No matter how you choose to serve God in your life, do it intentionally and with your whole heart. Continue to invest time in your Bible study and watch your relationship with God blossom.
Bible study is critical to our daily lives. Yet, many people overlook the importance and blessing of participating in it. Maybe you have been neglecting Bible study because you are overwhelmed at work, lack time, or are battling a health condition. Incorporating Bible study into your daily life will help no matter what you are going through. It will provide you with daily motivation for the day and help you grow in your relationship with God.
Growing in your relationship with God
Bible study helps you grow in your relationship with God. Just as a friendship cannot grow without two people communicating with each other, a friendship with God cannot grow without talking with Him in prayer and hearing back from Him through His Word. Many of us are prone to pray to God, but we neglect to go to the Bible to hear back from Him.
Sadly, we don't live in a time when God speaks to us directly or through prophets. Rather, God mainly talks to us today through the Bible. Through Bible study, we can hear from God, read what He wants us to know, and learn more about Him. We cannot truly know God unless we read about Him in the Bible. One could attend church and listen to the preacher talk about God, but He wants a personal relationship with you. A personal relationship that is cultivated through prayer and Bible study.
Rather than just listening to someone talk about God, you can read His direct words through Scripture. Incorporating Bible study every day will change your life for the better. It gives you the benefit of knowing your relationship with God grows deeper and stronger. The more you read about God and know Him, the better you can tackle life's problems. It will also help you be less prone to losing heart or giving up on hard things.
Becoming more mature in the faith
Daily Bible study matures our faith. Since we know God more, we will be more mature in our walk with Him. This means we will be more prone to see sin as God sees it and want to refrain from participating in it. We will all continue to mess up and sin, but through becoming more mature in our faith, we become wiser and able, through the strength of the Spirit, to turn away from sinful behaviors.
Since sinful behaviors hurt God, we won't want to do them. Faithful maturity and wisdom help us to exercise our Christian freedom better and steer clear of legalism. Unfortunately, many Christians are legalistic, and it shows their lack of Christian maturity. Banning people from listening to anything but worship music, condemning dancing, and speaking badly of others who don't follow their rules are not marks of a mature Christian. Rather, these are marks of an immature Christian who is judging others.
While it might be difficult at times to discipline yourself to read the Bible every day, it has lasting benefits. If you find it difficult to find the time, try to wake up earlier or read your Bible on lunch break. We are not given extra time; however, we can choose how we utilize it. The best investment of our time is spent in prayer and Bible study.
Living with meaning for God
A third benefit of everyday Bible study is it helps us live with meaning for God. If we never grow or mature in our faith, we will remain baby Christians. To remain baby Christians is not good because we won't be able to do everything God wants us to do. However, if we grow in our Christian walk-through Bible study, we can also live with meaning. A life spent to please oneself is not a life worth living at all. Jesus died for us, and it is only right for us to live for Him.
To live with meaning for God means obeying, following, and loving Him in our everyday lives. We should no longer live our lives for sinful purposes but rather for the purposes of God. God wants us to share the Gospel with all people and love others as we love ourselves. Within these truths, there is no room for selfishness. Instead of living for ourselves, we need to live for God.
Helping others
The more we learn about the Bible through Bible study, the more we can help others. God wants us to help others and help them grow in their own walk with Him. By being consistent in Bible study, we will be able to help others know Him better and teach them the Bible's truths. We can also spot false teaching and warn others of false teachers.
God didn't place us on this earth to be alone. Instead, God wants us to have relationships with others and to help them know Him better. There is nothing greater than telling others about the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. As you continue to grow in your own walk with Christ, you will be able to do even more things for Him and help more people learn about Him. You might even choose to go on the mission field and share the Gospel with people who have never heard the Gospel before.
No matter how you choose to serve God in your life, do it intentionally and with your whole heart. Continue to invest time in your Bible study and watch your relationship with God blossom. You will also start to notice your Christian maturity and freedom to grow as you keep including Bible study in your daily life. Even if your life gets hectic sometimes, don't neglect your time with God in prayer and Bible study.
If we neglect our time with God, it will show up in our lives. If you ever find yourself drifting away from God, turn back to Him in prayer and read His Word to bring you back to Him. The best way to prevent this is to continue your daily prayer and Bible study. Make it a habit. The more you practice these things and include them in your everyday life, the easier it will be to have time and energy for them each day.
Photo Credit:Unsplash/Alexis Brown
Vivian Bricker loves Jesus, studying the Word of God, and helping others in their walk with Christ. She has earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master's degree in Christian Ministry with a deep academic emphasis in theology. Her favorite things to do are spending time with her family and friends, reading, and spending time outside. When she is not writing, she is embarking on other adventures.