Growing up I memorized A LOT of scripture.  I can remember attending a private Christian school for the first few years of my elementary education and beginning in Pre-K we were required to memorize scripture as part of our weekly assignments.  And after that I memorized even more scriptures as part of my church’s annual memory verse competition.  I was pretty competitive, so I was pretty motivated to memorize as many scriptures as I could.

But is it really that important to read the Bible and to learn God’s word?  As a child trying to win a competition, I definitely did not understand how impactful the scriptures were that I was memorizing.

But Hebrews 4:12 so beautifully states “ For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Did you catch that?  The Bible is not just a dusty book written thousands of years ago that has some good and moral ways to live our lives.  But it is LIVING and ACTIVE.

When we read the word of God we are not merely reading words on a page.  But we are being transformed, whether we think we are or not.  We are changed for the better, even when we are not even trying to do so.

In 2009 there was a study that polled 40,000 people between the ages of 8 and 80 to understand how they engaged in scripture. The study found that those who read their Bible once a week did not see any changes in their life.  This could equate to the one day a week that we might go to church and open our Bibles to the passage of scripture that the Pastor is directing us towards. 

Two days a week…no real change.

Three days a week…there was a small positive impact on the person’s life.

But when they got to 4 days a week, things changed dramatically.  What the researchers found was pretty profound…

Loneliness dropped 30%
Anger dropped 32%
Bitterness in relationships dropped 40%
Alcoholism dropped 57%
Infidelity & fornication dropped 68%
Viewing pornography dropped 61%
Sharing your faith jumped 200%

WOW!  Those are some pretty significant statistics!

Scripture reiterates to us in Isaiah 55:11 the fact that the word of God is living and active.

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

To actually see the results from this study emphasizes the fact that reading the word of God has a profoundly positive effect on our lives.

I don’t know about you, but I was encouraged and convicted to read my Bible more.  Even when I don’t feel like it, the living, breathing word of God will do more for me than I realize.

I don’t know where you are in your journey with God.  But I would encourage you to start reading scripture as often as you can.  Even if you don’t understand everything, the Holy Spirit will illuminate things for you so that it speaks directly to you and your situation.  

You will find God speaking to you personally more and more as you read and study His word.

Start today.  No need to wait for a new year, a new month, or even a new week.  Pick up the Bible and read it daily.  I know you will never be the same.