This verse frustrates and inspires me. It frustrates me, that we don’t have all the stories of what Jesus did here on earth. I can’t wait to get to heaven and sit down with John and the Apostles and find out all the things that Jesus did that were not written down.

As you read the Bible you can miss the funny moments that the authors have put into their stories if you only read it verse by verse. Remember the Bible is alive and active, and as you read it, it will make you laugh and it will make you cry.

When you read your Bible it helps you to change your mindset, to allow your attitudes of your mind to be made new, to transform your thinking. Do you need new thoughts, a new way to think about your life, your job, yourself? Then the Bible can help.

The Old Testament is like studying our family history, like going on Ancestry.com and finding out where you came from. The promise to Abraham in the above verse is that he will be the father of “a multitude of nations”. This is fulfilled in the people of God and the body of Christ today.

The Bible should be the loudest voice that speaks and forms our identity. Not our friends, not Instagram, not social media. Who you are and your purpose in life is found in one person, Jesus Christ and one way that He reveals it to us is through His Word.

Words are powerful. They can make your day or ruin it! The same goes with the words of the Bible, so as you read them try and notice the repeated terms that the author has put in the books for you to find. 

Jesus came to earth with two seemingly opposing traits in fullness, grace and truth. Grace is fluid, grace to one person is different to another, it’s interpreted like poetry. Truth is unwavering, truth is solid, it’s strong and doesn’t change.

The ‘therefore’ is an incredibly important word in the Bible. When you find a therefore – find out what it is there for. Go back and read the previous verses because that is where you will find the key.

As I read my Bible and I read about the people in it, I ask myself would I do what they did? Remember these people are not super-heroes, even though they are incredible examples for us to live up to, they are normal men and women who faced the same fears and worries that we face every day!

2 Timothy is the final letter of the Apostle Paul to his ‘son’ in the faith, Timothy. Imagine getting a letter from your Pastor, mentor or friend and knowing that this is the last time you will hear from them before they die. You are going to value their words, cry and weep and take note of every instruction.

Reading your Bible is a step of wisdom. It is acknowledging that you don’t have all the answers, you don’t have all the knowledge to get through your life. You need God’s help, you need to read the instruction manual.

1 & 2 Kings are historical books that are looking back on the mistakes of the previous generation and noting those who did right in God’s eyes and those who did evil. The Bible presents for us not just lives to example and follow but it also presents lives to learn from and use as a warning to change our behaviour.

The story of Jonah may be one you have heard over and over again in Sunday School; you have seen the felt board version, watched the movie and you have it down pat now! But I got it completely wrong. I thought God was chasing down Jonah because he was being disobedient and not prophesying when he was told to.

Make your Bible yours, buy one that reflects your nature, write all over it, journal in it, highlight and engage with it, because it is alive and active. The Bible is not boring, so stop making it boring. Take it outside, read it at the beach, read it at the lake, read it on your boat.