Why should i read the Bible?
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Why read the Bible?
Why read the Bible?
So often people say it’s just an old out of date book, written by dead people a long time ago, that tells you what went on then in the old day’s, just another history book which has no relevance to my life now or my future.
Infact it has old values that need to be brought up to date, old attitudes that don’t work today, i.e marriage, sexuality, i live in a modern world, the Bible needs to get in line with today’s world.
That can be the response from all kinds of people including church kids who have grown up on this book, even the ones who have had thier parents make them read it, bashing it into them at every opportunity & maybe that’s where people have been going wrong, in the delivery & the walk & talk of our lives, maybe for another day.
Let me ask a question.
Do you believe what is written in this Book? This guide for life.
Do you read it every day? really read it or scan through it, do it as part of your tick box Christian living. Said morning God, that’s prayer tick. Looked at my Bible, Tick. Been nice to someone Tick. because that is how it is sometimes, i’m busy being good, when God wants more from us, this is all part of having a relationship with God through Jesus.
There are many things that will help us thrive in this Christian life, being part of a good church, that’s one that not only looks inward but also looks out to the community around it & loves it.
make good friends in church, there are people here who i consider to be friends. We are not made to do this walk alone, God says in
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
Tha’s not only about husbands & wives, we were made to be in relationship with others, love others, true friendships like those of David & Jonathan or Naomi & Ruth, be accountable to each other, be accountable to leadership, we should all be reaching out to each other, when was the last time you met someone for coffee or lunch obviously socialy distanced or even on line. How do you do with all that?
One v ital element of living this life well is reading the Bible, it’s God’s word to us, to help us navigate this world, this life & yet for many it can seem overwhelming & sometimes even confusing, maybe even to some conflicting itself.
There’s been the argument that Paul & James were talking at odds to each other
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
& James says
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
There’s a whole teaching behind this & what they are talking about that’s why it’s also important to study the Bible, great software like Logos some of which is free but the gist of it is this, Paul says we are saved by Faith in Jesus which is correct, what James says is, This is what our lives should look like when we have Faith in Jesus because Faith is a doing word & there must be fruit in our lives that shows we are saved.
We will never understand it unless we read it & if we are confused ask someone, one of your friends that you are making at church, you can ask me, you can always text, whatsapp, email, phone me, don’t believe the lie that the Pastor is so busy that they are too busy to talk.
Why is the Bible important?
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
It is the inspired word of God, Inspire comes from the latin word, Inspirare which means to breathe into, so we believe that God has breathed life into the Bible.
who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Biblical inspiration is defined as the work of the Holy Spirit, God so guided the authors of scripture as to enable them to write exactly the words which convey His truth to us & in doing so preserved their judgements from error in the original manuscripts. The writers were directed & guided by the Holy Spirit.
If it was left to Man alone we would have had thier interpretation of what God was saying & not the word of God but the word of whoever.
Gods supernatural guidance of the writers & thier situation enabled them to rescue & communicate all God would have us know for His Glory & our salvation.
How can it be relevant to my life?
Because it is written by God we can see that the Bible is our primary way of understanding God & discovering His plan for our lives as well as learning about the life of Jesus, not only that we also learn from the stories of other people as they walked with God facing the same dilemma’s as we face in life today.
How do you read it, let me recommend having a reading plan. Part 1 of the plan is the simplest, are you ready this is mind blowing.
Put the plan into action, start reading the Bible. if you don’t one & want one come & speak to me, there are a lot of translations out there, some not as good as others. The most accurate to the original language is the English standard version, i read that verion, i used to read the NIV but the ESV is better so i swapped, if one comes out that is better then i will start to use that but at the moment the ESV is the best word for word Bible you can get & it’s important to have the best that you can have when it comes to Gods word. If you gave me a Bible in another language & it makes no sense to me what’s the point.
maybe you prefer a paraphrase Bible, the Message or the passion which have some real beautiful words & discriptions in them but sometimes doesn’t get it right then don’t have a paraphrase as your main Bible.
So make a plan to read the Bible & then get a reading plan, either plan what you are going to read yourself or if you have a smart phone or tablet or computer there are plenty of sites out there that have ready made plans, the one i use is youversion & it’s free.
I am 330 days through reading the Bible in a year, 4 readings from today are Galatians 1, Jeremiah 47 & 48, Psalm 142.
It can feel like you just want to get through it, press the green arrow so it puts a tick in the box & it gives you the next bit of scripture then the next & the next then it asks what did it say to you & then you can get on with the rest of your day because you are busy.
What iv’e learnt is that it takes discipline, maybe you will have to get up a bit earlier, create a good habit, have a notepad & pen, be purposeful, be ready to hear from God. I write the date, the days number & i write each bit of scripture as i go to read it, go expectant to hear from God, it’s like church come expectant, come ready to encounter Jesus, to hear from Him.
Sometimes i pray at this point im praying as i write & then i read it till i get it, sometimes twice sometimes 3 times because sometimes my mind has wandered onto what is going on in life.
The devotional part of this plan says Ask God to connect with you, slow down.Read, take note of the words & phrases that intrigue you, read them again. Reflect on what grabs your attention, what’s the connection in your life, How is God speaking to you & thank God for engaging you. Respond to the scripture, speak with God about your life, how can you apply this to your life & those around you.
I have found it so beneficial to my walk with God, my understanding of Him, of Me, who i am, who i should be, how i can love others better.
It’s all in here you just have to take the time to read it.
Without this book you won’t know the truth & you won’t know about Grace, you won’t know that God wrote the most incredible love letter to all of Human kind including you.
Without it you won’t know that Jesus came to set us free through the greatest sacrifice & that this was always the plan so that we come back into e relationship with our creator.
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