FOR THE TEEN GIRL Who Wants To Study Scripture in the New Year
Most people begin thinking about their New Year's Resolutions right after Christmas. (For some reason, it's as if we believe we can only start a new habit or turn over a new leaf come January 1!) Many people use the rhythm of a new season to steward their bodies, free up their schedule, or start a new habit. One resolution believers often add to their list is to spend more time in God's Word.
Luckily, as believers, we don't have to wait until January 1 to start reading God's Word more! It is available to us 24/7, 365 days a year, all day, every day. Praise Him that we get to know the Lord through reading and studying the Bible!
Regardless of where you are currently in your desire and discipline to read God's Word, here are three reminders for the girl who wants to study Scripture more in the new year!
REMIND YOURSELF OF THE GOSPEL BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER READING
By way of reminder, the Gospel is the good news of Christ paying the price of a believer's sin on the Cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ willingly left Heaven to come to earth, living a sinless and perfect life (Philippians 2:5-11). His death on the Cross saved believers from God's wrath and afforded eternal life to those who repent and believe in Him (Romans 5:9, John 3:16)!
Scripture outlines this Gospel message, declaring we receive salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. And we heard this message through the Good News found in the Bible and taught through faithful disciples. Romans 10:17 clearly states, "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ." The truth proclaimed in Scripture wakes us up to our spiritual depravity reality and opens our need for a Savior. We repent from sin and believe in Christ through the very Word of Christ.
Reminding yourself of the gospel before, during, and after reading Scripture will help you to center your heart on God’s saving grace. We can’t truly love someone without knowing them, and God’s Word reveals His personality, power, and purpose. The Gospel informs why we would want to dive deep into the oceans of God’s Word: to know the God presented throughout its pages.
REMIND YOURSELF THAT THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD, AND THEREFORE IT’S TRUE
When your parents ask you to clean your room, their word holds weight because of their authority. The Lord entrusted you to them, allowing them to steward you as a way to glorify Him. Asking you to clean your room is part of teaching you responsibility and discipline. Therefore, we must honor our parent's commands, for they hold authority.
With God's Word, it is no different. One crucial aspect of Scripture is hinted at in its title. It is the very Word of God! Let's look at how biblical authors used to refer to God's Word.
King David referred to Scripture as "the words of the Lord" (Ps. 12:6).
In the Gospel of Luke, Christ promised a blessing to those who hear and keep the "word of God" (Luke 11:28).
In several places in Paul's epistles, he alludes to Scripture as the "word of Life" (Phil. 2:16) and "word of Christ" (Col. 3:16).
The author of Hebrews refers to the "Word of God" (Heb. 4:12).
One thing Peter mentioned about God's Word is that it is His alone. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, "...knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." These verses teach us that God spoke the truth in Genesis to Revelation through the Holy Spirit. All the doctrines, truths, and commands throughout Scripture originate from the very heart of God. No one else created it, for the Bible is God's Word.
Now, while the Bible is God’s official Word, this truth might be hard to grasp in our world where people say one thing and live another. We often tie people's promises to their integrity. But no matter how trustworthy or unreliable people are, we never have to doubt what God says is true. When it comes to God's Word, He can never fail us. Everything in Scripture is trustworthy, for the Lord is the author of truth.
Let's look at the following Scriptures that declare this as well.
In Numbers 23:19, Balaam declared, "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
When Saul realizes the Lord has rejected him as king, Samuel tells the king, "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret" (1 Samuel 15:29).
In His sixth I AM statement, Jesus said," 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).
Paul opened his letter to Titus, reminding him of God's inability to lie. Titus 1:1-2 says, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began..."
Lastly, Hebrews 6:13-18 shows us that God will not and cannot lie. "For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, 'Surely I will bless you and multiply you.' And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Knowing God is incapable of lying, we can take Him at His Word, for it is true!
Therefore, because Scripture is God’s Word and it is true, it has the ultimate authority in our lives. Paul reminds Timothy, his son in the faith, of this truth in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." These verses mean that Scripture originates from the Lord and benefits us by teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training us. Therefore, the Bible can tell us how to think, act, and live in light of the Gospel woven throughout each page. Knowing Scripture’s God-given authority should help us yearn to read, study, and memorize it.
REMIND YOURSELF TO ASK CHRIST TO OPEN YOUR EYES TO UNDERSTAND HIS TRUTH
While God's Word was His invention, intending to reveal Himself and His glory to us, we still need Him to help us navigate and understand it. He's not a dad that gifts his children an unfinished bike with no instructions, leaving them on their own to figure it out. He gives the gift of Scripture while helping us to understand it!
We see this truth on full display throughout the New Testament epistles. Paul's prayer to the Ephesians was this:
"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:15-21 (emphasis added in italics)
Again in Colossians 1:9, Paul prayed, "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding..."
Just as much as we need Christ in our salvation and sanctification, we also need Him in our study of Scripture! The Holy Spirit must cause these things within us to illuminate the truth of God's Word.
For instance, the Psalmist wrote Psalm 119:31-37 with this understanding in mind. It says:
"Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways."
One way to read these verbs is through what's called causative action. In Hebrew, this tense essentially makes the text read, "God, cause me to be taught. God, cause me to understand." Therefore, the Psalmist shows the relationship between knowing and living out Scripture as a direct correlation to the Lord's doing, not ours. Just as we need Christ in our salvation and sanctification, we also need Him in our study of Scripture. We must depend on Christ as we dig into His Word!
CONCLUSION
The Bible is God's Word, meaning it has every authority. We can take heart in knowing and trusting it, for the God who declared these words cannot and will not lie to us! Scripture originates from God, but that doesn't mean we don't need Him to continue studying it. We must continually ask the Lord to illuminate our eyes to receive the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding found in Scripture!
So wherever you are in your journey of reading God's Word, let the Gospel fuel your desire to read. May the authority of Scripture call you to discipline in reading it while you ask the Lord to enlighten the eyes of your heart to understand all that you read in it!
MEET THE AUTHOR
Megan Gover is the executive director of Minted Truth, an online Bible study resource of middle school and high school girls. When she’s not meeting with teen girls at a local coffee shop or dreaming up a new adventure, she enjoys cuddling with her Goldendoodle pup while at home in North Texas. Connect with her on Instagram!