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For many, the new year is regarded as a new beginning, often highlighted by various New Year’s resolutions.  For believers, this may include desiring to spend more time in God’s Word.  This is a good goal to strive for, yet as I reflect on Sunday’s message, I want to focus on why reading the Bible is so important.  A look at 2 Timothy 3:15-17 brought out three reasons why we should prioritize the Word of God.

First, the word of God is powerful.  Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15 that it is God’s words “which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”  For believers, this should encourage us to better know our Bibles so that we can share its truths with those who do not know the Lord; for it is God working through His Word which brings people to salvation.

Secondly, God’s Word is profitable.  2 Timothy 3:16 describes how this is so: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching [it helps us to know what is right], for reproof [it shows us what is wrong], for correction [it reveals where we have gone wrong and steers us back in the right direction], and for training in righteousness [it helps us become more like Christ].”  Notice also how this profitability applies to the entirety of Scripture.  Personally, it can sometimes be difficult to see how some parts of God’s Word are beneficial (genealogies!!).  Yet I can be confident that God has intentionally included these things in His Word for a reason.

Finally, the Bible is practical.  Verse 17 explains the result of Scripture’s power: “That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  I have found that when God allows me opportunities to be a witness or to encourage someone (an example of good works), He brings to mind passages which I have studied, sometimes passages that I read that day!  Additionally, a wise person once shared with me that studying God’s Word is like a well: you can only draw out as deep as you have dug; therefore, if we only have a surface-level understanding of God’s Word due to neglecting time in the Bible, then we are not rightly equipped to faithfully serve God.

My encouragement is that we as a church family would strive to spend more time in the Word, and that we would be able to encourage one another in this pursuit!