Is reading the Bible actually important? And if it is – well, how important is it? Can’t I just read it on Sunday mornings at church?

Today we’re talking about the importance of reading your Bible along with some helpful things I like incorporating in my Bible reading.

As we go through tons of verses about this I want to break somethings down.

FIRST, the Bible or the teachings of God are commonly referred to as the Word of God or the law in the Bible.

Another thing is that we will be using God’s Word to backup the importance of God’s Word. And it may seem silly, but we’re establishing what God says about this book He’s given us. If you’re looking for secular stats in this area, we actually touched on something similar on the 17th about going to church. We talked on some really amazing stats from secular sources about the differences in people who are regularly involved in religious practices verses those who aren’t. Now we’re about to talk about how God’s Word is way more powerful than just any religious activity, but it is cool to have God’s Word about itself backed up by some stats from the world about the power of being involved in the things of God. 

Okay so is God’s Word important? YES. And here’s WHY. 

The Basics

1) The Word is the actual word of God and is true. Reading the Bible is reading words that come from God. It’s DIVINE. 

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.”

Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

2) God tells us to seek Him. He stresses the importance of this. In fact, it’s said that we actually shouldn’t do this life, we can’t live how God calls us to without Him. 

Matthew 4:4 “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””

Now that we see that it is God’s actual words, it’s divine, it’s true and that God tells us we need it — let’s dive in even more.

God talks about the power of His Word and cares so deeply about us.

Let’s dive into the power of it.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Ephesians 6:17 “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Isaiah 55:11 “my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Psalm 119:9 “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”

So we’ve uncovered basically reading God’s Word is not only DIVINE, but it’s life changing – it’s a guide, it is alive and has purpose every time it’s heard, it has the power to sanctify which means to set apart, declare holy, free from sin; it can discern our own thoughts and intensions, it trains us for righteousness, it helps to complete us in Christ, it equips us for every good work, it reproves us, corrects us, teaches us, it keeps us pure. LIKE WHAT. 

We really should be filling ourselves up with this all the time. How do we do that?

We can read daily. We even see in the Psalms that David is meditating on the law day and night. 

We can memorize it to have it in our hearts and minds even when we can’t be reading it

We can work on diving in more through studies, commentaries, going to services and hearing sermons, studying it with other believers.

So what are some tools we can use to really pour in in our own lives?

Journaling – I am such a big fan of journaling when I’m reading the Word. I usually journal things that stick out to me from my reading time – questions, thoughts, things like that. 

Studies – Another GREAT tool is Bible Studies. Bible studies are a way to understand more about what you’re reading and see what God spoke to someone else in their time in His Word. She Lives Purposefully has digital Bible studies on different books of the Bible like Ruth, Esther, Psalm 23, 1 & 2 Timothy, Jonah, 1,2,3 John – some are free for you and some are available for just $5. All these studies are also available for you included in your monthly subscription if you’re an She Lives Purposefully Monthly Bonus Content Subscriber. Daily Grace Co. also has some great studies. You can also find links to both on shelivespurposefully.com 

Commentaries – Commentaries are a great breakdown of what your reading. Studies can often be more topical or focus on one thing or a few things from a passage while commentaries break down every verse and help you understand context, what the writer was saying, the background of the book and more. My favorite commentary is David Guzik’s Enduring Word. I go to it ALL the time. 

Reading Plans – If you are someone who struggles with consistency in Bible reading, trust me I’ve been there and most of us have. Bible reading plans are a great way to have some sort of accountability or a guide and keep you knowing exactly what you’re reading that day – which sometimes not knowing what to read can be a deterrent to reading. Reading plans also give you that plan to follow, so you feel a little pressure to keep with that plan. There are a TON of Bible reading plans available online you can find. I also have put together Bible reading plans – I have a purpose Bible reading challenge on the site in our Resources tab, AND I also have Bible reading plans for every single day for She Lives Purposefully Bonus Content Subscribers. So, if you’re a monthly bonus subscriber you have something to read every single day, you get access to all our digital bible studies included, and you get bonus podcast episodes!