I love to read. Reading good books has help me grow spiritually. It has increased my knowledge of God’s Word and my knowledge of God. One of my favorite subjects to read about is prayer. Reading about prayer does not replace prayer but it has enhanced it for me. One book that has helped me in my spiritual disciplines is “Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow by R.C. Sproul. I do not agree with everything Bro. Sproul writes but this book was good. Over the next few days I want to highlight one of the things you need to grow spiritually.
1) Bible Study
Studying your Bible on a daily basis will help you grow. It will
*enable you to gain the mind of Christ and learn what discipleship is.
*enable you to grow in faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
*The Bible is God-breathed. Dr. Spoul says “the idea is not one of inspiration but of expiration; that is, the Bible is breathed out by God. The whole point here is that the Bible comes from God. It is His Word and carries with it His authority.”
*The Bibles is good for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. This means the Bible teaches what to believe, what not to believe, how to live, and how not to live.
*Enables you to repent. Repent means “changing of the mind. You are not suddenly cleansed of all wrong thinking. Renewing your mind is a lifelong process.
This brings the question how do I study the Bible. Here are some things I do:
1) Read the Bible systematically. I read the One Year Bible so I can read the whole Bible every year.
2) Journal. Write down what you learn from your reading. I use the SOAP method of journaling.
S- cripture. Write down the passage that sticks out to you.
O-bservation. Write down what stuck out to you in that passage
A-pplication Write down how you can apply what you learned.
P-rayer. Write out a prayer that God will enable you to live out the passage
3) Meditate. Meditation means to fill your mind with God’s Word. Read and reread your journal entry.
4) Live it. The Bible was not meant to be just learned, it was meant to be lived.
I encourage you to make Bible study a daily part of your life