NASHVILLE (BP) – Subsequent to my personal salvation experience in Jesus Christ and then determining to begin each day in personal time with God, the most significant spiritual decision I have made in my life is to read the Bible daily, consistently and wholly.
As of today (Aug. 6), I will have completed reading through the Bible for a consecutive 31 years. Nothing has impacted me any greater and empowered me more to grow in the grace of God daily than reading through the Bible each year.
To be clear, the day I complete reading the Bible annually, the very next morning I being to read the Bible through again. Developing the personal spiritual discipline of reading four to six chapters each day of the year will bless your life greatly.
Did you know if you discipline yourself to read four chapters a day, you will read through the Bible annually? Nothing will challenge you and inspire you more than reading God’s Word daily.
Three reasons you should read the Bible daily, consistently and wholly
- The Bible is the Word of God.
There is no book even close to the Bible. It is God-breathed, God-inspired, and it is truth without any mixture of error. It is the infallible Word of God, the inerrant Word of God, the authoritative Word of God, and is more than sufficient in every way.
Dr. Adrian Rogers would say, “The Bible is not the book of the month or the book of the year. It is the book of the ages.”
In the days of the conservative resurgence in our Convention, I often heard from Baptist platforms that: The Bible does not just contain the Word of God; the Bible is the Word of God.
Friends, read the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God.
- The Bible guides your life.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
So we can live with purpose each day, Christ-followers need the Bible to guide us into the light we need for living in this dark and lost world.
Over the years and particularly through these past 26 months in this new calling in my life, when I rise in the early morning and meet with God, I plead with God for His mercies from the Word that I can cling to and live by daily. Lamentations 3:22-23 teaches us that His mercies never come to an end and they are new every morning. Great is God’s faithfulness.
One of the most simplistic illustrations about the Bible being a guide in life was given to me by a Baptist layman, who was a member of Cross Church in Arkansas until his departure to heaven. Trucking magnate J.B. Hunt used to tell me the reason he started his day by reading the Bible was that it was like a map for his life. From the heart of a truck driver who for many years drove all over this country using a map for navigation, he clarified to me how the Bible was a guide for his daily life.
When you read the Bible, God speaks to you and provides His path for your day.
- The Bible ignites your conversations with God and others.
The words of men and women are often applauded by the Christian community. Through books, articles, blogs, social media posts, and verbal conversations, persons are quoted often and even idolized by some.
It is helpful to remember that what someone may say about a specific subject could be important, but much more important is what God says about the subject. No conversation or any book comes close to comparing with the Bible.
In fact, any other book, subject or conversation should be understood and ultimately interpreted through the lens of the Bible. What the Bible says matters.
Furthermore, if you really want to impact and empower your conversations with God in prayer, then pray His Word, stand on His Word and walk by faith in and according to His Word.
Friends, we need to read the Bible.
Finally, it is commendable for any person to set a goal to read a certain number of books over the course of a year; but, much more important is for each of us to read the Bible daily, consistently and wholly.
When you read the Bible, you are reading 66 powerful books all contained in what we regard as God’s eternal and perfect treasure.
Now is the time to lead.
