Many Christians say they love God and want to know Him better, but they don’t do anything to actually learn more about Him. They say they want to serve God, but they don’t take the time to read His Word to find out just how to do that. Take time to read the Bible—it will encourage you every day and strengthen your relationship with God!
Q. At this point in your life, how much of the Bible have you read?
Q. What thoughts do you have of trying to spend more time reading and studying the Bible?
The Bible is the primary way that God communicates his desires for His people to His people! It is the Word of God for us to live on! The Bible is God’s “Road Map” for our life. The Bible is the guide to righteousness, peace and stability.
The Bible is not just one big book, but actually a collection of 66 smaller books written over a period of at least 1600 years by about 40 different authors. Everything the authors wrote was inspired by God.
God will not love you more because you read the Bible, but the Bible is His way of helping you to grow in your relationship with Him. Your relationship with God has been sealed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ … now it’s time to learn more about God! By taking time to be in God’s Word on a regular basis, you will grow spiritually and be able to stand firm when difficulties and deceptions come into your life.
If you received a special letter or email from God … telling you how much He loves you … giving you guidance and direction for your daily issues … would you read it? Would you keep it, treasure it, memorize it, and continually think about it … like a letter you from one of your cherished friends?
That’s exactly what the Bible is … it’s God’s letter to you!
Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (NASB)
Q. As you look at this verse, what is it saying to you today?
2 Peter 1:20-2: “But you need to realize that no one alone can understand any of the prophecies in the Scriptures. The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God.” ( CEV)
Q. What do the following verses reveal about God’s Word?
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (NLT)
If you received a special letter or email from God… telling you how much He loves you… giving you guidance and direction for your daily issues… would you read it?
Literally hundreds of times in the Old Testament it says “And the Lord said …” The Bible is nothing less than the words God Himself chose for us to hear! He preserved them for us so that we can know how much He loves us, what He has done for us, and how we can live to please Him.
In the early 1700s (!) author Matthew Henry said: “If you want to get close to God, you must study his Word.” The Bible is the primary means that you have to know God and what He wants for your life.
The whole Bible can be summed up in five words: Preparation, Presentation, Propagation, Explanation, and Consummation. As we look at all of the scripture, we find that the whole Bible is about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Preparation—-The entire Old Testament
Presentation to the world—-The Gospels
Propagation to the world—-Acts
Explanation–how to live for Him—-The Epistles
Consummation of everything, in Him—-Revelation
Q. From what you know about the Bible right now, what one word would you use to describe it?
The Bible is God’s “Road Map” for Your Life
If you were trying to drive to a distant small town you had never been to before … would you drive by your emotions and instincts … or would you look at a road map? While the road map won’t tell you what’s just around the curve, or how bumpy the road is … it will keep you from heading in the wrong direction, giving you guidance for your trip.
The Bible provides the “road map” for your journey with God. It gives you God’s wonderful promises for each step of the way. “The road of life can be a baffling route indeed: smooth at times, but sometimes full of potholes…one day a well-marked expressway, the next a maze of detours. But your heavenly Father has provided a road map—the Bible—to keep you moving in the right direction.” (Closer Walk New Testament)
Every day you do things out of habit. You get up, eat breakfast, shower, get dressed, go to school, go to work, etc. In order to make God’s Word part of your life—you need to make it one of your daily habits. Pick a time, then pick a quiet spot and spend time reading the Bible and thinking about how it applies to your life. Once you have done it for thirty days, you will have established a habit that will change your life!
Q. As you think about the routine of your day, when would be a time that you could spend some time with God by reading and studying His Word?
God’s Viewpoint
The Bible gives you God’s answers to all of life’s most important questions:
God’s Nature
Your Purpose
How To Grow In Christ
Moral Decisions
Relationships / Sex
Emotions / Comfort
Trials / Death
Henry Brandt and Kerry Skinner once wrote:
Additional Study: You may find it helpful to obtain a copy of What the Bible Is All About by Henrietta Mears. Dr. Mears was one of the great Bible teachers of the 20th Century. As Christian Education Director at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, she built one of the largest Sunday Schools in the world and wrote curriculum that was in such high demand that to publish it she founded her own publishing company! Such notable Christian leaders as Richard C. Halverson, Luis Evans, Jr. and Bill Bright were among her students. Dr. Billy Graham has said, “She is certainly one of the greatest Christians I have ever known.”
Your love for God is demonstrated by the place that His commandments occupy in your life. You must study His Word to learn what His commandments are.
To follow God’s Word as life’s guidebook requires a familiarity with the commandments and a keen sense of the place that they have in God’s order. A serious study of the Bible will give you an understanding of what God requires of you and what you can expect from God … for it is the Bible that is the guide to righteousness, peace, and stability.