You know you need to read your Bible more – you WANT to read the Bible more. Yet, you keep realizing you haven’t read anything as you get into bed and think, “well, I’ll just have to make sure I do it tomorrow.” Hopefully you’ll come across this list of 20 reasons to read the Bible today before bedtime because I am going to encourage you to take that precious time to read the Bible today, and keep on going after that!
Reasons to read the Bible today:
- It will help you know God.
- To help you know yourself better.
- God can use it to speak to you.
- Over time, it will give you greater ability to discern what is true.
- So you will know for yourself what the Bible really says.
- It is God’s words to us.
- To learn the significance of the Messiah / Savior.
- So you can learn the Jewish history that interconnects stories of the Bible.
- It can encourage you.
- God can use it to convict you about things you need to change.
- So that you can eventually read the whole Bible to learn the overarching story of God and mankind.
- To help you identify areas where you might like to grow in faith.
- So you can learn answers to questions you never knew you had.
- If you need help withstanding temptation to sin.
- To gain hope about your future and humanity’s future.
- It may resonate with ways that you are hurting.
- To find encouragement to have God’s compassion toward other people.
- So you can determine what you believe.
- To nourish your soul and help you grow spiritually.
- To please God.
1. Read the Bible today because it will help you know God.
The Bible is the one trustworthy place where you can find accurate information about who God is and what he is like. As you read the Bible today, look out for instances where God speaks with people or acts, and see what that tells you about what God is like. Of course, you can’t get to know someone from one or two stories about them – so keep reading tomorrow and the next day to get to know God as much as you can.
2. To help you know yourself better.
The Bible also can teach us a lot about people. As you read your Bible today, you may learn something about where people came from or why we do what we do. Sometimes someone else’s encouragement or failure in the Bible can speak to us about our strengths and weaknesses, too.
3. Read the Bible today because God can use it to speak to you.
The encouragement or conviction you experience while reading the Bible today could be God’s words directly to you. Remember to read the context carefully – much of what we read in scripture was meant for the people in that story specifically. For example, if you read the story of Abraham and Isaac, you should never believe that God is telling you to sacrifice your child through that story. But other cases, especially where there are general instructions for people who believe in Jesus – that is God speaking to you!
4. Over time, it will give you greater ability to discern what is true.
Perhaps someday you will be listening to some advice from a Christian friend, or even a pastor – and they’ll instruct you to do something that just doesn’t sit quite right with you. That could be because you chose to read the Bible today, and what you read speaks a truth that the well-meaning advice-giver hasn’t thought about. The more you read the Bible, the more you know what it says – allowing you to have good discernment about any spiritual teaching and advice.
5. So that you will know for yourself what the Bible really says.
If you’re the kind of person who usually only learns what the Bible says sitting in church, reading the Bible today can help you change that. Rather than relying on a preacher to tell you what the Bible says, read for yourself so that knowledge is your own. Over a lifetime of personal Bible study, you can learn just as much as any scripture-quoting speaker.
6. Read the Bible today because it is God’s words to us.
Think about it – if there is anything God wants to say to you, it is everything you’ll find in the Bible. You can think of the Bible as a book of the most important things God ever wanted to say to humankind. While God spoke directly to many people in the Bible, he cared so much about getting this message to you that he preserved the writings of dozens of authors over thousands of years. Now it is in your hands – will you read what God has to say?
7. To learn the significance of the Messiah (Savior).
What Jesus accomplished for us in his death and resurrection is incredible alone – but do you know that Jesus’ story stretches back to the very beginning of the Old Testament? By reading the Bible today, you may learn something new relating to why we need the Messiah, who is Jesus, whether it’s a parallel between old Covenant sacrifice or a prophecy in Isaiah. Learning these things deepens my wonder at what God has done for me. I hope it will do so for you, too.
8. So you can learn the Jewish history that interconnects stories of the Bible.
Have you ever read something Jesus said and felt totally confused? Do you notice the differences between your culture and the culture in the Bible stories? Keep reading your Bible today to gain more understanding. By studying Israel’s history in the Old Testament, you can learn valuable insights that will help you understand what is going on in the stories in the Bible.
9. Read the Bible today because it can encourage you.
The Bible tells countless stories of God’s compassion toward people. It is full of heartfelt passages by believers who knew what it’s like to live this wearying life and to be strengthened by God. Paul tells us to set our minds on things of heaven (Colossians 3:2). Read your Bible today to put that to practice – and you may be surprised by an encouraging word from above!
10. So God can use it to convict you about things you need to change.
God cares about us and doesn’t want to leave us captive to sin. That’s why the Holy Spirit’s main mission is “to convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement…” (John 16:8) As we grow into mature believers, one of the most important things we can do is listen for and respond to God’s conviction. Read your Bible today if you’re ready to follow God deeper into faith and obedience.
