Why Should You Read the Bible?

It's the beginning of a new year & you're hearing all the calls to make Bible reading a part of your new year's resolutions. From the pulpit to Instagram, everyone seems to be pleading with you to open your Bible more this year than you did last year.

I'm not here to guilt you or to tell you that you're sinful if you don't read God's Word.

I am here to tell you that making Bible reading a priority in my life has made such a world of difference for me. And I hope that will encourage you to do the same.

Read the Bible to Know God.

It goes without saying that when you read most books, you get at least a small glimpse into who the author is. While human authors wrote the words down, the message itself is of Divine authorship (1 Timothy 3:16). From the beginning of creation to the heavenly scenes that are yet to come, dozens of people over centuries wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Bible is a collection of smaller books, but they all tell us about the same God. When we open the Bible, we are opening God's book. We learn about Him on every page. Genesis shows our Creator who is personally involved in His creation. Exodus gives us a glimpse of redemption. Yes, even Leviticus teaches us about our Holy God. If you want to know more about God, read what He wrote. You will never reach the end of learning about Him!

Read the Bible to Know Yourself.

As we learn more about God, we will also start to learn the truth about ourselves. When we learn about God as Creator, we begin to recognize that He made us in His image & we belong to Him. When we learn about His holiness, we will recognize that we are the opposite & our need to be cleansed. When we read about His steadfast love, we see our unfaithfulness. Romans 15:4 says, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." When we put together what we know about God & what we learn about ourselves, we are grounding ourselves in Truth.

Read the Bible to Know Truth.

"What is truth?" Pilate said these words to Jesus before he sent Him to be crucified (John 18:38). Pilate sounds a lot like the people who live in this modern age. Truth has become relative. "Live your truth!" Oprah preaches. Stephen Colbert even coined the word "truthiness" to describe this sliding scale of truth. I've even heard artists referred to as "the truth." Even in this post-truth age, we can know Truth. Paul writes in 2 Timothy that the Word of God "is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (3:16-17) Reading the Bible teaches is like having a lamp for our feet, as Psalm 119 tells us. The truths we find there are precious. In it, we find true wisdom.

Know God, know yourself, know truth--3 things that so many people are searching for! We get to hold it right in our hands!

Our fellow believers around the world don't always have access to a copy of the Bible, but we American Christians take it so for granted that we might have a dozen copies over our lifetime & never recognize them as the treasure they are.

Again, not a guilt trip, but I hope you are motivated to get started!

Cheering you on!

P.S. - One resource I want to pass along to you is Filled with the Spirit. You will have access to tons of free content, but the site also some paid options as well. You can have some Bible reading sent right to your inbox that is tailored to your season of life, topics you are studying, & more!

{This post contains affiliate links.}