6. The Bible
1. The Bible is the Word
of God and contains
the very words of
God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-
breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the
man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for
every good work.
7. The Bible
1. The Bible is the Word
of God and contains
the very words of
God.
2. The Lord has
commanded us to
read the Word. Bible
reading is an act of
obedience to God.
Joshua 1:8
Do not let this Book of the Law
depart from your mouth;
meditate on it day and night,
so that you may be careful to
do everything written in it.
Then you will be prosperous
and successful.
8. The Bible
1. The Bible is the Word
of God and contains
the very words of
God.
2. The Lord has
commanded us to
read the Word. Bible
reading is an act of
obedience to God.
Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you
teach and admonish one
another with all wisdom.
11. The Blessings
Five ways we should view
the Bible:
1) Food
1 Peter 2:2-3
Like newborn babies,
crave pure spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow
up in your salvation, now
that you have tasted that
the Lord is good.
12. The Blessings
Five ways we should view
the Bible:
1) Food
2) Soap
Ephesians 5:25b-26
… Christ loved the church
and gave himself up for
her to make her holy,
cleansing her by the
washing with water
through the word,
13. The Blessings
Five ways we should view
the Bible:
1) Food
2) Soap
A Bible that is falling apart probably
belongs to someone who isn’t
(Christian Johnson).
14. The Blessings
Five ways we should view
the Bible:
1) Food
2) Soap
3) Light
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my
feet, and a light for my
path.
15. The Blessings
Five ways we should view
the Bible:
1) Food
2) Soap
3) Light
4) Manual
Psalm 19:7b
The statues of the Lord
are trustworthy, making
wise the simple.
16. The Blessings
Five ways we should view
the Bible:
1) Food
2) Soap
3) Light
4) Manual
5) Letter
17. The Blessings
Five ways we should view
the Bible:
1) Food
2) Soap
3) Light
4) Manual
5) Letter
Psalm 139:16-18
All the days ordained for me were
written in your book before one
of them came to be. How
precious to me are your thoughts,
O God! How vast is the sum of
them! Were I to count them, they
would outnumber the grains of
sand. When I awake, I am still
with you.
19. The Benefits
Scripture Promised Benefits
Joshua 1:8 we will be prosperous and successful
Psalm 19:7-11 (1) it gives life to the soul
(2) it gives wisdom to the simple
(3) it gives joy to the heart
(4) it gives light to the eyes
(5) it gives great reward
Proverbs 6:20-23 (1) when you walk, it will guide you
(2) when you sleep, it will watch over you
(3) when you awake, it will speak to you
John 17:17 it will sanctify us
Ephesians 5:26 it makes us holy and cleanses us
20. B-E-N-E-F-I-T-S
B read for the soul
E njoyment of good literature
N earness to God
E ncouragement from good news
F oundation for our lives
I nspiration to believe, hope, and
love
T ruth as our guide
S ecurity against doubt and the
devil
22. The Regularity
The testimony of Scripture
is clear: we need to
cultivate a holy habit of
daily Bible reading. We
should set aside regular
time to feed ourselves on
the Word of God.
I am sorry for men who do
not read the Bible every
day. I wonder why they
deprive themselves of the
strength and the pleasure
(Woodrow Wilson, US
President).
23. The Regularity
Joshua 1:8
Do not let this Book of the
Law depart from your
mouth; meditate on it day
and night, so that you may
be careful to do everything
written in it. Then you will
be prosperous and
successful.
29. The Rendition
Which is the best
Bible?
“The one you read”
(Billy Graham)
Which Bible will you
read?
The one you best
understand!!!
There is nothing spiritual about reading
something you don’t understand.
