The Word

When was the last time you remember the Holy Spirit speaking to you through the scripture? If it’s been recently, what was your reaction? Did you obey the words/message?

If it’s been awhile, or never, I have a some questions. How often do you read the Bible? How do you prepare your heart and mind to read the Bible? Do you look for the passages you know? Do you rush through the reading? Studies have shown that reading the scriptures a minimum of four times per week is what it takes for mental transformation to occur, for the scriptures to have a bigger impact on your life.

As you continue to think through the above questions, I wanted to recommend a few resources to help us all make the reading/listening of scripture a priority in our lives. It is through the pages of the Bible, we can learn more about the person of Jesus Christ, who points us to God. We are also open to the voice and Spirit of God speaking to us through the words that have transformed more people than any other book in human history.

Number 1, I invite you to take time each day. Find some part of your day that has the fewest interruptions, the longest space you can offer, and use this time to read/listen to the scripture. I would also recommend setting this at a specific time each day to help with consistency.

Where should you begin? That could depend on the type of literature you like to read (i.e. poetry, wisdom sayings, legal, letters, narrative, apocalyptic, etc.) You can easily start with what style of writing you like to read.

You can also begin with one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) in the New Testament. I would recommend Mark first because t is the shortest and then you can see some continuity in Matthew as Luke. From this point just keep reading.

Read as little as 1-5 verses, 5 minutes, or how ever long you can commit to each day. The point is to make it part of your daily rhythm. The YouVersion Bible app can be a great help with this, plus you can use the audio feature on many translations to have it read to you.

Number 2, find someone to read with and talk about what you read. This is a great exercise for couples.

Number 3, find some devotionals to help you read through smaller chunk of scripture and then read through some daily thoughts. There are many to choose from. Some good app examples include: Pray As You Go, Daily Prayer, Daily Office.

Number 4, join or begin a Bible Study. A good example could be to take the 90 Day Bible Reading Challenge, and then talk about the readings for the week with the group.

Number 5, there are plenty of resources to help you understand how to begin reading the Bible. One such resource is something I recently finished reading is called Astonished by the Word by Brian Russell. I would highly recommend this.

There are many ways to get started. The founder of the Methodist Movement, John Wesley, spoke and wrote about reading and studying scripture as a “means of grace.” As we take time to study/read scripture, we are using a means by which God speaks, through the Holy Spirit, to the people. Through the words of scripture, we begin to experience and remember the grace God has bestowed upon the people.

Another is example is what I am currently doing to dive into scripture. Each day, I begin with handwriting a chapter. So far I have completed a few Old Testament books as well as several New Testament books. I believe I’ll be finished in a couple years. This has been an incredible journey for me personally because I read the scripture and then see it in my own handwriting.

I am praying for you in the journey to be transformed by scripture. May the grace and peace of God guide and be with you always.

I’d love to hear about your journey!