How To Read the Bible for All Its Worth (January 26th, 2026)

Grace to you. I hope yesterday's storm did not impact you too badly. Coupled with the storm is the freezing arctic weather. I hope you stay well.

Regarding the daily reflections, I am playing catch-up these days. Even though I am unable to provide my quiet time reflections here regularly, I hope you are keeping up with the daily reading. The Lord will speak to you as you read the Word daily and prayerfully. Your daily reading is the main thing. My reflections are supplements. I will try to provide my reflections as regularly and daily as possible. Given all the pastoral duties, on some days it is just not physically possible. One way I can help the church is to upload my Quiet Time meditations more consistently, even if I can't record the audio portion. Initially, I didn't have the audio portion. I added it because some of you were too busy to read and meditate on the Word daily, nevermind reading my meditations. So, I started audio-recording it.

Today, let me share with you how I read the Bible for all its worth. If you have been reading the Word and my reflections, you already know how I read the Bible. But let me clearly spell it out today.

How do I read the Word so that I can get the most out of it? I read it and re-read it, making observations each time. This is the key to reading the Bible. My Quiet Time typically looks like this:

• Find a quiet place and time.

• Prepare my heart by praying, asking the Lord to be with me as I read His Word.

• Sing a hymn. Not necessarily the whole song. Sometimes, I would sing and pray at the same time. This better prepares my heart.

• Read the passage out loud. (I recommend reading from a paper Bible, by the way. Have a pen and a highlighter handy.)

• Underline and highlight any keyword or sentence.

• Having a paper Bible and reading it for a year or two will help you gain a better handle on the Word.

• Focus on understanding three basic things from any passage: (1) God, (2) Guilt, and (3) Grace.

• Application: Ask yourself how your life could change based on the illumination from the passage. What insights have you gained? How would you live your life differently based on the insights?

• Application should be (1) Personal (about you and not others), and (2) Possible.

• End with a prayer and encourage your heart to give thanks to God. Are you genuinely grateful? We can't force ourselves to be grateful, but if we are encountering God, it is impossible not to be grateful to Him. Think about it. Train yourself to meet God daily, living your life before the face of God (Coram Deo).

The Bible contains different literary styles (genres). The Bible consists of 66 "books" and is divided into two major sections: the Old and the New Testaments. However, there is a basic way to read God's Word. It starts out with asking these basic questions, and they are (1) What does this passage say about who God is? How is God revealing Himself to us? What is or are some of God's qualities? (2) In light of who God is, what are some of our weaknesses? What are some of our sins and guilt that are being revealed? And, lastly, (3) How does this passage help us to learn more about the graciousness of God, the undeserved mercy of God?

There is no quick and easy way to meet God. Our God will not be hurried. And if it is true that our God is the Creator with all powers and all knowledge, we would not gain understanding of him by our casual efforts. It is a wonder that we come to know God by our diligent study and focus on knowing God. God cannot be understood by just "studying" him. God must reveal himself to us.

To me, studying the Word, praying the Word, and sharing the Word are absolutely essential to our lives — personal and corporate. God builds his church, and his church is made up of people who know the Word and know God, who is the Word.

"To Know God and To Make Him Known" starts with each of us who daily go to His Word. Let's read the Word for all its worth.