WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

  As you plunge into your reading, you may be saying to yourself, "I hope there's some real benefit to this." Believe me, there is. There is more benefit to reading the Bible than you have ever imagined. But I won't ask you to just take my word for it. The Lord has a lot to say about it, and I'm about to share with you just a few of the great rewards of searching the Scriptures daily. But first, just a few more tips about how to go about it.

  You should always approach Bible reading prayerfully. Remember, it's a spiritual Book, and must be understood that way. The Holy Spirit, Who is God just as the Father and the Son are, is the Teacher (John 14:26). More on that later in the section on study. For now, though, you need to remember that if you're going to get anything worthwhile out of your reading, it will be because the Lord opened your understanding. So prayer is the right place to start.

  I like to pray according to what the Word says. It's one way to know you are getting God's ear when you pray. Listen to what the Apostle John had to say about it: "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15). One way we can know we're asking according to His will is to ask according to His Word. His Word is His will.

  I always start my reading sessions with a short prayer that is based on some Bible verses. The first one is Psalm 119:18: "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." Of course the "law" the Psalmist refers to is the law of Moses, contained in the first five books of the Bible. But the principle applies to the whole Bible: I need the Lord's help to get anything of real value out of my reading.

  The second Scripture that helps form the basis of my prayer is Luke 24:45: "Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." Just as Jesus did in this post-resurrection appearance to His disciples, I ask Him to do for me.

  And, finally, there is Psalm 119:154: "...quicken me according to your word." "Quicken" is an old English word meaning "to make alive." When the Lord opens His Word to you, it makes you alive in a marvelous way.

  You may like another prayer, such as one based on Jeremiah 33:3: "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." It's an open invitation from the Lord to ask Him about the great secrets of His Word. Or you may find your own way to pray before reading. The important thing is that you admit that you need His help and are looking to Him for guidance as you read.

  Of course you'll have your tools ready: notebook, pen, and highlighters. Mark or highlight those verses or passages that speak to you. Jot down things that arouse your curiosity (or that may even confuse you), so you may go back later and dig a little deeper into the matter in study or meditation. But the important thing is that you read, read, read.

  I am confident that, as you read, some wonderful things will begin to happen. As we have said, the first thing you will start to experience is familiarization, which is so important. If someone deeded you a fabulous mansion, you would not be able to truly enjoy it until you learned and explored all the rooms, features, appliances, etc. Beyond familiarization, here are some additional benefits of reading:

  1. Faith
  This is a big one. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). When Jesus came to a certain city in Samaria, He revealed Himself in conversation to a woman, who went and told everyone in town about it. They came out because of what the woman told them about Jesus. But then they heard Him speak. "And many more believed because of his own word" (John 4:41). The Word of God causes belief to break out in people. The Apostle John said, "These things have I written unto you...that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (I John 5:13). In other words, one of the main reasons John, or any of the Bible authors wrote, was to create faith in the readers. The Apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders, "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up..." (Acts 20:32). The building up he was talking about was the building up of their faith.

  2. Salvation
  This is the big one. If you miss this, you've missed it all. This is the one for all the marbles, and I mean forever and ever!

  We started with the building up of faith by the Word. Sooner or later, if you continue to read the Word, you will come to a great crossroads (if you haven't already). There are two roads to choose from at the crossroads: the one that leads to joyous everlasting life with the Lord, and the one that leads to everlasting torment. Choose life.

  James says that when we are saved, or born again, the Lord actually "begets" us (fathers us into birth) by means of the Word of truth (James 1:18). Peter tells us that when we are born again, it is by a seed that is not corruptible, but incorruptible, by the Word of God, that lives forever (1 Peter 1:23). So if you don't want eternal life in Christ, it's dangerous to read the Word.

  If you have never received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, and if you now sense that He is drawing you to Himself in that way, please don't put Him off. Speak to Him in prayer. Offer yourself to Him. Ask Him to forgive your sins and give you eternal life and be the Lord of your life from this day forward.

  Pray a simple prayer, something like this: "Lord, I know that I am a sinner, and that I have displeased You. But Jesus, I believe that you died to pay the penalty for my sins, and that You rose from the dead to give me new life. I ask You, Lord, to forgive my sins, come into my heart, and be my Savior and Lord. I confess You to be my Lord. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me!" (For the Scriptural basis of that sample prayer, read Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, and Romans 10:9-10).

