Reading the Bible

Reading the bible is very important throughout your Christian Journey – for all Christians (new, growing or mature). It helps you to meditate on the word of God, learn about His son – Jesus Christ and His Ministry. It also helps you to know what is expected of you as a Christian, which invariably impacts on your Christian growth.

You should join a bible study group in your local church. Reading of the bible in isolation can sometimes be daunting, boring or discouraging except you are principled and determined.

It is important that you become like the Berea Christians, studying the bible to check and verify that what you've been told or what you've heard in church is true. This helps you to identify false doctrines, fake pastors/reverends and false prophets. In Acts 17:11, it states: "And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul's message. They searched the Scripture day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth".

This year 2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, which by far is the most popular version notwithstanding the 1611 language. While KJV is popular, the bible as a whole is not very well read, irrespective of the various versions you may have, even though most homes will have two are more copies.

The Bible

There are 66 books in the bible made up of 1,189 chapters. The 66 books are divided into 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, there are 929 Chapters and 260 chapters in the New Testament. Therefore, reading the bible in a year and understanding what you've read is no mean feat. This is why you need to devise a strategy to study the bible.

How to Start

• There is no hard and fast rule about reading the bible.
• You can set yourself a goal or purpose for reading through the bible (e.g. choose a topic or a theme to study).
• You can also choose to read in a day, one chapter from a book in the Old Testament and one chapter from a book in the New Testament – and continue on that basis until you have read the whole bible.
• You may want to have a note pad and highlighters to write out (or highlight) key passages or any queries you wish to speak to someone about.
• This allows you to do further studies on the topics, or areas or ask questions in your bible study group. You can also ask your pastor/reverend or a mature Christian.
• This will help when you want to share a revelation of a new truth or insight you have learned during your study.
• Give yourself a timescale on when you want to finish reading through the whole bible. .
• Be consistent. Read at least a chapter a day.
• Make your plan, start it and stick to it.
• There are several study materials/guides/reading plans available on the internet e.g. www.biblegateway.com You can also check your church library or local Christian bookshop.

For New Christians

The bible provides: (a) a manual of instructions for your daily walk with Christ (b) a direction for resolving problems that may arise in your Christian journey. The analogy is like a baby in the womb, who gets sustenance from the mother through the umbilical cord - likewise you will get your sustenance from the Holy Spirit. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-8).

For Mature Christians

Christians become mature when they continually read the bible. This transforms your lives. You realise that your natural ways/powers lead to sin and destruction but God's way leads to life. You become grounded in the Word and as it takes root, you become a true follower. You are renewed from inside out. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

Being a mature Christian is not measured by the length of time you have given your life to Christ, or the length of time you spend serving the Lord. Growth is becoming like HIM more and more, day in, day out. There are a lot of Christians who have given their lives to Christ for a long time and still are babes – they refuse to grow and become "malnourished", having a stunted growth for the rest of their lives.

It doesn't have to be that way. Make a change and start reading your bible today. Soon the prayer of Christ will be answered in your life that you may be one with Him. (John 17:22).

Why Read the Bible?

The following are some of the benefits of reading the bible: You will learn:

1. How to meditate on the word of God and spend time in His company
2. That "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instructions in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16)
3. About God's standards; the "Ten Commandments" - (Exodus 20:2-17).
4. More about Christian behaviour – (Romans 12: 1-21)
5. The Lord's Prayer – (Mathew 6:10-14)
6. That faith is the epicentre of your relationship with God – "without faith, it is impossible to please God" (Hebrew 11:6)
7. That sin is destructive – "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)
8. God's promises concerning your life. There are about 365 promises in the bible concerning your life (e.g. 2 Corinthians 12:9, Isaiah 41:10 & Jeremiah 33:3)
9. The family history of Jesus Christ – (Matthew 1: 1-25)
10. The teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ (e.g. Matthew, Mark, Luke & John)
11. The Miracles of God (Old Testament) and Jesus Christ (New Testament)
12. About love poems and stories (Songs of Solomon)
13. How to develop a personal relationship with God. You will learn about God's relationship with His prophets in the Old Testament. And the relationship of Jesus Christ with His disciples and followers.
14. How to get accustomed to His voice likes and dislike - this impacts on your way of life.
15. How to be conscious of His presence in your life.
16. Which scripture to meditate on everyday - "thy word have I hidden in my heart so that I may not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). Most revelation and insight into the Word comes from meditation. To keep the Word in your heart first you have to read them or hear them.
17. How to flee from temptation when it comes your – you will use the Word to rebuke the tempter and the desire to yield and commit sin is reduced or becomes non-existent.
18. How to use His WORDS to pray back to HIM or remind Him about His promises concerning your life
19. To know God's plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11)
20. About the early church and key elements of a church (Acts)
21. The Word takes a life of their own once inside of you. The Holy Spirit makes links to the different areas of your mind so that you can understand and appreciate even more the word you've read. That's the reason why, when you read the bible again and again, you will have a better understanding.
22. The Word prepares your mind to understand where the Holy Spirit leads and when He speaks to you.
23. You can live an extra ordinary life by reading the bible when the Holy Spirit takes you where no (man) preacher can take you.

My Prayer is that you "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful" (Joshua 1:8)

By: Herbert Riley

Contributor: Adeola Sonola
"Reading the Bible Commissioners"