Motivation | Knowable Word

5 Reasons to Read Your Bible Beyond Practical Application

September 10, 2021 By Peter Krol

I believe in practical application. Here are more than ten biblical reasons why you should do it. But the dangers are legion if you come to your Bible reading with nothing but practical application on your mind. You might rush—or even worse, skip!—your observation or interpretation for the sake of that practical nugget. Your application might come unmoored from the text and take you in exactly the wrong direction. You might fall into the well-worn path of failing to identify any applications beyond the Big Three.

And there is a major opportunity cost involved. Treat personal application as the only consistent outcome for your Bible reading, and you may simply miss out on these other benefits the Lord wishes for you.

1. Storing up now for the coming winter

A regular habit of Bible reading is worth maintaining, even when no urgent or timely application comes readily to mind, because you are depositing divine truth in the storehouses of your soul from which you can later make withdrawals. “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Ps 119:11). “My son, keep your father’s commandments … bind them on your heart always … When you walk, they will lead you … For the commandment is a lamp … to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress” (Prov 6:20-24).

We ought to consider the ant and be wise (Prov 6:6-11, 30:24-25), not only with respect to our work ethic but also with respect to our truth ethic. It is foolish to abstain from Bible reading because it’s not practical enough for today. When the time of temptation arrives, you will have an empty storehouse—an empty heart—with no stockpile of resources available to supply your resistance.

2. Receiving comfort amid sorrow

It is true that suffering people need time and space to process. Yet may it never be that our “time and space” isolate us from the Lord, when they ought to bind us more tightly to him. The laments of the Bible are wonderful for giving us words when we don’t know what to say, and feelings when we don’t know what to feel. The Spirit who intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Rom 8:26) is the same Spirit who inspired the words of the prophets and apostles to give expression to such groanings (1 Pet 1:10-12).

“My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!” (Ps 119:28). Such strengthening does not typically result in an item for the to-do list or a practical application to go on the calendar. These words are shaping us to know where and when to find true solace.

3. Motivating future obedience

Reading your Bible saturates your mind and heart in the love of God for you, which will motivate you to even greater obedience in the future. Though you may not get a nugget of practical application right now, the good news will inflame your desire for such obedience in perpetuity.

“Let your steadfast love come to me, O Yahweh, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me … And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth … I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts” (Ps 119:41-45).

4. Learning to both love and hate the right things

Sometimes Bible reading does not produce immediate behavioral change, but instead trains our senses to distinguish good from evil, to discern right from wrong. And it trains not only our mind’s acuity but also our very affections, that we might love what is good and hate that which is evil. “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that Yahweh, the God of armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph” (Amos 5:15).

Our Bible reading shapes our hearts in immeasurable and incremental ways, with respect not only to ourselves but also to those around us. “Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning” (Ps 119:53-54).

5. Spending time with the Beloved

A marriage relationship is not merely a socioeconomic contract wherein two parties engage in mutually beneficial transactions and improve their financial benefits. Yes, it is at least that, but more often than not, a relationship characterized by love involves simply spending time together. There is a delight to be had from communing together, living life together, sharing experiences, and growing old together as lovers and companions. So, too, in this marriage between the Lord Jesus and his Bride. We meet together corporately to worship the father through him. And we read the Bible that we might simply know him and enjoy his sweet companionship.

To ensure we don’t wander off with a “Jesus” of our own invention, our communion with Christ must involve a communion in his word. God is revealed most clearly in his word, so knowing God must involve knowing his word. “Yahweh is my portion; I promise to keep your words … The earth, O Yahweh, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!” (Ps 119:57, 64). “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Conclusion

Whoever desires practical application to result from Bible reading desires a noble thing. But it’s not the only thing. Please keep reading your Bible, even when you can’t see immediate, outward life change by the end of the day. I assure you: Though you may not see quick and immediate change in yourself, others will certainly perceive the gradual and lasting change that transpires in you as the seasons come and go. As you spend time with your Beloved, you can’t help but become more like him.