  If you prayed a prayer like that in sincerity and faith, you are now among the ranks of the redeemed. Your slate has been wiped clean, and you are now brand new in God's eyes (2 Corinthians 5:17). Amazing things will begin to happen in you. It is important that you begin to speak with the Lord daily in prayer, and that you find a good, Bible-preaching church to attend, and tell the people there what has happened to you. And, whatever you do, don't stop reading your Bible. After all, you're now a member of the family, and you need to learn of your inheritance!

  3. Wisdom and Guidance from God
It is so important for you, as a child of God, to seek His guidance and wisdom at every turn. James says to ask God if you need wisdom, and He will give it to you if you really believe Him for it (James 1:5-8). And the way in which He usually gets His wisdom across to us is through His Word. Paul reminded young Timothy that from his childhood he had "!known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise!" (2 Timothy 3:15). And when you are walking through what seems like darkness, what could be better than some light for your path? Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Let the Lord light the path of your life with His Word.

  4. A Renewed Mind
Growing up in this world tends to shape our thinking a certain way. We may be fearful, or timid, or dishonest, or prone to addictions, lust or depression. There are all kinds of ways in which we may be guilty of "stinkin' thinkin'." And our thinking limits us, especially when it comes to the wonderful promises of God's Word. But Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to (or molded by) the way this world thinks, but to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." In other words, we've got to learn to think, not as the world thinks, but as God Himself thinks.

  Impossible, you say? God would never command us to do anything unless He made it possible for us to do it. There is a passage in Isaiah that shows us that God intends for us to think like He thinks. The Lord speaks through the prophet starting in Isaiah 55:8, making it clear that the people He was talking to did not think like He thought, and so their actions were not like His, either. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts," the Lord has the prophet say, "Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." He builds on this in the next verse. But then in the following verse (v.10), He begins to shift from describing the problem to declaring the solution. That's His way. And then in verse 11, He declares, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." In other words, those whose thoughts are still stuck in the world's mode don't have to stay that way! The Word will change things! The Word of God will change your mind if you'll let it.

  5. Victory Over Sin
  If you think God takes a relaxed attitude towards sin, I've got news for you. Sin was the whole reason you had to get born again, because you, just like everybody else, messed it up the first time around. But the good news is that you no longer have to be under the power of sin. Romans 6:14 says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you: because ye are not under the law, but under grace." Sin can't boss you around anymore. Again, the Word is key.

  Psalm 119:9 asks, "Wherewithal (how) shall a young man cleanse his way?" Immediately the answer comes: "By taking heed thereto according to thy word." Again the Apostle John explains one of his reasons for writing his epistle: "My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not." (1 John 2:1).

  That is one of the main functions of the Word of God: to separate you from sin. The word "sanctify" in the Bible means to separate from sin and the things of this world. Paul placed the Ephesian elders in the care of the Word (see above under "Faith"), saying he commended them to God and to the Word of His grace, "which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified" (Acts 20:32). The Word gives the separation you need to beat sin again and again.

  6. Healing
  I have been sick in bed with the flu, reading the Word, and have suddenly sensed the healing anointing of the Lord in my body, making me well again. I wasn't reading a passage that dealt directly with healing; I hadn't actually been praying to be healed. I just took in the Word, and it did its work. Sound strange? Well, listen to this: "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions" (Psalm 107:20). How about Solomon saying in Proverbs 4:20-22 that the words of the Lord are "...life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."? I am convinced that the best way for believers to stay healthy is to keep up their Word intake.

  7. The Joy of the Lord
  I mention this last, but it's certainly not least. The Word of the Lord brings joy. Joy is a little different from happiness, because happiness depends on circumstances, but joy can be at its strongest when all kinds of chaos may be going on around you. Jesus said His Word to His disciples was given them so that "...my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). John tells the readers of his epistle, "And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full" (1 John 1:4).

  The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Let the joy of the Lord fill you and strengthen you as you absorb His Word each day. It's one of the benefits!

  These are by no means all of the benefits and rewards of being a faithful Word man or woman. But they should be enough to stimulate your appetite for a healthy daily portion of the Scriptures.

  As you read, you will become curious about certain passages, or possibly a little puzzled, or maybe even totally confused. You may run into some places in the Bible where you think you see a contradiction (if that happens, relax: there are no actual contradictions in the Bible: what you've run into is a special learning opportunity!). There will be events or teachings or characters in the Word that will stir your interest. Make note of these things, because they are the gateway to the next level of adventure in the Word: study.