Foreword
What Your Bible Will Do for You If You Will Let It
No other book possesses the transforming power that is in the Bible, the Word of God.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God ().
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord ().
If you want to be a new person, knowing and obeying the will of God and becoming more like Jesus Christ, you must spend time daily yielding yourself to the transforming truths of the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit doesn’t work in a vacuum but uses the Scriptures and prayer to minister in our lives.
Simply reading assigned portions of the Bible each day, as helpful as that is, isn’t enough. A truly transforming experience involves meditating on what you read (), studying it carefully in the light of other verses, and then obeying what God tells you to do (). You may want to memorize verses that especially speak to you () so you can think about them during the day. The Lord might even give you opportunities to share with others what He has taught you.
The master theme of the Bible is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, so the way we treat the Bible is the way we treat Jesus. The Bible is light (), and Jesus is light (). Jesus called Himself “the bread of life” (), and the Word is bread that nourishes our spirit (). Jesus is “the truth” (), and the Word of God is truth (). To ignore the Word of God is to ignore the Son of God. The correct responses we should have toward Jesus and the Word are given by Paul in :
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
First, we should appreciate the Word because it is God’s Word and not “the word of men.” We should read the Bible with reverence and respect, not carelessly, the way we sometimes scan a newspaper or speed-read a book. When you open your Bible and your heart, God will open His mouth and speak to you. “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (). Read and marvel over characteristics of God’s inspired Scriptures.
Second, we should appropriate the Word because merely having the Bible before our eyes is no guarantee we have its truths in our inner person. The Bible is like bread (), milk (), solid food (), and even honey (; ), and food does us no good unless we eat it and digest it. What digestion is to the body, meditation is to the inner person. We should welcome God’s Word into our hearts and cultivate a growing appetite for spiritual truth.
Third, we should apply the Word. God’s Word is “living and powerful” (); therefore, it can work in our lives as we exercise faith and obey what God says to us. The Holy Spirit, the author of the Scriptures, lives within each Christian believer and will teach us if we are willing to learn and obey (). “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (). Reading the Bible but not obeying it is like reading the menu but not eating the meal. The Word of God can be applied to every area of our lives, and because it has divine energy, it can work deep within us and change us (, ; , ).
If we honestly and humbly apply God’s Word to our lives, God will share these blessings with us. Unless otherwise stated, all references are to , the longest chapter in the book of Psalms and the chapter in the Bible that most magnifies the Word of God.
1. Purity. “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word” (v. ; and see and ).
2. Joy. “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches” (v. ). “Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart” (v. ). “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure” (v. ). “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it” (v. ).
3. Right values. “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way” (v. ). “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver” (v. ). “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (v. ). “I rise before the dawning of the morning, and cry for help; I hope in Your word. My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word” (vv. ). “I hate and abhor lying, but I love Your law” (v. ).
4. Hope. “Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope” (v. ).
5. Comfort. “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life” (v. ).
6. Freedom. “And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts” (v. ).
7. New life. “My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word” (v. ). “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life” (v. ). “I am afflicted very much; revive me, O LORD, according to Your word” (v. ). “Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice” (v. ).
8. Peace. “Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (v. ).
9. Guidance and counsel. “Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors” (v. ). “Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart” (vv. ). “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v. ). “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (v. ). “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments” (v. ).
10. Godly friends. “I am a companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts” (v. ). “Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, because I have hoped in Your word” (v. ). “Let those who fear You turn to me, those who know Your testimonies” (v. ).
11. Wisdom. “You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts” (vv. ).
12. Integrity. “Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously” (v. ).
13. Encouragement. “My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to Your word” (v. ).
14. Ability to witness. “Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD—your salvation according to Your word. So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Your word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I have hoped in Your ordinances” (vv. ).
15. A song. “Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage” (v. ). The better we know the Bible, the more we will appreciate the great hymns of the church.
16. Effective prayer. Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” ().
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” ().
Warren W. Wiersbe