30. The Rendition
Awkward English
Reader interprets
Hard to understand
Good for serious study
Suitable for experts
Natural English
Translator interprets
Easy to understand
Good for casual reading
Suitable for everybody
Literal Translations Dynamic Translations
31. The Rendition
Awkward English
Reader interprets
Hard to understand
Good for serious study
Suitable for experts
Natural English
Translator interprets
Easy to understand
Good for casual reading
Suitable for everybody
Many Christians read literal translations, but they
should read dynamic translations.
Literal Translations Dynamic Translations
32. The Rendition
Literal Dynamic Free Paraphrase
ESV
LEB
NASB
NKJV
NRSV
GW
NET
NIV
ISV
CEV
GNB (TEV)
NCV
NiRV
NLT
Living Bible
Message
Philips
33. The Rendition
This good news tells us
how God makes us right
in his sight. This is
accomplished from start
to finish by faith. As the
Scriptures say, “It is
through faith that the
righteous person has
life.”
For in the gospel, a
righteousness from God
is revealed, a
righteousness that is by
faith from first to last,
just as it is written, “The
righteous will live by
faith.”
For in it the
righteousness of God is
revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written,
“The just shall live by
faith.”
NLTNIVNKJV
34. The Rendition
This good news tells us
how God makes us right
in his sight. This is
accomplished from start
to finish by faith. As the
Scriptures say, “It is
through faith that the
righteous person has
life.”
For in the gospel, a
righteousness from God
is revealed, a
righteousness that is by
faith from first to last,
just as it is written, “The
righteous will live by
faith.”
For in it the
righteousness of God is
revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written,
“The just shall live by
faith.”
NLTNIVNKJV
38. The Mission
The motivation behind
personal Bible reading is
not to gain knowledge,
but to hear from God and
obey him.
Deut. 28:1-2, NKJV
Now it shall come to pass, if
you diligently obey the voice
of the Lord your God, to
observe carefully all His
commandments which I
command you today, that the
Lord your God will set you high
above all nations of the earth.
39. The Mission
1. The mission of devotional reading is not to
master the scriptures, but to meet the
Saviour.
40. The Mission
1. The mission of devotional reading is not to
master the scriptures, but to meet the
Saviour.
2. We can state the two primary goals of our
reading as:
• to meet the Lord
• to obey the Lord
41. The Mission
The objective of personal
Bible reading is to get the
word into our hearts, that
is, to be saturated with
the word of God so that
his will and ways govern
our walk and our talk.
How do we get the word
into our hearts? Trying to
learn it ‘off by heart’
(memorise) seldom works.
We need a model that
helps us to get the word
into the heart.
42. Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NKJV
And these words which I command you today
shall be in your heart. You shall teach them
diligently to your children, and shall talk of them
when you sit in your house, when you walk by
the way, when you lie down, and when you rise
up.
45. The Method
1. Our desire is to get the word of God into the
heart of man.
2. Trying to memorise portions of scripture has
some value, but it is not the best way.
3. We propose a four-step approach that
focuses on doing, not on memorising.
46. The Method
We remember up to
• 10 per cent of what we hear
• 20 per cent of what we see
• 30 per cent of what we see and hear
• 90 per cent of what we see, hear, and do
49. The Maximizers
Put on your SPECS:
S Sin to confess
P Promise to claim
E Example to follow
C Command to obey
S Service to render
50. The Maximizers
Colour Coding
Colour coding is an easy,
attractive, and effective way
of marking your Bible to
make things easier to find
and remember. Use a
different colour for each of
the SPECS topics.
Journalling
Journaling is keeping a diary in
which you write down what God
says to you through his Word. In
your journal you should write
down three things: (a) verses that
speak to you; (b) truth in the
verses that speak to you; and (c)
response: what you must do in
response to that truth.
52. Summary
1. Reasons: we value the Bible as God’s food, soap,
light, manual, and love letter.
2. Regularity: we need to cultivate the habit of daily
Bible reading.
3. Rendition: we should read a translation of the Bible
that we can understand.
4. Routine: we use a four-step method—passage-
part-point-practice—method to get the Word into
our hearts.
