Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
On several occasions we find Jesus asking, “Have you not read…?” (Matt. 12:3-5, 19:4, 21:16, 21:42 & 22:31). That question suggests that Jesus expects us to read the Scripture and if we are not doing so we will misunderstand His heart, misrepresent Him and ultimately fall into error (Matt. 22:29).
Jesus Christ declared that He is the bread of life (John 6:35) meaning He is the Word incarnate. Jesus also told us that, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). I am convinced that we all need a daily portion of the Scripture like we need food on a daily basis.
Some studies and research has been done amongst believers to discover what the single most important factor was that impacted spiritual growth. It was daily reading and reflection of Scripture!
Nancy Lewis, a statistician with Reveal Survey relates the following.
“After surveying 750,000 Christians about spiritual growth, the single biggest predictor of spiritual growth, regardless of maturity level, is whether a person has a daily practice of reflecting on the Bible.”
She said of all the spiritual disciplines, this one stood out by a statistically significant wide margin. More than anything else, daily reflection on scripture determines whether a person actually does things that demonstrate love for God and love for others (signs of true spiritual maturity).
She went on to say, “It’s got to be daily.” She was asked, “why daily—isn’t a few times a week good enough?” “No!” she insisted. “We looked at the difference between those who said ‘daily’ versus ‘several times a week’ and there’s a big difference in outcomes.” When questioned why, she postulated that people who say “daily” probably really do have daily habits, whereas those who say “several times a week” might not even be that regular in reality.
She also said, it’s not just reading the Bible daily. They looked at the difference between those who said, “I read daily” and those who said “I reflect on scripture daily,” and there was a statistically significant difference influencing maturity.
So it’s not just reading and checking the box, “I was a good Christian boy/girl today,” it’s the daily practice of prayerfully reflecting on what you’re reading. Not just reading God’s Word, but letting God’s Word read you (someone wiser than me first said that). In fact, for growing Christ followers, scripture reflection is twice as catalytic as any other factor! You can read more of Nancy’s analysis in Greg Hawkins’ book, Move.
Lifeway Research followed 2,500 church attendees for a year to determine the biggest influence on spiritual growth and maturity. “Daily Bible engagement was the No. 1 predictor of spiritual maturation,” wrote Wagonner in his book, The Shape of Faith to Come.”
That is why Jesus pointed us toward “the bread of life” and “the words that proceed from the mouth of God.” It will cause us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him (2 Pet. 3:18) more than anything else.
We do not have to spend hours a day reading and reflecting. It would be great if you can, but realistically most people can’t, but all of us can take a few minutes to read the word every day and think on what we read as we go about our day. It will make all the difference in the world.
The Scriptures really are a precious gift. They are “A lamp to our feet and a light to our path.” (Ps 119:105)
Many Blessings, BW