Our Bibles are not just history book that tells us of things that happened long ago. The Bible also is not a book filled with rules that we must follow. It is our answer book. When anything comes up in our life it is the source we should turn to first. The word was given to teach us and top open our eyes to the glory of God. Hebrews 4:12 tells us the true power of God’s word:
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Since the word is so important we need to do more than just read the Bible. We need to study it and think about the meaning. Joshua 1:8 says: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” The Bible is not a book that you read one time and then not think about it again.
While you could list many reasons to Study the Bible I find that three reasons really sum it up well. First by studying the word we build a relationship with our Lord. We know for a fact that what believe and have been told about the Bible is true. Lastly, spending time in the Bible acts as a great sacrifice to the Lord.
Build a Relationship with God
It is important to have a strong relationship with God. We are not meant to just serve God, we need to truly know him. The Bible even tells us to seek after God in Acts 17:27 “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”.
Growing your relationship with God is like unto to making a new friend and building a relationship with them. You do not meet them and immediately know everything about them. You have to learn how they work, what they like and do not like. The goal is to learn about them so you know better how to be their friend.
When fostering a relationship with another person it is very easy to get to know them. You just get together and talk, asking questions with the goal of learning more about them. Thanks to current technology you can even stalk them on social media if that is your thing. When it comes to building a relationship with God you can not just sit down and ask questions and get a direct response. God also does not have a facebook page, so what are you left to do?
You look in the only place that has recorded what God is like, the Bible. By reading through the Bible you begin to gain an understanding of what God is really like. You see the love he has for his people, the painstaking detail used in creation, and even the things that anger him. Once we really know how God works we can truly begin to foster that relationship and start doing things because it will please him.
Know the Truth for Yourself
Can you really claim to know something if you have only ever heard about it from someone else? In the age of social media, we have become more and more likely to believe anything someone posts to be fact. Even years ago people were quick to believe anyone who spoke from a platform. It is far easier to believe what someone else says is true than it is to take the time to look it up on our own.
Sadly God’s word has often been used incorrectly. Some people like to pull verses out of context and make them fit their agenda. Jesus even warned us of this in Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” People will say they want to further the Kingdom of God when in reality they are more interested in building a Kingdom of their own here on earth. They will cut and paste the Bible to make it fit their own ideology.
This is not to say do not trust your Pastor. I respect and trust my Pastor very much, but at times I still look at the context of the verse to make sure the way it was used as intended. Personally, I do not want to make it to the end only to find out what I was told and believed to be true was wrong. I would not want that for anyone. The only way to know the truth is to study the book. Faith comes by hearing, but knowledge comes from the word of God.
A Sacrifice unto God
Time seems to be one of the most important aspects of our lives. We only have a finite amount of time in this life. Every day we only get 24 hours and work and sleep take up 16 hours of that time and that does not even include commute time. When we finally do have some time to do what we want we normally choose to partake in the activities we enjoy. However, instead of taking to do the things to please us we should sacrifice some of our time to do something that pleases the Lord.
All throughout the Bible, you see stories of sacrifice. We actually wrote a whole post about sacrifice a few weeks ago which you can read here. While sacrifice was mainly a theme in the Old Testament, it is still in the New Testament. Jesus was the greatest sacrifice of all. That is the sacrifice to save us and stopped the sacrifices that were required by the law. But we are still expected to make sacrifices today. 1 Peter 2:5 tells us: Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”
In my personal opinion, studying the Bible is one of the best ways to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. By studying the Bible you are showing that God is more important to you than your time. At the same time, you will be building your relationship with God and gaining the knowledge you need to live as a Christian.
If you are waiting to start studying your Bible, but do not know how do not worry. It is super easy, you can even use your phone. Applications like Olive Tree or the Bible app offer free plans built in. You can also look for a chronological Bible plan online if that is more of your thing. Often time you can also ask people at church what study plans they have used.
It is a good idea to have a study Bible that does a good job of explaining verses. There will be times that something just does not make sense, but do not get discouraged it happens to us all. If you do not have a study Bible you can always just do a quick search of the verse online. Just be sure to find a good source and take some explanations with a grain of salt and be sure they fit the context.
Thank you so much for reading!
I hope that this article has given you the boost you needed to start a Bible study regimen. Just 15 minutes a day can make a big difference in your life. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post, we really do appreciate it.
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