The reading the Bible is unlike the reading of any other book in existence. It’s the only book that is alive. It’s the only book that reveals the three persons of God. It’s the only book that has the power to transform us eternally. It’s the only place that answers the most important questions of our existence.
It should be read. It should be read often. It should be studied intensely. Its words should be meditated on constantly.
Having said that, how do you read the Bible? I’m sure that an argument can be made for more types, but to me, there are only two types of Bible reading; Reading slowly to study and reading quicker simply to read all of the words.
When I read slowly to study, I get the most benefit, I think, but that doesn’t mean that reading the Bible quicker doesn’t have its benefits. I prefer to study the Bible over reading the Bible, but that’s because my curiosity can’t stand reading something that I don’t understand without stopping to investigate as much as possible.
However, I also recognize that when I only read slowly, studying as I go, that it’s easy for me to not see the overall bigger picture going on, simply because I’m looking too closely.
I attempt to overcome this when I study a text by first reading the entire chapter, and often the previous chapter and the one that follows, so I can first assess the context before studying the individual verses and even the individual words.
I encourage you to read much and study much, and when you have questions, don’t keep them to yourself. Please bring me your questions. I don’t claim to be great at answering Bible questions, but I sure do love to investigate.
There are many wonderful verses in the Bible, about the Bible, so I’ll conclude with one of my favorites.
Matthew 4:4 – But he (Jesus) answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
When Jesus said these words, He was talking to Satan who was trying to temp Jesus to not trust God. Jesus responded to Satan by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, and there are many points we might make of this, but I’ll stop at only one.
Jesus understood something regarding the Word of God that we must all understand and take to heart as much as possible, which is, knowing the Word of God is to our spiritual health what eating is to our physical health.
If we are not consistently partaking of God’s Word, we are literally starving our very soul and the results of starving the soul cannot be measured but we know that the effects range from spiritual unhealthiness to spiritual starvation.
Don’t heed my words. Heed the words of Jesus. Fill yourself consistently with the Word of God.
Much love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
