For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates to even dividing soul and spirit…it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb 4:12)
Is the Bible alive to you? I confess for many years the Bible wasn’t alive to me. I read it often but didn’t experience very much life transformation through it. It wasn’t until I was taught three key points that this life took place in my heart. These points are:
- The Bible is meant to be an interactive book. You actually need the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truth.
- Don’t spend a lot of time reading the Old Testament until you have a strong understanding of the New Testament.
- Learn the end of the book/story first. The Bible is written as a mystery. Until you have the right understanding of the end, the plot in the middle will remain unclear.
The Bible is meant to be an interactive book. You actually need the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truth. The Holy Spirit…will teach you all things… (Jhn 14:26)
If you want the Bible to become alive in your soul, I encourage you to continually pray as you read through the Bible. Before you even start reading, ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your mind and heart to new realities.
…this mystery, which is Christ in you. (Col 1:27) Do you really believe the spirit of Christ is in you? When I was younger, praying used to be me mostly speaking to God. I have since learned that prayer is mostly God speaking to me. I had a mentor tell me, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. We are supposed to listen twice as much as we speak.” Talk to God about what you are reading. Ask questions, and then learn to listen to the quiet promptings of the Spirit. He is in you! He will take you on an experiential journey through the Word. I promise. The Word of God is living and active. When you invite God into your Bible study and talk to him like you would any other person in your study you will begin to experience the living Word. It will awaken you to a whole new relational experience.
Don’t spend a lot of time reading the Old Testament until you have a strong understanding of the New Testament.
He said to them, “This is what I (Jesus) told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me (Jesus) in the Law of Moses (Old Covenant), the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luk 24:44)
But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. (2Co 3:14) These verses teach us that every verse in the Old Testament is pointing to Christ. When we read the Old Testament we now need to be looking for Jesus in every chapter. If we don’t try to interpret these stories through Jesus it will eventually just put us to sleep.
Learn the end of the book/story. The Bible is written as a mystery. (Eph 3:9, Col 1:26) Until you have the right understanding of the end, the middle will remain unclear.
If you study the last chapter of every good mystery novel you can then understand all the chapters leading up to it much easier. The same is true for the Bible. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy (Revelation), and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. (Rev 1:3 Italics mine)
I hope this helps your New Year’s Bible reading goals!
Grace and Peace, Andy Anderson