BRED: Bible Reading Every Day

Fifty years ago, I became a Christian! I received Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour and was genuinely Born Again according to the Scriptures.

I was told, by my leaders, to read my Bible daily and not to neglect a ‘time with God’ every day.

I learned quickly. And today I thank God for the consistency and discipline that is now fixed in my daily living. I confess there have been days when I have been travelling, or days I went into surgery, or some difficult days that time did not allow. But all in all, I enjoy my regularity with the Word and with meeting God in such a way.

So, what have I learned all these years in building this eternally significant habit? Let me point out seven simple things to you.

I got to know myself better.

As I sought God daily, I noticed that in reading these Holy Spirit inspired pages, I got to know who I really was and gradually God revealed to me all my struggles and short comings. I understood how I was rescued by the Grace of God and that gave me much more reason to live for Him every day.

I got to know God better.

My relationship with Christ deepened in a real way.

I knew that God was breathing His Word upon me as it says Hebrews 4:12; He also revealed his power through the words I was reading, and I began to ‘see’ Jesus. Every Scripture pointed to Him. I enjoyed hours of learning and walking daily in the pleasures I never knew before.

I began to experience God’s faithfulness.

As my faith grew stronger, I began to read Scripture in its entirety.

The more I read, the more I saw and understood. These powerful and precious promises were alive and literally ‘jumped’ out of the Bible for me. I can confidently say the Word of God is alive and turns our minds to heavenly realities we never know or could comprehend.

To the perplexing and complex manner of my earthly thinking, God began to show me the values of His Kingdom the beauty of his Presence. Let me say this to you, the Holy Spirit will use the Word of truth to tune us to Kingdom realities and keep us rooted in God’s faithful provision and Person.

I began to live more obediently and resist temptation.

Small and big victories were accomplished in so many ways. I was able to help so many of my friends and share in our Life Groups about the reality of victory that they themselves would experience, if they only read the Bible every day for themselves.

Bible reading helped me pray specifically and biblically.

My prayer life changed. I found I could pray so much so easily. Prayer was no longer a struggle but became a pleasure that encompassed me like a cloak. Along with praying I noticed specific doors opening and great opportunities come my way, both to minister to the lost as well as to clearly teach the Word.

I gained much more clarity and direction for my life.

I began to understand God’s will. The future was not a struggle for me anymore. There was such a clarity that came into my discernment and my heart yearned for more daily.

Hope and comfort became real to me.

The Gospel is not a reactive plan that God thought up to “fix” what had gone bad because of sin; the Gospel is God’s sovereign, eternal plan to show forth His glory and create a chosen people for his own possession. God’s will has always been the Gospel, and we see this more fully when we read the entire Bible. Along with reading comes understanding. Along with understanding comes hope. And along with hope comes an anchor that never lets go no matter how strong the storm.

In Conclusion

So then, set a regular time, aim for consistency, and pray before and after your reading time. Take notes when you can, but make sure you apply what your read!

You’ll see that the whole Bible points to Jesus! And that is more than enough for each of us.

Blessings always!