Pastor Robert Jeffress once remarked: “Remember, the purpose of reading the Bible is not information; it is transformation.” The Bible is a unique book because within its pages it has the capacity, if read properly, to literally transform your life. Many self-help books try to reform your habits and ways of thinking but only the Bible can totally transform your entire being through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As Christians it is essential that we read the Scriptures daily because when we do we receive the spiritual nourishment we need to live out our Christian faith and partake of the true joys of being a believer in Christ. Below are two helpful suggestions that I pray will make your Bible reading more enjoyable and rewarding.
Attitude is everything
If we read the Scriptures out of just duty we may get some blessings but if we change our attitude to one of reading the Bible with delight I believe the Lord will bless us so much more. Duty says, I guess I am a Christian so I should read the Bible. Delight says, I can’t wait to get into the Scriptures and learn what God has to teach me today and how I can be a blessing to Him and others. Duty is nice but delight is so much better. I believe delight puts a smile on God’s face and activates the power of the Holy Spirit to truly illuminate the deeper meaning of the Scriptures to our heart.
In addition, reading the Bible is not meant to just accumulate information but to hear from God His timeless truths in order that we may become more conformed to the image of Christ. I know in my own life sometimes I need an attitude check when I open my Bible. I appreciate what John Stott shared here: “We need to repent of the haughty way in which we sometimes stand in judgment upon Scripture and must learn to sit humbly under its judgments instead. If we come to Scripture with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts and never the thunderclap of God’s, then indeed he will not speak to us and we shall only be confirmed in our own prejudices. We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.”1
Consistency is essential
I can’t stress enough the importance of reading the Scriptures daily. Just as we need physical food on a daily basis we need our spiritual food daily also. Yesterday’s encouragement from the Scriptures is important but we need a fresh dose of spiritual nourishment every day. So, find the best time of day for reading the Bible for you and make a date with the “good book” every day. There is absolutely no substitute for daily Bible reading. (Romans 12:2) tells us: “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.” Here we see that transformation takes place by the renewing of the mind and one of the best ways to do this is to saturate your mind with Scripture.
While we are positionally transformed into new creations in Christ the moment we accept Jesus into our hearts, daily Bible reading is essential to renew our minds on a daily basis. Thus, transformation happens at the moment of conversion and then like sanctification is a lifelong process. And praise God we have the Bible to be the main fuel to transform us from day to day to become more like Christ. So, read your Bible with an open heart and watch how God will work mightily in your life!
1 John Stott quote: We need to repent of the haughty way in which… (azquotes.com)