Beef Up Your Bible Reading 13

“Blessed is the man…

[whose] delight is in the law of the LORD.”

Psalm 1:2

I hope you’re finding my Bible reading tips helpful. I hope they’re opening up new levels of understanding for you. Even better if they’re making reading the Bible more enjoyable. I love God’s Word and I want you to love it too.

To pass the time on the train to Tipperary last week (it’s a long way), I set about trying to list the reasons why I love God’s Word. Here are a few of them.

It tells me about God. The Bible is all about God. It tells me what He’s like, it tells me about things He’s done and it tells me about things He’s going to do. I love Him and every time I read His Word I find reasons to love Him more.

God gave it to me. Sometimes I look at my Bible and marvel that I have words that come from God Himself in my hand. People had to be born and live and die. Historical events had to take place. The stories of individuals and of nations had to converge at just the right times and in just the right ways. Writers had to be on hand to witness it all and had to be miraculously inspired to record infallibly what they witnessed and knew. People suffered (some gave their lives) to translate and preserve their words intact when sinister forces conspired to do away with them. And the miracles don’t end there. Even with all that, every time I read, the Holy Spirit, has to give me the ability to understand His words.

It’s full of wisdom. My favourite definition of wisdom is, “Wisdom is to know the best way to get the best result.” Every word in the Bible, properly understood and applied, is wise. Of course it is because every word comes from God, and who could be more wise?

It guides me in life. I'm convinced that there’s not a situation that can arise in life but the Bible has something to say about it. It guides me on what’s right and what’s wrong: on what’s good to choose and what’s not.

It tells me how to please God, and I want to.

It comforts me when I’m sad or lonely. The Bible is packed full of words of encouragement and comfort.

It makes me strong. Reading the Bible constantly reminds me of truths that make me stronger to face whatever comes my way.

It makes sense of the world and of people. The Bible explains why the world is the way it is and why people behave the way they do. It gives me insight, understanding and compassion for the people around me.

It gives me hope. Whatever happens or threatens to happen; however bad things are or threaten to become, if I look at my world in the light of what I read in the Bible there is hope. And by hope I mean solid, unshakable certainty that this will pass and the outcome will be unimaginably good.

It gives my life purpose. The Bible shows me that there is a purpose to my existence and there are good reasons for everything that happens to me. It shows me how I fit in God’s bigger plan to build something that will last forever.

It’s something reliable in a world full of uncertainty and unpredictability. The truths of the Bible are eternal: they will not and cannot change, ever.

It’s fun, it’s fascinating, it’s amazing and sometimes it’s puzzling. I like puzzles.

I could go on with my reasons, but you probably wouldn’t want to read the whole list. I’m giving you these to prime the pump: to start you thinking about why you love God’s Word. Why not add your reasons in the comments below, I’d love to hear them

“Blessed is the man…

[whose] delight is in the law of the LORD….

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1:2 – 3