5 Things I Learned About The Bible

I have a confession to make, I just finished reading the Bible all the way through for the first time. To be fair, I've read many parts of the Bible over and over again, but like so many, there were parts that often bogged me down (Leviticus for example). I'd like to share a few things that I learned about the Bible as a whole. My hope is that these things will be helpful in your study of the Word, as well as an encouragement to continue in your own Bible reading.

1. Quality is better than quantity.

This is true of many things, but I'm convicted that when it comes to God's Word it is far better to dig deeply into one verse then to skim 5 chapters. As I read through the entirety of scripture I learned that slowing down was not a bad thing. The truth is, I'm not a very fast reader, nor a very smart one, so instead of the normal one year reading plan I took two years to read through the Bible, and I'm not ashamed of that. The Bible never tells us to read as much of it as we can in the least amount of time possible, but it does tell us to meditate upon it day and night (Psalm 1), which I believe is only possible through slow thoughtful reading.

2. The more you read the better it gets. 

I don't mean necessarily that when you start in Genesis and work your way through, the material itself gets better. What I mean is the more time you spend in the Word the sweeter it becomes. The Bible is not an easy book to understand, but the good news is the more we read it the more grasp of it. Of course we'll never understand everything but I can look back over the course of these two years and clearly see that my understanding and love for the Word has grown. 

3. Prayer really is powerful. 

The more I read the Bible the more I realized that many times in the Bible (especially in the Psalms) people were praying about the Word of God. Often they were asking for help in understanding and enjoying the Word. As I read these I thought, "Why am I not doing this?" So I started praying the prayers of the Bible, asking for God's help. This made a huge difference in my ability to perceive and enjoy Biblical truth.

4. The Bible is not about me.

We often look at the Bible as a book that is all about us. We think it was written so that I would be encouraged, I would strengthened,  I would gain wisdom, and I would learn something for me life. Although I do believe that all of those things happen when we read the Bible, such a self-centered approach will only lead to trouble. This all about me approach has led to many false interpretations (Nehemiah as a leadership manual for example.) The truth is, the Bible is not a book about me or you but it is a book about God. The Bible is about showing us who God is, what His laws are, how He thinks and feels, and His glorious plan to save sinners.

5. The Bible is about God's salvation.

The Bible is ultimately about God but it does involve us, the greatest way it does this is through God's story of redemption. Throughout the pages of scripture you will see time and time again that God desires to save His people. Along the way there are pointers to the ultimate culmination of this, which is Jesus Christ. Read the Bible, love the Bible, and see the glory of God manifested most clearly through His Son. I promise that you won't regret it.