The Benefits of Bible Study

“So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”  Isaiah 55:11

There is a tremendous benefit in studying God’s word.  The more you study, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the more insight that is gained into how God desires for us to live.  How can we know what God requires if we don’t read and study the very word that comes from the mind of God.  What a privilege to have the ability to know the Creator of the universe in a personal and intimate way.  God wants us to know Him in all His glory, but also in His grace.

Another benefit in studying scriptures is how the people and events in the Bible can teach us to handle similar situations or to avoid some behaviors which are displayed in the narrative.  They say that history repeats itself mostly because people do not learn from past mistakes.  Scripture teaches us to avoid the mistakes made by Biblical characters as we are shown the consequences of their bad decisions.

One other benefit that I have discovered is how Bible passages come to my mind when carrying on conversations with others concerning any of a wide assortment of subjects.  A lot of folks that I talk to know very little about God’s word, and my being able to tell them what Jesus said about a certain subject can be most beneficial to them.  And Jesus does have quite a bit to say about a vast amount of subjects, and every bit of it is the truth, because His word is truth.

With Christmas almost here in this crazy year of 2020, attention is turned to the 2nd chapter of Luke which gives the account of the birth of Christ.  Some of us memorized these verses when we were children.  I can still quote most of it.  We even had this story read to us in elementary school when it wasn’t against the law to read the Bible in school.  Unfortunately, though, this passage is all of which some folks are familiar.  And even then, some are oblivious to the sacredness and far reaching meaning of the birth of Christ.  For example, I was watching one of those Hallmark Christmas movies about a man and a woman who were both trying to get home by Christmas.  Due to snowstorms, there was no flight available, so they had to come up with some unconventional modes of transportation–any port in a storm, as they say.  One stop that they made was a farming community, and they were talked into staying for the Nativity play.  They agreed and ended up playing Mary and Joseph in the play.  At least the producers of the movie recognized that there was more to Christmas than Santa, snow, hot cocoa, and the Christmas tree lighting in the town square.  However, to prove my point about the casual and/or indifferent way that many see Christmas, they chose a dog to play Baby Jesus.  I found that very offensive, but, like I said before, there are many who have no real clue as to the real meaning of Christmas.

As you and your family celebrate this time of year, whether you get together in person, through Skype, or on the phone, always take time to remember what we are really celebrating–the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In all of my Bible study, I never read anything about a dog dying on a cross.