5 Reasons For Reading The Bible Daily
In polite society, we don’t talk about it much. We wouldn’t dare! If we did talk about it, it would definitely identify us to be “bad” Christians. But today, I’m going to tell you something that many of us are afraid to admit.
Not all the time, mind you, but sometimes–I mean, once in a while, I sorta kinda find my Bible reading time to be a little bit boring.
Am I wrong? Does anyone else feel this way? I know you do.
I know you do because many of us have admitted that we don’t do our Bible reading on a daily basis.
We do other things daily–scroll through social media, read the news, listen to podcasts, and watch TV. But when it comes to Bible reading, we continue to put it off.
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What a different world it would be if we who are called Christian would wake up every morning and grab our Bible like we do our phones. Instead of checking into FaceBook, we would read through our daily Proverbs.
Instead of checking our “likes” and “comments,” we would pray through our daily Psalms.
What if we picked up our Bible and read for 5 minutes before watching 15 minutes of TikToc or Instagram?
What if we wrote in a journal for 20 minutes or worked on Bible verse memorization for 15 minutes instead of spending 30 or 40 minutes each morning checking out memes on Pinterest or Twitter?
And don’t get me started on games! Raise your hand if you struggle with this. (me)
I had to stop playing games on my phone because I was wasting so much time doing that instead of writing my blog.
Now I write on my blog and have time to work in my Etsy store. Link below.
Well, enough about me, because I struggle with all those things I just mentioned.
Bible reading isn’t always the FUN thing to do. But reading the Bible for fun doesn’t seem respectable, either. I mean, isn’t Bible reading supposed to be done systematically with an air of reverence?
Wouldn’t it be great to read the Bible without getting bored? Or better yet, to read the Bible and have a great time doing it!
Why Do We Struggle With Reading The Bible?
Have you read all the way through your Bible? If you have, I’ll bet there were times when your eyes glazed over, or you may have even dozed off.
I also know from experience that you can be reading along and have no idea what you are reading. Not because it’s too hard to understand, but because your mind goes in neutral. You see the words, they’re going through your eye gates, but your mind isn’t paying attention.
However, you can get on social media and thirty minutes will go by without you even blinking. So, why do we struggle so much with reading the Bible? Of course, to be fair, you may not remember what you read on social media either. But there are four reasons I can think of that may be why we find Bible reading boring.
Firstly, there are no pictures. Yeah, I know. If God had known what the media experts know today, we wouldn’t struggle with reading the Bible for a couple of hours throughout the day.
Seriously, even as you read this article, it will be easier than reading the Bible because the paragraphs are broken up. I’ve inserted several pictures for you to click on and post on Pinterest (sly suggestion). And every two or three paragraphs, an ad has been inserted to distract you from all these words that I’m struggling to string together to make a cohesive argument on how important it is to read the Bible every day. 🙂
Secondly, there are lots of words that we struggle with reading or understanding. You know what I mean. All those names and places we can say in our minds, but when it comes to reading them out loud, our tongue wraps around our eyeteeth, so we can’t see what we are saying.
And then the places so foreign to us make it difficult for us to imagine them in our heads, so we struggle with paying attention. I mean, if these events had happened in America, we could keep up a lot better. For example, if Adam and Eve had gotten kicked out of Florida, we would be able to picture that event and keep ourselves entertained.
Satan would have had to disguise himself as a gator instead of a snake.
And instead of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, they could’ve crossed the Mississippi River. We all know what that would have been like if God had parted the Mississippi River. They would’ve stepped onto the muddy Mississippi’s dry sand and had two walls of muddy water on either side of them.
Or the wall of Jericho! The Israelites could have walked around one of the many mountain ranges in America and shouted them to level ground.
Thirdly, we sometimes find Bible reading boring because we are distracted by our own lives, desires, and life’s busyness. Let’s face it; when reading the Bible, we are so distracted by the time, our schedule, and the noise around us that we can’t concentrate on what God is saying.
Finally, we find Bible reading boring because we don’t understand the magnitude of its importance in our daily faith-walk. I mean, outside of Numbers and Leviticus, of course. 🙂 What if you were reading a book about your hobby, your vacation, or a “how to do something you really wanted to do manual”? It would probably be hard to put down. You would leaf through the pages, look at the pictures, and observe the tables and directions with interest.
