March 11

How to read the Bible

“How readest thou?” (Luke 10:26).
“Blessed is he that readeth” (Rev. 1:3).

Each must judge for himself what best meets his need. Many holy men of God have found blessing and food for their souls, and power for life and service, as they have read right through the Scriptures within a short period. Others again have stilled their hunger by giving themselves to prolonged, deep meditation of shorter passages in the Word. From personal experience I am convinced that thorough reading and assimilation of the Word of God is of infinitely greater value than a superficial picking here and there, or a haphazard turning up of single verses. Genuine hard work at conquering difficult passages always brings its reward in fruit and blessing. The one great essential is always that we should, whenever possible, find some practical expression in our lives for that which we have read, so that we become doers of the Word, and not hearers (or speakers) only.


. The Scripture revelation of the will of God must be the plumb-line of our actions, and the guiding star of our lives. Every question, great or small, must be settled in the light of the Word of God, and every circumstance of our lives find its interpretation there.
—Sister Eva.

I supposed I knew my Bible,
Reading piecemeal, hit and miss,
Now a bit of John, or Matthew,
Now a snatch of Genesis. . . .
But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do,
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.

We who like to scan the Bible,
Dip and dabble here and there,
Just before we kneel a-weary,
And yawn through a hurried prayer. . .
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view;
We will kneel in very rapture,
When we read the Bible through!
—Amos R. Wells.

Read full article...