By ELIZABETH COOPER
Tuesday 28 July 2020
I was recently reading the 'Inside Out' Bible discovery guide and the opening sentence reads "this is your Bible discovery guide to help you get your Bible off your shelf and into your life!
Quite a punch at the start of a book aimed at young people.
It got me thinking about the answers we would give to the question asked "why should I read God's word?"
I can immediately think of five – if you can add to the list perhaps you would share them with us in a short devotional of your own?
1. LIFE
John 6 v 68
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
When the followers of Jesus were finding some of His teachings a little hard to understand, some turned away and Jesus asked the disciples if they wanted to turn away too. It was Simon Peter who recognised that nowhere else could be found what we need for life.
God's word holds the words of eternal life
2. FAITH
Romans 10 v 17
"faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ"
When we read of what God has done through Jesus, our faith rises as we see all things are possible in Him. This message is also heard as we speak to one another of what God is doing now – faith is raised.
Our faith comes from reading/hearing the message of the Bible
3. HOPE
Romans 15 v 4
"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."
Who doesn't need hope in their lives? Reading scripture encourages us as we read the life stories of the people there. The Psalms too encourage that even at the deepest depths of life, there is hope – thank goodness David wrote honestly about his life and the hope God gave him.
Our hope comes from what is written in the scriptures
4. JOY
John 15 v 11
'"Jesus said 'I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" .'
What did Jesus tell us in the previous verses to this? He said that He loved us with the same amount of love that God loved Him with. Wow! If that doesn't bring you joy…….
Jesus imparts fullness of joy through the word
5. FRUITFULNESS
Psalm 1 v 2-3
"But he whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night, that person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season".
The original words for 'planted by a stream' actually read "transplanted".
If we are happy to read God's word and spend time thinking about it, God transplants us to that place where we can drink of His living water – His Spirit – and the result is transformation.
meditating on the Bible causes us to be like a tree that yields fruit
Five good reasons why you should read the Bible.
More reasons can be heard here in the song 'Your word' Hillsong Worship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_rGEbLDuk
Perhaps in the next devotion I will share some of the reasons (and possible answers to) why your Bible stays on the shelf.