We don’t do that with the Bible because we don’t truly understand the magnitude of the written Word of God that we hold in our hands. That would be worth a little meditation exercise, wouldn’t it? Thinking about the priceless value of God’s written Word.
5 Reasons for Reading the Bible?
If we believed that the Bible is truly what it says it is, we would be more studious in Bible reading. And maybe instead of reading the Bible, we should first learn about the Bible from others who have studied its origins.
1) The Bible is God-Breathed
2 Timothy 3:16 says that ALL Scripture is breathed by God.
God inhabited the beings of men who wrote the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is LITERALLY the WORD of God breathed into man.
2) The Bible is Flawless
Everything written in the Bible is absolute truth. “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man that He should change His mind” (Numbers 23:19). Whatever God has said in His Word has and will come to pass.
3) The Bible is the Revealed Word of God
Jesus told us that humankind could not live on bread alone. We live an abundant life by reading about God’s plan for humankind. God’s will for all humankind is that we come to repentance and salvation through His Son, Jesus.
4) The Bible is Truth
Do you want to walk in light? Do you want to have wisdom? Do you want to be able to discern between good and evil? Read the Bible. God is true, and His words are true.
If you have not seen the tidal wave of lies that have flooded our nation and the world over the last several years, then you haven’t been paying attention. Everyone is so divided on every subject and aspect of life. People call good evil, and the things that used to be evil are now being celebrated.
You cannot know lies if you do not know the truth.
5) The Bible is Our Lifeline
We are told in 1 Peter 5:8 that Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking those to devour. We have no protection from him outside of God’s Word. The Bible is our lifeline:
- it saves us from sin-Ephesians 6:17
- it keeps us from sin-2 Timothy 3:17
- it protects us from sin-Hebrews 4:12
- it separates us from sin-James 1:25
The Bible is important for each one of us to read. You may be able to go to church and listen to some wise teachers or a good pastor that preaches the truth, but we must study the Bible ourselves because it is the living word of God for each individual.
If you don’t get it from the Bible, then don’t do it.
RESOURCES
Gifts for Pastor AppreciationHow Can We Know What Parts Apply to Us Today?
God’s Word is alive. It’s as applicable today as it was when it was first written thousands of years ago.
Each truth that tells us how to relate to God and how to relate to others is applicable.
There are, of course, some chapters in the Bible that do not apply to us. The Levitical Laws written for animal sacrifices have nothing to do with us because Jesus is our sacrificial Lamb. However, by reading those books, we see how important it was that Jesus came. And how, if he hadn’t completed the work on the cross, how hopeless we would all be.
Every part of the Bible is written for our good and His glory.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Key to Applying the Bible to My Life
The key to applying the Bible in our personal life is to realize that it is our responsibility.
God has given us everything we need to be successful in this life. He has given us His word in writing that we can read and learn. He has given us the Word of life, found in Christ Jesus. And He has given us His Spirit to be a Helper to us in our faith-walk.
So, what can we do?
- Read the Bible. Find out who God is. Read about His character, His plan of redemption, and His promises He has for humankind.
- Study the Bible. Become more familiar with God’s Word by reading small passages or particular stories and researching them more deeply.
- Hide the Bible. Hide His Word in your heart by memorizing key verses that declare God’s greatness or verses that bring you joy or calm your anxiety.
- Obey the Bible. God has called us to be doers of the Word, not just hears only. If we know what is right to do (or not to do) and live oppositely, then we sin. It doesn’t do any good to read the Bible, study the Bible, and memorize the Bible if we aren’t going to obey the Bible.
There’s an old hymn that states, “Trust and obey, there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
Bible Reading Plans
Simple Bible Reading Plan
Are you new to Bible reading? Or are you looking for a simple way to fit consistent reading into your day? The following plan takes you through Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, and then some choice chapters of the New Testament. It’s intended not to take longer than 3-5 minutes a day, leaving time for Bible journaling, prayer, and memory verse study, if you wish.
Fill out the form below to receive a FREE PRINTABLE PDF of the Simple Bible Reading Plan.
