Benefits of reading the Bible

David Spriggs

You hear your friends talking about The Da Vinci Code, you sense what they are saying about Jesus is wrong, but you haven’t read the Gospels recently, so you’re not sure. A family member dies tragically and a deep ache in your heart threatens to swallow you up; can the Bible help you understand what’s going on and how God fits in? An exciting opportunity is presented to you, but how can you, as a Christian, know if it’s right – the Bible might have something to say! Or maybe, you are simply longing for your relationship with God to be more real, every day. This book gives us all a chance to help ourselves with these and many other situations.

So why should we seek to know the Bible or know the Bible better?

Eating Well

Over recent years the value of eating properly has again come to the fore. ’You are what you eat’ is a well-known slogan. Research and anecdote have established the impact of food on fitness, mental alertness and behaviour. Jamie Oliver has hit a resonant note with the public as well as politicians. This book can serve as a similar wake up call for the value of feeding on God’s word regularly!

We are all fed a mental and emotional diet of ’fast food’. The advertising industry ensures that we receive 30,000 messages a day. While some TV is great, much that enters our memories is cheap, degrading and violent. Does this matter? Yes, if we become what we absorb.

Reading the Bible attentively on a regular basis is one of the great antidotes to this invasion of images and messages which can damage our Christian health! The Bible is an irreplaceable component that sustains us on the Christian journey and silently works to help us become more like Christ. But all of this has a price. It isn’t easy like popping pills, and it isn’t quick like burgers and chips. The benefits are more like an insurance policy, they give regular protection (even if we only become aware of this in a crisis) and come to fruition over time!

The Bible is indeed a nourishing read and a personal therapist but it is far more; it tunes our minds and hearts to God’s and that’s absolutely vital if we are going to share his dreams.

A Missionary Book

The Bible depicts God’s mission – his purpose in generating the amazing creation of which we are a part and all the patient steps he is taking to see his purpose flower, in spite of our waywardness. The coming of Jesus, the impact of the Holy Spirit and God’s gracious invitation to us to become part of his mission, are all parts of this. Breathing the Bible helps ensure God’s mission stays fresh in our lives.

Of course, the Bible is by far and away the major resource for gaining a picture of Jesus and the impact of his life, death and resurrection on the Christian communities which were his legacy to the world. The Old Testament is equally vital. It provides the big story of creation and fall and introduces the family to which Jesus belongs. It is extremely difficult to make sense of the New Testament without the Old.

But this is only the beginning. The Bible is the primary source for God to reveal himself to us. The Bible is always talking of God and reading it acquaints us with the voice of God. The more we value the Bible the easier we will find God to identify, relate to and worship. Dwelling frequently in this book ensures that we can speak of God and with God in ways which might well fade if we neglect it.

Consistently ’grazing on the Bible’ helps give us our sense of identity as Christians. It is an irreplaceable source of nourishment, correction and transformation for every Christian.

Whichever way you look at it the Bible is a unique resource that equips us to give account of the hope that is within us (see 1 Peter 3:15).

So, if the Bible can be this good, how can we read it well?

Reading the Bible well: context.

The Bible’s context
Each passage has a biblical context, a historical context and also a thematic context. The better we are helped to understand our passage in its contexts the more likely we are to make good clear sense of it, and so be able to respond appropriately. Good notes will ensure that we approach any passage with due regard for its place within the whole Bible. In good notes, as with a good recording of a musical composition, this background will be mainly hidden. Or to use another picture, the notes are like an excellent meal, the selection of quality food and excellent preparation may not show on the plate, but it makes all the difference both to satisfaction and nourishment!

The reading context
Where we are as the reader, is important too. When it comes to Bible readings with notes, normally we will be alone. Yet, in fact, we are not alone. The people who write the notes are our Christian friends who, through their writing, talk with us. Through their study and prayerful preparation, they introduce us to the wider community of God’s people, past as well as present. There are some fascinating people to listen to!

Equally while we cannot see people, as we might in a home group, we are not alone because we are part of a community of Bible readers. Why not explore the responses of others in your church who use the same notes? In this way we can encourage one another to live what we learn, which makes Bible reading much more worthwhile!

Most importantly we are not alone because when we read the Bible we are in the presence of God. Jesus made it clear that we need the Holy Spirit to help us gain clarity and enduring value from our reading of the Bible. He has sent his promised Spirit to be with us for ever. So good reading works with this insight, seeking out God’s presence and direction, ensuring that our reading is always in the context of a prayerful, surrendered relationship with God. Through this book, whatever part we read, we are provided with a portal into God’s heart. God has entrusted his reputation to this book, and so through our Bible reading we can experience him challenging, comforting or simply sharing his heart with us. We are not alone because, amazingly, God is with us.

But if sometimes Bible reading seems rather like training alone for the London marathon, remember, one colourful and buoyant day we shall join the tens of thousands of people running with us (Revelation 7).

The living context
We live out our lives in another kind of context, and we need to read the Bible in this too. It stretches from family and friends to the edges of the world. Again notes will help make connections for us. In one sense these can only be illustrative – we are all in different places. But they also stimulate us, reminding us to connect biblical truth with our changing worlds. If we don’t constantly seek to link ’the word to our world’ the Bible soon feels more like a fairy story than God’s word. Responding practically to God’s word is vital to keep the experience fresh.

Reading the Bible well: the approach

While the Bible is a holy book it is holy in a sacramental or mystical and not a magical way.

So we approach this book boldly, confidently and with our whole personality. Not fearing its strange powers nor subdued by its complexity. It is provided by God for us to read and is good. So expectantly and eagerly, (but not anxiously in case we miss the message) are words which come to mind. Needy too, for the more aware of the importance of the moments we spend with the Bible, the more focused we are likely to be; the stiller we are, so to speak, the more we are likely to see what God intends. But we come too expecting enjoyment (which incorporates wonder and a willingness to be surprised). Freely is another word I think we can apply to our reading of the Bible; the imagination has its part to play as well as the mind.

Above all we need to come prayerfully, seeking God’s help to be surrendered rather than challenging God’s word to us.

Bible Reading Notes

Today’s message is that replacing fatty fast foods with balanced meals shouldn’t be less but more fun; good food has better taste and texture as well as being potentially more appealing to the senses.

Bible reading notes can help us enjoy the Bible more by providing fresh insights on familiar passages and highlighting relevant truths, even in obscure places. They also ensure that over time we cover the whole range of scripture, and save us from impoverishing ourselves by sticking to our favourite titbits. While we need to check that the notes never become a substitute for the Bible, nor the writers for God, they can broaden and deepen our engagement with God through the Bible.

The range of notes in this book show that there is as much variety available for the Bible, as there are varieties of ‘take aways’ and restaurants in the high street. Few of us will like everything on offer, though some may enjoy trying it all. This book is your invitation to ’taste and see’. In the end what matters is that we get enough of the right food – fibre, proteins, vitamins, oils, minerals and amino acids so that we can live well and keep on doing it. There is no law which says we can’t enjoy ourselves too! Each of these notes providers is concerned to give us a balanced diet but the choice is yours. Please eat well and then live for God’s glory and the transformation of his world.

This article first appeared in Daily Devotions
© 2005 SAM BOOKS