11. So you can ultimately read the whole Bible and learn the overarching story of God and mankind.
The small portions of scripture we read daily have the power to shape our hearts and minds after God and enrich us spiritually. Just like you can find life-changing insight in those passages, there are beautiful lessons that you can learn when you view the whole story of the Bible. When you have read all 66 books of the Bible, you you will know the overarching themes and insights of the whole story of God and humankind. Read your Bible today to continue that journey until you’ve read the whole thing.
If you’re excited about reading the whole Bible, read this post to learn a few ways to accomplish it!
12. Read the Bible today to help you identify areas where you might like to grow in faith.
As you read, you may encounter stories of people whose faith and character inspire you. You may also see people in the Bible whose failures feel awfully similar to your own. Whatever you find, let it encourage you to turn to the one who perfects our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Point to those examples of faith that you want to emulate and talk to God about it. You may look back some day and be surprised and what he accomplished in you because you chose to spend time in the Word and turn to him for help.
13. So you can learn answers to questions you never knew you had.
Sometimes when I read the Bible I come across precious little bundles of wisdom that I never thought to look for. It really feels like finding a treasure. Proverbs says that wisdom is more precious than silver or gold. While you might not know what to look for in the Bible today, God knows what wisdom we will need in the time to come. Let him speak to you through scripture and answer those questions you didn’t know need answering.
14. Read the Bible today if you need help withstanding temptation to sin.
A few years back I walked back into a pattern of sin I had overcome once before. One day I read in Hebrews and was just about knocked over by the verse that said “in your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” (v. 12:4). God uses His Word to convict us, and also to help us stand strong in that conviction. That verse did both for me. Turn to God’s word for strength when you need help withstanding the temptation to sin.
15. To gain hope about your future and humanity’s future.
Many stories in the Bible are chaos unrivaled by news stories today. However, they have something the news doesn’t – the constant hope of God’s patience, compassion, and ultimate plan to end sin, suffering, and death. We will inevitably hurt like the rest of creation does, groaning for Christ to return and make things right. But do yourself a favor and read the Bible today to gain a little more understanding of the hope that awaits us.
16. It may resonate with ways that you are hurting.
The stories in the Bible are often brimming with emotion – see David’s lament in the Psalms, or Mary’s wonder at her divine pregnancy. People in the Bible experience all of the same heartaches we do today. Even our Lord does. If you read your Bible today, you may resonate with the challenging experiences faithful believers have been through. And you will also learn how they find comfort in God.
17. Read the Bible today to find encouragement to have God’s compassion toward other people.
The Bible teaches us to love one another – and to love our enemies. It’s hard to do that if we don’t know what that kind of love looks like. Read your Bible today and keep an eye out for God’s compassion toward people. When you see it, meditate on it and write it on your heart. Ask God to help you remember that compassion when you are having difficulty being compassionate.
18. So you can determine what you believe.
A lot of people spend several years choosing what they believe about God based on their family, social trends, their favorite pastor, and personal experience. If you would like to get down to the nitty gritty and determine what you really believe about God, Jesus, and the Bible itself, then go ahead and read the Bible today. That way you’ll learn firsthand what it teaches about those things.
19. To nourish your soul and help you grow spiritually.
If you don’t eat, you won’t grow. In fact, you’ll start to lose strength and body mass. How is your spiritual self? The Bible is the most vital spiritual nourishment you can give yourself. You can pray, go to church, and sing worship all you want – if you aren’t reading God’s word regularly, you’ll become weaker nonetheless. Read the Bible today to feed your faith.
20. Read the Bible today to please God.
We ask God for a lot. Which is good, he’s a good father and likes giving us good things. How often do you go out of your way to do something that you know will be pleasing to God? Not to earn approval, but just out of love? Loving a neighbor and worshiping at church are good examples of that, and so is reading your Bible. It shows God that you want to spend time with him and that you care about the things he cares about.
Conclusion
That concludes 20 reasons to read the Bible today. I hope that you found something encouraging (and that you have plans to hop off almostawalrus.com and immediately to your Bible)!. My hope for you is that you will keep reminding yourself how valuable it is to read God’s word and make a daily habit of it.
For more help getting into a Bible-reading groove, see these posts:
- 5 Simple Tips to Help You Read Your Bible Daily
- 3 Ways to Read the Whole Bible
- 5 Ways to Be Still Before God
I’d love to hear from you in the comments – tell me what you thought of this post! And make sure to sign up for my email list. There are more faith-centered posts to come and you won’t want to miss them.
As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my writing.
With love,
Almost a Walrus
