Reading Your Bible
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his god, to keep all the words of this law and these statues to do them. Deuteronomy 17:191
There is not a command in Scripture to read the Bible every day. Early in our history, God’s people did not even have Bibles or access to copies of the Bible. Often, the synagogues and early churches had a copy of God’s Word or portions of it. The churches would secure these Bibles to a wall or a stand. Since the believers did not have copies in their homes, they did do something that we ought to be doing. When they heard the Word of God or when they had opportunity to see it, they would memorize it and meditate on what they memorized. Many believers memorized whole books of the Bible, a task made more difficult considering the limitation of access.
The command for them was that they should meditate on the Word (Joshua 1:8). The psalmist wrote concerning the believer, But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate DAY AND NIGHT (Psalm 1:2).
You cannot meditate on that which you do not know. The command to do so assumes that we are in the Word of God daily and deliberately reading and studying God’s Word. We need to hide his truths in our hearts, allowing them to engage our thinking and even to control our thinking. There ought to be a daily seeking after the mind of God as revealed in the Word of God.
How persistent are you in reading, memorizing and meditating on the Word of God? How much of the Word of God actually engages your thinking throughout the day? The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to Meditate upon these things, GIVE THYSELF WHOLLY TO THEM; that thy profiting may appear to all (I Timothy 4:15).
Meditation Two:
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1:2
It is true, the Bible does not command us to read the Bible every day, but if you fail to do so, there is something wrong with your spiritual life. There are many texts, like the one above, that indicate that God means for believers to read His Word.
There ought to be a desire to know God more and to read His love letter to us on a regular basis. I remember getting letters from my fiancé when I was away from home. I would read them, read them and reread them. Should we love the Lord any less? How often do you take the opportunity simply to read His Word?
If you are going to share your faith with others as you ought, you should have something to share. When Nehemiah spoke to the Jewish people who had returned from Babylon, Scripture states that he read to them the Word of God and then gave them the meaning, causing them to understand the reading (Nehemiah 8:8). Hebrews 4:12 states that the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. If we do not know it and try to share it, we will definitely fail in communicating it.
This is important for those who teach Sunday school classes, do counseling or work in children’s or teen ministries. Every servant of God must be personally acquainted with what God has said in His Word. You must experience the Word first in your life before you will be able to share it with someone else. Ask yourself this, “Do I truly believe that the message from God in the Bible is for me personally?” The more you experience it, the more you will have to share with someone else.
It is amazing to me how many sermons I will read or hear that fail to include the reading of the Word of God. Many Sunday school lessons and many sermons will use a jump off verse and then give nothing more than illustrations and the wisdom of man. The Scripture is the tool for changing lives, not the ingenious thinking of any person.
George Stiekes held successful pastorates in churches in Michigan and Washington among other places. He currently resides in North Carolina and blogs at Reverent Reflections. We recommend his ministry and republish his material by permission.
- Ed. Note: three years ago, our friend, George Stiekes, posted two brief meditations on Bible reading. As we near the year end, we thought it worthwhile to offer both of them to you. [↩]
I will always remember something I heard Jesse Boyd say to a preacher boy at Bob Jones after hearing the student race through the reading of his text in apparent haste to get to the sermon. Mr. Boyd told him, “Always read the Scripture clearly, and thoughtfully. There is nothing you will say in your sermon that will be as important as when you read your text.”