5 Reasons to Read the Bible Every Day

April 25, 2018 By Peter Krol

Following up on last week’s Check It Out post to “chain yourself to the Word of God,” I’m eager to share this post by Jimmy Needham with “5 Reasons to Read the Bible Every Day.” According to Needham:

Before you get into God’s word, remember that becoming Bible-literate is not about being smarter, or beefing up your spiritual resume, or lording your knowledge over others. It’s about looking through the pages to the Savior on the other side. Jesus says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39–40). It’s about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ through his word. We don’t worship the font. We worship the Father.

Take this to heart, and Needham’s counsel will change your life. What are his 5 reasons?

You cannot love God, and not listen to him.
Your faith need promises to survive.
We become like what we behold.
You will only find the joy you want in words.
There is work to be done.

The Bible teaches us that God loves the forgotten and the misfit. It shows us the value of shepherding our families. It introduces us to the generosity of other Christians (2 Corinthians 8:1–7), and calls us to be openhanded with what God gives us. It heralds the sanctity of every human life and inspires us to fight for the unborn. It declares that race should not be a barrier to Christian unity, but a beautiful occasion for it. We become equipped for every good work in the Bible.

Check it out!

5 Ways Daily Bible Reading Will Change Your Life

January 25, 2017 By Peter Krol

Keely Needham writes about “5 Ways Daily Bible Reading Impacts Your Life.” Sometimes we struggle to feel excited about daily Bible reading, and that’s normal. We shouldn’t expect a mountaintop experience every time. The daily discipline will, sometime imperceptibly, change our lives.

Why should we read the Bible every day? Does it make a difference? Is it just something good Christians do? Or is it a legalistic habit that’s unnecessary to a healthy walk with God? If we don’t understand why it matters, we likely won’t make it a priority. Here are five analogies to bring to life the purposes of a consistent, daily study of God’s Word.

Her 5 metaphors for how daily Bible reading affects us:

A House: Getting to know God
An Anchor: Renewing your mind
Glasses: Giving clarity
Chemo: Killing sin
Vocab: Fuel for a living relationship

So as you keep plugging away, you are getting to know this true God, and you’re learning how to view yourself and live in God’s world. There’s often not much razzle-dazzle, but the transformation is still supernatural and glorious.

See the full article for more explanation. Check it out!

4 Reasons to Train a New Bible Study Leader

October 9, 2015 By Peter Krol

This is bigger than you. There’s no need to be a bottleneck, decelerating the growth of God’s work in your community.

We’ve explored at length how to study the Bible and how to lead a Bible study. My compadre Ryan has reflected on how to be a helpful small group member. It’s time for the next step. With this post, I launch a new series on how to train a new Bible study leader. Why should we do this?

Jöran Maaswinkel (2012), Creative Commons

1. So your ministry will multiply

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:1-2)

When grace strengthens you, you might feel about to explode. You’ve got to share it. And one of the best ways to share grace is to entrust it to another person who will be able to teach others also. Now there’s not just one teacher, but two. Not just one Bible study, but two. If you do it well, two eventually becomes four. And four becomes eight.

If you train another leader, you’ll end up reaching far more people than you could ever reach on your own.

2. So others can surpass you in effectiveness

When Paul was in Corinth, he met and trained a man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla. They moved on to Ephesus together, and Paul left them there when he set sail for his home in Antioch.

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord…though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately…When he arrived [at Corinth], he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:24-28)

Paul trains Aquila & Priscilla, who eventually return to Rome to lead a house church (Rom 16:3-5). Priscilla & Aquila train Apollos, who rivals Paul for influence in Corinth (1 Cor 1:12). And the point is not that Apollos sought to compete with Paul, but that Apollos acquired an exceptional effectiveness for the Lord Jesus.

We love to be loved, and we often need to be needed. But how much better it is for Christ’s kingdom when we’re willing to get out of the way so others can carry on the work! This means we must not put ourselves at the center of the ministry. We make poor high priests for those we serve. And we can actively train others to succeed in ways we ourselves have not. If it’s not finally about us, the success of others is a real delight to witness.

3. So the word of God may not be reviled

Older women…are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (Titus 2:3-5)

Ministry training is not just for church officers, nor even for men. Women must also train and be trained. And lest you think the content of this training limited to homemaking activities and genteel feminine ethics, remember that a woman cannot love her husband without also speaking truth to him (Eph 4:13-16, Prov 31:26). Nor can she love her children without teaching them to read and study God’s word for themselves (Prov 1:8, 2 Tim 1:5, 3:14).

