"GIVE ME THE BIBLE"
How I Read The Bible
INTRODUCTION
- In this series ("Give Me The Bible"), thus far we have covered...
- The Problem Of Biblical Illiteracy
- Why I Read The Bible
- Why I Believe The Bible
- Why I Love The Bible
- Why I Obey The Bible
- Why I Study The Old Testament
- In the final two lessons, I want to share thoughts related to...
- How I Read The Bible
- How I Study The Bible
- For many years I have engaged in daily Bible reading...
- Most years, reading through the Bible entirely
- Every time I find reading the Bible a pleasurable and beneficial
experience
[You might say that I have developed the habit of daily Bible reading.
I'll go further and say that I am positively addicted! How does one
read the Bible with such enjoyment? First, it helps to remember...]
- WE NEED TO CREATE A GOOD HABIT
- THE ROLE OF HABITS...
- We either have good habits or bad habits
- If we have not developed the good habit of daily Bible
reading...
- Then we have developed the bad habit of NOT reading the Bible
daily!
- THE REALITY OF TIME...
- As illustrated by James, our time on earth is brief - Jm 4:14
- If we have not developed the good habit of daily Bible
reading...
- ...our time on this earth will one day catch up with us
- We will have spent our lives on this earth without utilizing
the benefits provided by daily reading of God's Word
- Many will have to face God having never read through His
Word once!
[Assuming that we all desire to develop the good habit of daily Bible
reading...]
- WE NEED TO CREATE A POSITIVE ADDICTION
- WHAT IS A POSITIVE ADDICTION...?
- Usually when we hear the word addiction, we think of negative
addictions
- Which is simply another phrase for bad habits
- Such as smoking, swearing, drinking, gambling
- When something bad for us:
- Becomes "second nature"
- We do it without much effort or thought
- We become dependent on it, either emotionally or physically
- When we try to do without it, we experience various degrees
of discomfort
- Positive addiction is when you become dependent upon a good
habit
- For example, exercise can become a positive addiction
- Those who have made exercise a pleasurable and frequent
experience soon become "addicted" to it
- So that if they go a few days without exercise, they feel
uneasy, depressed, irritable
- Of course, if they go without exercise long enough, the
discomfort will eventually pass
- So a positive addiction is a habit which is:
- Good for you, either physically, mentally, or spiritually
- A source of pleasure and satisfaction
- One that should you neglect it, begins to give you
"withdrawal pains"
- WHY CREATE A POSITIVE ADDICTION TO BIBLE READING...?
- It will help you maintain the practice of reading the Bible
- Should a few days go by without reading the Bible, the
"discomfort" experienced will help motivate you to get "back on
track"
- Most people who have tried to read the Bible daily and did not
keep it up...
- Never experienced a positive addiction to reading God's Word
- Rather than a pleasurable experience, it was a chore
- So when they fell behind in their goals, there was little
motivation to catch up
[Having explained what I mean by "positive addiction", here are some
thoughts on...]
- HOW TO CREATE A POSITIVE ADDICTION FOR BIBLE READING
- PRINCIPLES ARE THE SAME FOR CREATING ANY ADDICTION...
- You must make the experience a pleasurable one
- This is where many people fail when it comes to "exercise"
- Going about it the wrong way, the daily workouts are painful
and miserable
- Therefore any excuse not to exercise prevents them from
keeping it up
- The same applies to reading the Bible
- To many, they try to do too much too soon
- The experience soon becomes little more than "marking a
checklist"
- SUGGESTIONS RELATED TO BIBLE READING...
- Make Bible reading a pleasurable experience
- An addiction requires a pleasurable habit
- The goal: "I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great
treasure." - Ps 119:162
- Start slow, with small goals
- Many try to start by reading through the Bible in one year
- An admirable goal, but most never make it past Exodus or
Leviticus
- Before Bible reading has become a positive addiction,
they run into difficult passages of Scripture
- They are like beginning joggers who try to run a mile the
first time out
- I would recommend starting with making the New Testament a
yearly goal
- This requires no more than a chapter a day
- The material is easier, more edifying at the outset
- Once you have read the New Testament in a year a couple of
times
- You might read through the Old Testament one year
- Then begin reading through the entire Bible each year
- Begin each session with prayer
- Like that found in Psa 119:18: "Open my eyes, that I may
see wondrous things from Your Law."
- This puts us in the most receptive frame of mind - cf. Jm
1:21
- Read slowly, carefully
- This prevents reading without comprehending what you read
- cf. Ps 1:1-2; 119:15-16
- Reading out loud, as though you were reading to someone
else, often helps
- Make use of Bible study aids
- Especially a Bible dictionary, and Bible maps
- Don't observe the "pass over", passing over...
- Words you don't understand
- Names you don't know
- Places unfamiliar to you
- Every time you do, there is that much more of the Bible you
don't understand, don't get anything out of it
- Take a moment to look them up in the references
- Discuss what you read with others
- Encourage others to follow the same program of reading
- Share your discoveries, the passages that encourage you
- Read with the intention to do what it says
- Otherwise, you are wasting your time! - Jm 1:22-24
- The true joy comes in the application of God's Word (another
"positive addiction" to develop) - Jm 1:25
- End each session with prayer
- Like that expressed in Ps 119:5-6
- Or the one found in Ps 119:10-11
CONCLUSION
- Following these suggestions, the practice of reading the Bible
becomes one of great joy:
"I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure."
- Ps 119:162
- Done on a regular basis, a positive addiction for daily Bible reading
quickly develops which helps one to keep up this wonderful habit
- I hope that in some way I have encouraged everyone...
- To begin if they have never done so
- To continue if they are doing so
- To try again if they tried in the past and failed
For there is so much to gain, and there is so much to lose...!