Spend any time around Woodlands Church, and you’ll start hearing the Bible regularly referenced, talked about, pointed towards, and highly valued. The church and its ministries are grounded in the Bible – the kid’s curriculum centers on biblical stories and the Sunday message is rooted in the Bible. Youth programs, men’s events, women’s studies – they all center around the Bible.
But more than just teaching the Bible, we believe you should be reading the Bible for yourself! We encourage you to not just come on a Sunday morning or go to a Life Group and study the Bible, but to open the Bible up for yourself throughout the week – build a habit of reading your Bible! We promise it’ll be worth it. Whether that’s joining in on the annual Bible reading plan Woodlands in the Word, downloading a Bible app and picking one of their plans, listening to the Bible, just starting in the beginning and reading straight through, or any other method. Individual, personal Bible reading is a high priority around here.
In fact, we say it like this: “The Bible is God’s Word, our ultimate authority, and we seek to study it, understand it, and be transformed by it.” That truly speaks to the heartbeat of the church. But why? Why do we read the Bible? What is the value, and what should we be looking for when we read the Bible? Well, from the Bible, here are six reasons we should read the Bible:
1. Know God:
The Bible is the full and complete (that’s an amazing statement!) revelation of who God is. If we want to know God, history shows that the most steady and consistent way God reveals Himself is through the Bible. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.” God speaks to us through Jesus! And Jesus went out of His way to explain that all of the Bible points to Himself! (Luke 24:27). “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9)! If we want to know who God is, we need to read the Bible! It’s through the Bible that God reveals Himself to us.
2. Resist Temptation:
As we read the Bible and as we understand the text more and more, God will use it in our lives to help us resist temptation. In Matthew 4, Jesus faced direct temptation from Satan. This was intense! Satan knew the best areas to challenge Jesus and was incessant in his attacks. At each turn, Jesus quoted the Bible to resist temptation. Consider the implications – the fully divine Jesus used His knowledge of the Bible to resist temptation! If it was helpful for Him, imagine how powerful it is for us. “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).
3. To Gain Wisdom and Direction
2 Timothy 3:16-17 are very important verses to understand the power of the Bible. “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.” The Bible – all of it – has been given by God so that we could grow into all that God desires we be. It’s useful and helpful as we seek to grow and follow God. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your Word is a Lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Reading the Bible consistently helps us discern the right way to go.
4. Understand All That God Is Doing:
We believe God speaks through the ordinary, human writers of the Bible. This adds profoundness to verses like Ephesians 3:4, when the Apostle Paul writes, “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ.” For Paul, mystery always refers to something that was once hidden but has now been revealed. He’s saying, “When you read what I’ve written – you’ll better know what God is doing and has been doing!” God will reveal what He is up to in the world – even today – through the words that have been written in the Bible. If we want to understand what God is doing in the world today, we need to be reading the Bible!
5. Helps Us Understand Our Own Heart:
There’s a scary verse in Scripture, Jeremiahs 17:9: “The heart is deceitful.” Our hearts lie to us! And we understand this too – we have a tendency to lie to ourselves about struggles, sins, problems and areas we can grow. Amazingly, the Bible speaks into this problem, too! Hebrews 4:12 says, “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.” The Bible discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Reading the Bible is like a mirror we can hold up to our hearts and see what’s truly there.
6. Rejoice in God:
Joy and rejoicing are such central themes in the Bible. And God simply promises that the more we know Him – and the more we follow Him – the more joy-filled we’ll become. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” How does God make the path of life known to us? Through the Bible! As we read the Bible, and as we better understand God and ourselves, we’ll find joy we never thought imaginable.
Reading the Bible is an indispensable gift God has given us to know and follow Him. It leads to deeper joy, passion, purpose, direction, and wisdom. Reading the Bible leads to intimacy with God. And it’s free, simple, and easy to do regularly. Sure, at times it might be confusing, challenging, or difficult. But that’s why we have a community! If you have questions about reading your Bible or growing in God, reach out to your Life Group, your serving team, or the church in general to ask questions and grow.