Chapter 1: The Effect of the Bible on Spiritual life

The Christian should study the word of God regularly as a fulfilment of God's commandment: "You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life" (John 5: 39).

The Lord has described his words as follows: "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6: 63). As for David, he has praised the person who meditates on the law of the Lord and compared him to a "Tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither" (Psalm 1: 3). Therefore, we are not surprised at prophet Jeremiah's words "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart" (Jeremiah 15: 16).

The Holy Bible is important to the believer for the following reasons:

The Holy Bible is the word of God:

When God speaks, man has to listen. When He speaks, He reveals His holy secrets, His purposes in the creation and in history, and His works with His children who obey His commandments. Through the word of God, we even know His beloved and blessed person, His honest and truthful promises and His valuable advice that leads to our salutation. Who can ever live without the word of God? It is truly "spirit" and "life". It is the food of the spirit: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word their proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4: 4). It is a light to our path: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119: 105). It is the sharp sword through which we dismember all false teachings: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two - edged sword" (Hebrews 4: 12). It is the secret of cleanliness and purity, as the Lord says: "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15: 3).

+ God is speaking to us... so let us listen to Him.

+ God is revealing His love to us... so let us feed on it.

+ God is revealing His purposes to us... so let us.

understand them well.

+ God is revealing His promises to us... so let us hold.

on to them.

The word of God is the power that lifts the weak and gives them strength. It is the light that guides the soul through the wilderness. It is the food that satisfies the heart through the love of God and of others. It is the sword that cuts off strange teachings and singles them out.

The Holy Bible is the history of humanity:

In the Holy Bible, there is a study of the history of humanity from beginning to end. In it we also perceive the dealings of God with different people and under different circumstances. It is a wonderful school that gives experience. For example, in the Book of Genesis, we are introduced to Adam's and Eve’s experience in the steps of the fall, the consequences of sin and the promise of salvation. In the story of Cane, we get to know the necessity and the possibility of overcoming sin, and the danger of submitting to the voice of the enemy. Through Abraham, we learn about the meaning of following the Lord with faith and trust. Through Isaac, we trust in God’s good promises. Through Jacob, we are acquainted with the danger of rashness, deception and emotion as well as the methods of making amends to people. Through Joseph we get to know God's mercy as he plans for everyone’s salvation, with Joshua, we learn the secret of victory in Jericho, and of defeat at Ai. In the Book of Judges we see the heroes of faith and we learn about the blessings of purity and the danger of perversity in the story of Samson. Thus, the Holy Bible is an enormous school with different stages, starting with Genesis and ending up with Revelation where the struggle between the church and the world and the final victory of God are found. In this school we find unending experience given to us as ready - made sap for our advancement, we "on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10: 11).

In the Holy Bible, we meet God and unite with Him:

When we sit quietly, meditating in the word of God, we meet the Lord and in no time our souls unite with Him. Studying the Bible, if done in the spirit of prayer and love for God, is compared to Mary's sitting at Christ's feet as she "has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10: 42) , for what is this "good part" but the Lord? The Lord will not be taken away from her because she has united with Him, loved Him, and turned into His holy likeness due to sitting constantly at His feet. Didn't the Apostle say: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed with the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3: 18) ? Didn't he also say: "For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8: 29) ? Continual reading of the word of.

God in the spirit of prayer grants the soul union with and steadfastness in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, let's listen to the saying: "There is the greatest hope for the greatest sinner who reads the Holy Bible, and there is the greatest danger for the greatest saint who neglects it".

In short, the Holy Bible reveals to us our need for God and tells us that God is waiting for us. It is the point where the poor sinner meets with the loving heart of God. The single paragraph that st. Augustns read was capable of saving his soul and making him a saint. This was the passage in Romans 13: 11 - 14. Open your Book now and read it with awe and meditation so as to know the effect of the Bible on your life.