For most people, the only time they read the Bible is on Sundays, when they go to church. Aside from that, you will hardly ever see them reading their Bible.
But as Christians, reading and meditating on the word of God should be part of our daily routine. And we will see why it is important to make reading the Bible a habit.
Who is the author of the Bible?
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work
2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible is from God. He is the one who created all of us and so He gave us His word to teach us and direct our path. He is the author of the Bible and there is no other book like the Bible,
The Bible was completed over 2,000 years ago and it took 1,600 years to write the Bible. The books in the Bible were written by different people at different times and yet it has the same theme because it is inspired by God.
Many years ago, the Bible was only in an ancient language that only people who have learnt it could read. So it was only available to priests and they were the only ones who could possess the Bible and teach it to others.
A lot of people gave up their lives to translate the Bible into a common language for all. Today, the Bible has been translated into over 2,500 languages and there are billions of copies around the world.
And one amazing thing about the Bible is that although it was written over 2,000 years ago, it’s content is evergreen. The teachings and the doctrines in the Bible are applicable in our lives today.
7 Reasons to read the Bible
1. Helps us to know about God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
You can’t claim to be a follower of Christ and yet know nothing about Him except for His name. The Bible tells us all about God, his son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
So when you read the Bible you will get to know who God is, you will know about His son Jesus Christ who died for us and You will also know about the Holy Spirit that guides us.
2. Food for the spirit and soul
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
Ephesians 6:17
Mankind is made up of three parts; the body, the spirit and the soul. So just as we take in food every day to keep our body going, the word of God is food for the spirit and the soul.
So it is important that we feed our soul and spirit too. It is important that we read our Bible regularly to make sure our soul and spirit get the nourishment they need to keep us going.
3. It helps us to live in righteousness
To do righteousness and justice
Proverbs 21:3
Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
In the Bible, God gave us the 10 commandments to help us live in righteousness. Aside from the 10 commandments, there are several other scriptures that tell us how to live in righteousness and live a godly life.
4. The Bible gives us advice
Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
Proverbs 19:20
That you may be wise in your latter days.
The Bible is a book full of advice. The book of proverbs contains a lot of advice. Many wise quotes you hear are inspired by scripture in the Bible. In the Bible, there are so many inspiring stories and lessons to be learnt from these stories.
When you read the Bible it helps you to know exactly what to do at any point in your life.
5. It helps us to discern
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 John 4:1
In the world we live in, sometimes it can be hard to tell what’s right from wrong. Most people have done the wrong thing believing it was the right thing, reading the Bible helps you to discern.
Also, if you only rely on what people tell you about God’s word and His work, you won’t know when they are telling you the wrong thing. Because you will have nothing to compare to and you just have to believe what they are telling you even if it is wrong.
This is why it is important to read and meditate on the word of God. When you read the Bible, you won’t fall for false teachings. You can easily tell when someone is telling you the wrong thing. Because you’ve read the Bible and you know what it says.
6. It gives us comfort and encouragement
But those who wait on the Lord
Isaiah 40:31
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Life is full of ups and downs. We all go through troubling times in life and God knows that. So He gave us a book to give us comfort when we are sad. A book to encourage and strengthen us when we feel like giving up.
There are so many Bible verses about whatever you are going through in life. Whether you are sick, mourning or brokenhearted. Whether you lost your job or you are feeling insecure. No matter what you are going through or how you are feeling, there is a Bible verse to comfort you.
7. It shows we love God
Reading the Bible shows we love God. When you love someone, you want to spend more time with them, you want to know more about them. You want to know what will make them happy and what will make them sad. You want to know everything about them.
And the same thing applies to the Bible. It is a book from God, it talks about Him and tells us about what He likes and what He doesn’t like. So if you love God, in order to know more about him, you will read the Bible.
How to read the Bible daily
Have a quiet time
One way to read the Bible daily is to make personal devotion part of your daily routine. You can take 5 to 10 minutes every day to read the word of God and to meditate on it.
Getting a bible study toolkit can help make this easy for you since these toolkits come with Bible reading plan, verse study sheets and journal to help you better understand the scripture and how you can apply it in your daily life.
Download a Bible verse of the day app
You can also download a Bible verse of the day app on your phone. There are several of these apps in the app store and play store. Once you have the Bible verse of the day app on your phone, a verse will pop on your screen every day. It’s a great way to read the Bible every day.
Sign up for an online devotional
You can also sign up for an online devotional to receive regular devotionals in your inbox. This can either be a daily devotional or a weekly devotional. There are other ones like Bible reading challenge.
Signing up for these will ensure you receive a Bible study plan regularly in your inbox. It only takes a few minutes to read, but it is truly rewarding.
