Lighting your Path; 3 reasons to study your Bible

Read your Bible or a devotion - Check! Yeah I've done my study for the day, off to play. This is not the way to do Bible Study. Why? Well it is because Bible Study is an important part of your relationship with Christ. Here are 3 reasons you should study your Bible.

1.  Reading the Bible helps you build a relationship with Christ.
   

   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:1-5

   Jesus is the Word that his passage is talking about, and He is the light that shined in the darkness.
   

   ⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  - 1 John 1:9-10

   The world was not prepared to know the heart of God and because of this when Jesus came the first time the world missed him. They didn't realize He was God and He was here. Don't miss Jesus, read your Bible so you will get to know him.  Much like a date, you talk to your date as a way to get to know them, well the Bible is the Word you have been given to learn about Jesus. How can you profess to have a relationship with someone you don't know? 
   
   
   
2.  Reading your Bible give you wisdom and guides your steps.
   

   ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. - Psalm 119:105

   The word of God is a lamp for my feet, it leads my actions. It tells me right from wrong, and by knowing this I can make decisions that please God. As a Christian I am a Christ follower, and without the Bible I can't follow the steps of someone who lived so long ago. Yes, the Holy Spirit is there but without knowing the word of God then he can't remind me of Christ's steps. So I need to read my bible to learn how to act. 
   
   
3. Reading your Bible helps you to verify what your being taught. 

¹¹ Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. ¹² As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. - Acts 17:11-12

 The Berean Jews didn't just take what Paul and Silas said, believe and that was it. No, they listened to what they said eagerly, they then double checked what was said with the Scriptures, the word of God. By doing this their faith increased and they believed. We to should make sure what is being taught to us follows what the Bible says and we do that by studying our Bibles.



When we study our Bible we really should put together a plan so this week I challenge you to come up with a plan. It could be to right down what the Pastor taught and studying it. You can also use Bible Reading plans. One of my student Bible's has reading plans in it. I also like to use my Bible Concordance in the back of my Bible and study specific topics. (See Rejecting Rejection: Loving others anyway.)

What do you plan to study this week? Come back next week to let me know how your week of study went and what you learned!  

In a few weeks, I plan to show you a few different ways to study your Bible, but you will need a pen/pencil and a notebook. I use a composition notebook, but bright colors bleed through the thin pages. So I if you want to join me I recommend being on the lookout for a notebook.