Growth: Your Foundation for Growth

The Bible is the basis for all personal spiritual growth and corporate spiritual growth. God is the source of all growth (1 Corinthians 3:6-7) but He very frequently uses the Bible as the agent for growth in our lives. Think about it: while reading about the Bible and about God is good, reading the Bible, God’s own words, is infinitely better. The Bible is our textbook in group study and personal study.  It is our source for knowing God.  As a teacher or Bible study leader, your teaching skills flow out of what God is doing in your life. What God is doing in your life will very like be proportional to the amount of time and attention you give to the reading of God’s Word.

The more you read and reflect on God’s Word, the more opportunity you give God is build His truth into your life. Consider developing a Bible reading plan for your personal growth. My own experience is that as I read through the Bible repeatedly, God links significant passages to one another. Insights tie centuries together. New Testament and Old Testament relates in ways I had never found before. A stronger foundation forms as I systematically read my Bible. While I can read the Bible in empty, even legalistic ways, let’s remember that the Bible “reads” me as much, if not more, than I read it. All this weaves together a foundation that supports my study and preparation for teaching. 

I am convinced that reading the Bible is the basic and most important of all the spiritual disciplines. I also believe that reading the Bible greatly increases the likelihood that spiritual transformation will occur in each of us. Years ago I heard a teen explain his hunger for God. He opened his Bible to the flyleaf and read what he has written there: “Dear God, I give you permission to change my life every time I open this book.” Should you write the same prayer in your Bible?

Scripture:

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 ESV

Prayer:

Finish this prayer to God: “God, help me love your precious Word more. Help me . . .”

Dig Deeper:

This website for CrossWay’s English Standard Bible (http://www.esv.org/resources/reading-plans-devotions/) provides numerous Bible reading plans with a variety of download options. Find a plan and make a commitment to read through your Bible using this plan.