“
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
hebrews 4v12
niv
“
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
colossians 3v16
esv
Introduction
The Holy Scriptures are our letters from Home.
augustine of hippo
What is it
We are all being formed by something. The Scriptures are a vast collection of sixty-six ancient writings, both human and Divinely authored. Yet despite the variations in date, style, and genre, the Scriptures tell a unified story, which leads to and reveals Jesus. The Scriptures, while being an incredible source of information, are designed to be read for formation.
Why we should do it
Virtually every Christian has resolved, at some point, to read more of the Bible. But often we struggle to make this a reality. This may be because the Bible can be a hard book to understand: written thousands of years ago, in a context vastly different from our own, and in literary styles that we are no longer used to.
Yet, the Bible is indispensable for our spiritual formation. We are routinely instructed to get the Scriptures deep down within us, meditating on them and letting them dwell richly within our hearts. When we wholly engage with the Word of God, we meet God. In many ways, the practice of Scripture is the practice of the presence of God. God wrote this book, and its pages are full of his glory.*
Ultimately, it is through the practice of Scripture that the Holy Spirit teaches us, conforming us to the very likeness of Jesus. As that happens, we are given eyes to behold the glory of the living God.
*
John Piper, Reading the Bible Supernaturally: Seeing and Savoring the Glory of God in Scripture (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2017).
Practicing Scripture
“
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”
psalm 119v105
Here we suggest a few practical ways to engage with the Bible. Some of these terms and practices may be new to you, but don't let that put you off! The beauty of Scripture is that it is so rich that you can engage with it in a number of different ways. In fact, there is no reason why you you couldn't routinely practice all four methods.
Oh, that you and I might get into the very heart of the Word of God, and get that Word into ourselves! As I have seen the silkworm eat into the leaf, and consume it, so ought we to do with the Word of the Lord — not crawl over its surface, but eat right into it till we have taken it into our inmost parts. It is idle merely to let the eye glance over the words, or to recollect the poetical expressions, or the historic facts; but it is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and, what is better still, your spirit is flavoured with the words of the Lord.
c.h. spurgeon
Mr. Spurgeon as a Literary Man, in The Autobiography of Charles H. Spurgeon, Compiled from His Letters, Diaries, and Records by His Wife and Private Secretary, vol. 4, 1878-1892 (Curtis & Jennings, 1900), 268.