The Bible In The New Year
Christmas has come and gone and we all are setting our sights on the New Year ahead, and many people have already starting thinking of their New Year’s resolutions. One thing my mom and I do every year is read our Bible all the way through. We have these little check off cards, one for the Old Testament and one for the New Testament, and they list what chapters we need to read every day to complete the Bible in a year. I know the year is coming to an end when we have to print new cards, but it also means we are nearing the end of the Bible.
What amazes me is how much new stuff I learn every year as I read. It seems that that things pop out that I had never noticed before. But more importantly we are reminded of what the Bible really does for us as God’s people. The Bible has a unique ministry in all or our lives, and there would be no better plan or resolution for everyone to join us and for the next 365 days make a fresh commitment to read, study, and apply the Word of God.
I. WHAT THE BIBLE IS FOR YOU
In order to convey to us what the Bible does in a believer’s life, the writers of the Word of God, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, used a number of beautiful metaphors.
1. The Word of God is a Sword
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
2. The Word of God is a Mirror
“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:23-25
3. The Word of God is a Hammer
“Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:29
4. The Word of God is Water
“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,” Ephesians 5:26
5. The Word of God is Seed
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:23
6. The Word of God is Silver
“The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6
7. The Word of God is Fire
“Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” Jeremiah 20:9
8. The Word of God is a Lamp
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
9. The Word of God is Bread
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51
10. The Word of God is Honey
“More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” Psalm 19:10
11. The Word of God is Milk
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” 1 Peter 2:2
12. The Word of God is Gold
“Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold” Psalm 119:127
Those are just a few of the pictures of the Bible in the Scriptures. Although there are many more, all of these are to help us understand the value and the importance of God’s wonderful word in our lives.
II. WHAT THE BIBLE WILL DO FOR YOU
Today it seems the Bible is being taken more and more out of the public life of American culture and look what has happened to us.
But far more disastrous is that the Word of God has seemed to drop out of the lives of many people who claim to be God’s people.
Therefore at this time of year, it would be good for us to look at the number of reasons why we should read the Word of God. If we begin to understand how this Book can change our lives, it will continue to change our lives even in today’s world. Here are eight reasons why we should read the Word of God.
1. It Will Produce Spiritual Growth
Every year I take a little inventory and ask myself, “Have I grown in the Lord this year?” There is absolutely no way we will ever grow in our faith but through personal, disciplined reading and studying God’s Word. Consider what the Word of God says:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Look at that verse and see how the Word of God helps you grow.
The Word of God is:
Profitable for Doctrine..” – it shows you the right way to go.
Profitable for Reproof – to convict you when you get off that path
Profitable for Correction – to show you how to get back on the path you left
Profitable for Instruction in Righteousness – to show you, in a positive way, how to stay on that path in the future
That is how we grow. That’s a great reason to read the Word of God.
2. It Will Provide Cleansing For Your Life
How many of us know that we live in a toxic environment? Not just physically toxic, but spiritually toxic. Everywhere we go it seems someone is trying to put something into our hearts, or in our lives that going to erode our spiritual walk with the Lord. How do we cleanse our lives from that? The Word of God! If we bring the Word of God in, it will push out the toxicity that we have gathered through the world, cleansing our hearts and making us clean. Listen to what David said in Psalm 119:9
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
And the Lord Jesus prayed that this would be true in our lives in His high-priestly prayer in John 17:17
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
3. It Will Prevent You From Sinning
If you get into the Word of God, you won’t sin nearly as much as if you don’t. The more you are in the Word of God, the more sensitive you become to those things which can lead you astray. It is awfully difficult to spend time in the Word of God in the morning, and then walk away from that and being to violate principles that you know are a part of God’s truth. The Word of God empowers you to do the right thing, so you don’t end up violating what you know to be true. That’s what David meant when he said,
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.“ Psalm 119:11
The more you get into the Word of God and study it, the more it will help you stay away from things that will ultimately destroy you.
4. It Will Protect You From Satan
Satan goes around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He wants to take you and drown any influence you have. He wants to ruin you for anything you ever want to do for the Lord.
So how do you protect yourself against Satan? Jesus gives an example in Matthew 4:4-10 when he was taken to the desert and was tempted. Jesus fought the enemy with the Word of God. If you know God’s Word and you are in the Word of God, you put Satan at a disadvantage because you have the power of God’s Word working in your life.
5. It Will Protect You From Discouragement
There were two disciples on one occasion who left Jerusalem after the Crucifixion. They were depressed and discouraged because they thought it was all over. Christ had died, and they did not know that He was resurrected. They were walking toward Emmaus talking about their hopelessness and about their situation, when all of a sudden Jesus came alongside and began to talk with them. And after Jesus had encouraged them, they said
“...Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” Luke 24:32.
When you get to the point where you’re discouraged and don’t know what to do, go to the Friend that sticks closer than a brother, and listen to His Word. Then you will discover that your heart will begin to burn within you like these disciples. God’s Word will come in, and push out those discouraging thoughts, take away the things that would drive you down, and begin to lift you up. God’s Word has the power to protect you from discouragement.
6. It Will Promote Success In Whatever You Do
Being in the Word of God gives you the opportunity to be more successful than you would ever be otherwise. In fact Psalm 1:1-3 tells us:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.“
Whenever you are in the Word of God, you are in a position to be successful in what you do. The Word of God promises us that when we make it the substance of our life, it will help us to succeed in what we do.
7. It Will Prepare You For Powerful Praying
John 15:7 says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
How does that work? It helps you to know what to ask for. When you read the Word of God, you get a sense of God’s will, and when you ask in God’s will, He gives it to you. So it will prepare you for how you are to pray.
8. It Will Point The Way To Salvation
Paul wrote to young Timothy,
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:14-15
How does a person become a Christian? Through the Bible. The plan of salvation is in this Book. Christ died for you and for your sin, and He paid the penalty that you should have paid, and He did on the cross for you. That message is in the Bible.
Are you in the Word? If not, I encourage you to start now reading the Word of God. Find some time in the morning to spend a few moments with God and His Word. You may not understand it, to begin with, but motivate yourself to study and get to know God. The first step in understanding the Word of God is knowing the God of the Word. And you can’t know Him unless you put your trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. So as we begin this New Year ahead, we are reminded again of what the Bible really does for us as God’s people. The Bible will come alive for you.
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