change any thoughts or actions that are incongruent with Scripture.
6. Realize that some Scriptures are hard to understand. Even the apostle Peter, Jesus’ right hand man, had difficulty understanding some of Paul’s writings. If it was true for Peter, who walked and talked with Jesus for 3 and 1/2 years, then it is very likely we too will have difficulty understanding certain parts of the Bible. A Bible commentary is often helpful in understanding a difficult passage.
7. Eliminate distractions. Get away from people, email, cell phone, internet, etc. when you read your Bible. Go in your room and close the door, take a walk to a park and read at a bench or picnic table, etc. This will help you to really focus in on what you are reading.