Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Max Lucado
Devotional: 3 Ways Reading the Bible Daily Can Bless Your Life
Most Christians, like almost everyone else, are busy. They live lives with many different, often conflicting, obligations and priorities. It is just way too easy to run out of time every single day. There is just so much to do. Still, despite all the hustle and bustle of your typical day, it is always a good idea to read the Bible. No, it isn’t a chore or obligation or something you simply ‘need to get through’ so you can get on with the rest of your day. Read these three reasons for reading the bible listed below with an open heart and open mind. They will not just make reading the bible on a daily basis pleasant but can actually lead you to look forward eagerly to your daily bible readings and meditations.
Reason #1: The Bible Can Give You Inner Calm and Strength During Your Stressful Day
If you feel your days are filled with stress, challenges and hurdles that really drain your resolve, buck up. The Bible is filled with beleaguered, confused, depressed, anxious, and outright broken and beaten down people who still triumphed in the end. How? They let God take control of their lives. They sought His kingdom first and all else, victory included, flowed from God’s kingdom. These stories can’t help but give you peace and a renewed sense of resolve. In many cases, these biblical heroes had it worse than you. They had fewer resources and fewer advantages. Yet, through Christ, they were able to triumph. So can you!
Reason #2: Reading the Good Word Can Bring You Back to the Right Path
Many Christians are like frogs in a pot on a stove. The heat of the stove keeps increasing by one degree. However, the frog doesn’t jump out of the pot because it easily gets accustomed to the small increases in temperature. Sadly, the ending is all too predictable. By the time the pot boils, it’s too late for the frog-it boils to death! The same goes with Christians. We can get so accustomed to ‘small sins’ that our tolerance level for breaking God’s heart reaches a high enough level that we can no longer hear the Holy Spirit’s convicting calls.
By reading the Bible regularly, we stay aware of sin and how pride, fear, and selfishness can lead to destruction. Our sensitivity to the Spirit is preserved. This is no small matter. It can mean the difference between being lost forever or spending eternity with God.
Reason #3: Dwelling on God’s love letter to His Earthly Children Leads Us to the Gospel
All of the Bible, yes-all 66 books-are about Jesus. After all, we are so important to God that He gave everything He had for us. God sacrificed Himself, in the form of Jesus Christ, just so we can have a way of being reconciled with him. That’s how God solved the seemingly impossible break the Devil created between God and man in Eden. It took God coming down in the flesh and dying a shameful death on the cross to resurrect the lost connection Adam had with Him.
Reading the Bible regularly helps you soak up this ever present truth in the Bible. The whole Bible either points forward to Jesus or looks back to Him. It doesn’t matter whether you’re reading the Old Testament prophets, Job, Timothy, Jude, or any other book in the Bible. God’s plan for your salvation is there. Drink it all in and feel His Love.
Closing Words
As busy as you may be, make reading the Bible part of your daily routine. You’ll only thank yourself for it. Not only can reading God’s word give you a daily boost in energy and motivation, it also works to deepen your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s call for your personal revival and reformation. Daily Bible readings also serve to remind us of the Gospel, its truths, and our need to embody the Gospel moment by moment.
