A special shout out to all the exam classes, there needs to be a care package for every single one of us, vascillating between “We are writing” and “Maybe we won’t write” is very stressful. 1 star I don’t recommend. We are under so much pressure, online schooling hasn’t been a breeze and if you haven’t noticed, the world is really falling apart.

We have so much to read and if you’re anything like this girl, you’re shoveling 2 years of syllabus into these remaining weeks. It is tense. There is one book you shouldn’t forget to read. The Bible.

If you’ve been getting your daily dose, that is great, keep at it! I had been sleeping on it, I’d limited the power of God’s word in my own life to a status update or a bio – more like an accessory or something of that nature. I made the grave mistake of relying on a sermon, a teaching, a Twitter thread or an app to generate content for me to read, rarely ever sitting down and intentionally reading for myself. It is great to have a communtiy of fellow believers but your main source and first point of reference should be God’s word.

Note to self: the main source and first point of reference should be God’s word.

The main meal is you having some quiet time with God and reading and meditating on His word. The groups, the Bible Plans, the Christian Influencers, pastors, etc, can only take you so far.

I was doing my rounds on YouTube when I stumbled across a couple of videos warning me against certain well-known churches and musicians because of suspicious activities that don’t align with God’s word.

Sis was shook because:

1. I listen to some of the accused

  1. I realized how vulnerable I was because I did not even understand or know some of the principles they were referring to.

I started thinking about how there won’t always be a person to tell me who is right or wrong and I also didn’t have much of a clue on where to start, then it hit me, we were given a great provison, the Bible and we were given someone to guide us in all truth, the Holy Spirit. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:33)

Why is it a good idea to read the Bible?

1. A key ingredient for spiritual growth.

In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, you must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this “milk” will cause you to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong for life

1 Peter 2:2 (TPT)

2. You get convicted of sin.

Conviction, I’d say is becoming more conscious of a certain sin, realising it is wrong and becoming more opposed to it. Eg. Sis had a track record for running her mouth (pun intended) and when I read verses like James 1:26 NIV: Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

3. You learn/discover what God’s voice sounds like through His word

 And when he has brought out all his sheep, he walks ahead of them and they will follow him, for they are familiar with his voice. But they will run away from strangers and never follow them because they know it’s the voice of a stranger.” 

John 10:4-5 (TPT)

A huge misconception I had was that God speaks in audible words. Believers, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, so you can expect internal banter: thoughts and ideas can be a form of communtication. Not all of them are, however, so if you have an idea or a thought and it doesn’t align with God’s word you can discard it because you know its not a message from God. If you do not know God’s character and his expectations of us from the word, it gets hard to recognise the sound of his voice. Let’s get familiar to the sound of his voice by reading his word.

4. You become more resistant to the devil’s tactics.

The devil knows the Bible. In Matthew 4 when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, the devil displayed a sound knowledge of the Scriptures, if the enemy knows more than us we fall prey to falling for half truths.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11

5. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to bring to remembrance what we have learned and read. We cannot remember what we are unfamiliar with from the get go

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26

6. You can stay hopeful in tough situations

My life’s strength melts away with grief and sadness;
come strengthen me and encourage me with your words.

Psalms 119:28

7. You are shown your true colours

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Hebrews 4:12

8. Did I mention, it is also a weapon?

via GIPHY

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

There are loads of benefits and I definitely didn’t cover all of them. Isn’t that great?

And here’s a couple of tips for reading the Bible, this isn’t the be all and end but I found these particularly useful.

  1. Pray before you start. Praying before is important because its you surrendering to God and getting His guidance, I’ve picked up the Bible and started reading and I left with a depraved understanding because I was moving in my own strength. The Holy Spirit is there to help us, we aren’t alone.
  2. Read a version you understand! There’s a lot of debate about which one is the “right” version of the Bible, I used to think the more difficult it is to read, the more powerful it is Eg. KJV but I would sometimes get really mixed up. If you understand King James go for it, but if you get a bit stuck: New King James Version, New Living Translation and The Passion Translation ( are great on the Mobile app You Bible. All those versions. One app.
  3. Treat it like a privilege rather than an obligation. I am trying to shift my mindset from “I have to read the Bible” to “I get to read the Bible” it makes the going much easier. You are more likely to to skip days if you treat it like a chore rather than desirable communion with God. We are not developing a routine, we’re trying to build a relationship.
  4. Get yourself an exercise book and take notes. There are some writing prompts from Pinterest but here are some: What does this reveal about God? What is the main message here? Who is being addressed? What is the context? How can I apply this to my daily life?
    Write down the verse that convicted you, the verse that inspired you, the one you’d really love to share with a friend.
  5. Set an appointment, set aside some time to study the word intentionally. When you’re not holding your phone and scrolling through social media, not in the middle of an assignment, a time when it is just you and the living word.

The title of this post put a whole lot of emphasis on reading but don’t forget to apply all that you’ve read and live it out. Let God’s word and His will be the script and you’ll live the most fulfilling life.

Don’t take my word for it, take His.

via GIPHY