What will I experience when reading and applying the Bible?
Job 23:12I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.
Although Job didn’t understand the painful circumstances he was going through, he continued to depend on what he knew about God. Like many Old Testament figures, Job lived before any books of the Bible had been written! Nevertheless, he was convinced that God was trustworthy. How much more should we who have been given the Bible trust God!
Psalm 19:9-10The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
It’s one thing to place a high value on God’s Word; it’s another to taste the goodness of Scripture as we let repeated and extended study of the Bible lead to God-honoring choices.
Psalm 119:11I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Memorization not only exercises the mind but also produces good habits and actions that flow from the heart. Intimate attention to God’s Word leads to avoidance of sin.
Psalm 119:28I weep with sorrow; encourage me by your word.
When we read of God’s faithfulness to others throughout their highest and lowest experiences, his Word reminds us that we are not alone. We also discover ways we can deal with and overcome obstacles and setbacks in life.
Psalm 119:54Your decrees have been the theme of my songs wherever I have lived.
Reading the Bible helps us experience joy, insight, wisdom, and knowledge, and this should lead us to worship! How does your worship reflect how you respond to God’s Word?
Psalm 119:105Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
God’s Word should illuminate not only our immediate decisions but also our view of the future. We can see our surroundings and our direction more clearly with the help of Scripture.
Jeremiah 15:16“When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.”
One of the marks of authentic spiritual life is hunger for God’s Word. Unless we really expect God to meet us and speak to us in his Word, we are not likely to spend much time reading it.
Matthew 7:24-27Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.
Both people Jesus mentions in the close of his Sermon on the Mount share in common their exposure to his teaching. The difference is that one follows Jesus’ words and the other ignores them. The different outcomes don’t demonstrate that one life is easier than the other (they both experience storms); rather, one survives and thrives while the other collapses.
Matthew 22:29Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”
Jesus was interacting with the Sadducees, a Jewish group that did not believe in the final resurrection of human beings. They had just presented an argument, loosely based on Scripture, that they assumed proved that the final resurrection was impossible. In response, Jesus showed the Sadducees that their wrong interpretation of Scripture led them to misunderstand God’s power and neglect one of God’s greatest promises. He destroyed their argument and highlighted the truth of God’s Word.
John 5:39You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!
When we come to Scripture with humility, asking God to help us understand his Word, it will lead us to see and appreciate Jesus more clearly. This is good news, because we can easily misread the Bible. We can pick and choose things that sound good to us and ignore what challenges us or seems difficult to understand. If we don’t meet Jesus in the Bible, whether in the Old Testament or the New, we’re missing the main theme.
James 1:22-25Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
James was not impressed with those who were inattentively exposed to God’s Word. Instead he taught that we must remember what we hear and put it into action. His analogy of glancing in mirrors that could help us see ourselves more clearly is a powerful metaphor for missing the role God intends for his Word to have in our lives.