If women (and men, of course) don’t learn to study the Bible, or to train others in how to study the Bible, then we don’t really believe these Scriptures are useful for teaching, reproof, correction, or training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). And then why would we trust these Scriptures to reveal the good news about Jesus, which is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16)? And if we don’t functionally believe these things (as demonstrated by our failure to teach and train others), then the world should consider us hypocrites, and they’ll deem these Scriptures not to actually be the word of God.

Let’s prove the lie of such reviling by drawing this sword and unleashing its power, training others to wield it with expert care.

4. So you don’t wear out yourself and your people

Moses had two million people to shepherd. He had been appointed to this task by none other than God himself. Remember the burning bush thing? And yet…

What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. (Exodus 18:17-18)

Sometimes fathers-in-law know how to hit that nail’s head. Training a new leader takes time and effort. It slows us down in the short term. But a long-term perspective reminds us that it’s worth it.

I heard someone say that in one year we’ll never accomplish what we hope, but in five years we can accomplish more than we expect. I’ve seen the truth of this statement in the lives of trainees.

Bible Study Isn’t Just for Yourself

April 15, 2015 By Peter Krol

Jonathan Parnell’s beautiful piece reminds us that we don’t read the Bible for ourselves alone. We read and study for our children, for the watching world, and for future generations.

The goal of Christian maturity is not merely that I might get along better in life, but that I might, being glad in the glory of Jesus, love more like Jesus did. The aim behind Bible-reading, after all, is not some kind of black-hole holiness — that theoretical moralism that envisions character in isolation from others — but rather, that we might learn how to roll up our sleeves for the people God has placed in our lives. In other words, we don’t just read the Bible to read, we read it to walk.

Check it out!

It’s Worth It to Know Your People

January 23, 2015 By Peter Krol

I used to meet with a guy to study the Bible. He was a quick learner and teachable, and he became a good friend. In general, our Bible study was not extraordinary, but quite good nevertheless. I remember, however, the day the Bible study went from being merely quite good to being great.

The girl of this young man’s dreams had just broken up with him. He had the guts to meet with me anyway; in his place, I would have chosen to stay home in bed. Instead of having our regular discussion, I took him out and bought him the tallest mocha he could handle. Then we walked it off along a busy road and spoke of life, love, hurt feelings, and how God’s word spoke to us in those painful moments. Our time in the word paid back many dividends that day and launched us into weeks of richer study than we had yet enjoyed together.

According to the Lord’s perspective, no Bible study will succeed unless the leader loves the participants (1 Cor 12:27-13:13). In this case, I did something anyone would do, which was simply to listen, encourage, and enter this fellow’s life. Most of the time, however, I’m too stingy to pay the cost of loving others. Love feels like an interruption. It requires more forethought or creativity than I’m willing to invest. And it takes me away from other, more “productive” tasks on my to-do list.

Jerm (2008), Creative Commons

One of the best ways to love the people in your group is to get to know them. In a pristine world, we might be motivated to do this simply by knowing it’s what God wants us to do. But God has no problem motivating us to obey with the promise of reward, so neither will I.

When I struggle with the call to invest in relationships with people (Mark 1:17, 1 Thess 2:8, 2:17-3:13), I try to remember why it’s worth it. In particular, why is it worth it to build relationships with people outside of the Bible study meeting?

It makes your application more relevant. When you know what’s going on in people’s lives, you’ll be more equipped to help them make specific application.
It shows them Christ. When people know their leader cares for them personally, it’s easier for them to believe Jesus cares for them.
It sharpens your insight. You’ll know their highs and lows, and you’ll be able to steer the Bible study discussion toward those very things they have on their minds.
It bolsters your credibility. When they know you care about them, they’ll trust you. When you speak hard truths from God’s word, that trust helps the truth sink in more deeply.

Of course, we should love people because God wants us to. And he made the world to work in such a way that everyone benefits from honoring him. When you struggle to believe love is worth the inconvenience, remind yourself of how much more you have to lose than a bit of time or forethought.