Cultivate Your Spiritual Garden Part II: Plant Yourself in God’s Word

Now that you’re ready to start planting yourself in God’s word, here’s a quick overview of some of the benefits found in the Bible: The word of God revives the soul, makes the simple wise, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes (Psalm 19: 7-8, ESV). The word of God discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, ESV). The word of God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16, ESV).

 

As I mentioned in the previous article, God’s word is “living and active” like rich soil teeming with all kinds of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and living organisms. It is the rich soil in the garden of our soul. It is the humus that gives life. Without our Bible, we don’t have what we need to revive our soul, to make us wise, to rejoice our heart, to enlighten our eyes. Essentially, we don’t have what we need to make us live!

 

Just think, it wouldn’t do a plant any good to be planted, and then uprooted, planted again, and then uprooted again. Eventually, the plant will die. So often we do the same thing with our Bible reading because it hasn’t become our true source of life (John 4:14, ESV). One day we’re planted, the next day we’re uprooted. This will not do us any good accept to ensure that the word is choked out by everything else we have going on in our lives – the cares, riches, and pleasures of life (Luke 8:14, ESV).

 

Therefore, the Bible is the rich soil we want to plant ourselves in. But as the Bible teaches in the Parable of the Sower, the soil of our heart must be good as well. The way a soil test can determine the health of soil or a plant, the Parable of the Sower is the soil test, or “the soul test,” for our heart. Is your heart like a hard path that’s been worn by years of foot traffic? Is it shallow soil with a bed of rock hiding underneath? Is it thorny soil, full of weeds? Or, is your heart rich, fertile soil that will allow for roots to go down deep and strong?

 

Jesus describes the good soil as follows, “As for that in good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:32, ESV). To bear fruit with patience, a plant must be rooted and established for a very long time where it has been planted. In fact, some trees take years to bear fruit. Farmers plant orchards with the long view in mind, hoping to reap a harvest after many years of tending and nurturing without any evidence that their investment is going to be fruitful.

 

Until, that one spring when trees are covered in flowers and displaying the evidence that, indeed, a harvest is coming! Are you ready to bear fruit with patience and reap a harvest? Get planted in God’s word.

 

 

Find the Best Translation of the Bible

To get started, find a translation that’s accurate and easy for you to understand. There are so many options when it comes to Bible translations, some are good, and others are not so good. I personally use the English Standard Version. However, the following are the most accurate word for word translations as close to the original text in the English language:

• New American Standard Version, NASB
• Amplified, AMP
• English Standard Version, ESV
• King James Version, KJV

 

Read Portions of the Bible About the Bible

Whether you’re a seasoned Bible reader or a beginner, a good thing to do is to read portions of the Bible about the Bible for fresh inspiration and motivation. One good place to start would be Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and the entire chapter is solely dedicated to the Law, or God’s word — the Bible. For the longest chapter in the Bible to be dedicated to God’s Law demonstrates just how important it really is.

 

Another good place to start is the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Book of John says that the Word became flesh (John 1:14, ESV), and that’s Jesus. What better way to get inspired to read the Bible, than to read about Jesus, the Word who became flesh? One way I learned to remember the themes of the Gospels is the following:

• Matthew: Behold the King
• Mark: Behold the Suffering Servant
• Luke: Behold the Son of Man
• John: Behold Our God

 

Read the Bible

Moreover, I would recommend a good Bible Reading Plan. When I first started reading the Bible, I just read cover to cover with a one-year Bible reading plan. But I have since explored other options such as a two-year Bible reading plan and a chronological Bible reading plan. I have also heard of other methods such as picking one book of the Bible and reading through it slowly or checking off chapters and books of the Bible as you read them in whatever order you read them.

 

Honestly, I like all of these options and I have tried several. The important thing is to pick something that works for you and that will help you stay planted in God’s word. If you’re a beginner, I know the Bible can be intimidating. It would probably be best to pick a two-year reading plan and just stick to the one plan and if you feel like you can handle more, maybe pick one book to focus on at your leisure, in order to slow down and practice studying.

 

Regardless of what you choose, I believe it’s important to have a discipline of reading the entire Bible (lectio continua) with a Bible reading plan to keep a full view of God’s word always before you, and to pick one book of the Bible to focus on at a slower pace (lectio selecta) and continue to read it repetitiously for more in-depth study. Here are a few good Bible reading plans I have discovered over the years:

• Two-Year Bible Reading Plan from The Gospel Coalition
• The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan (One Year)
• Chronological Bible Reading Plan (One Year)
• Books of the Bible Reading Checklist

There are many other Bible reading plans to choose from. These are just a few of my favorites. Find what works for you, print it out, tuck it in your Bible, and get started!

 

 

Study the Bible

Besides reading the Bible, it is vitally important to study the Bible. One really good resource to learn how to study the Bible is John MacArthur’s series How to Get the Most from God’s Word. Another good resource is Search the Word from the Daily Grace Co. Plus, you can do this study for free on their app. However, unless you’re very disciplined, I personally wouldn’t use an app or anything that might distract me from reading and studying the Bible with temptations like social media, online shopping, or news so easily available.

 

 

Memorize the Bible

Finally, one of the best things you can do for yourself is memorize scripture. If you don’t fill your mind with God’s Word, you can be sure it will be filled with something else. It is so much better to have your mind filled with what God says in his word than anything this world has to say through internet, television, music, news or anywhere your mind can be bombarded with ungodly messages.

 

Oftentimes, especially when it comes to the mind, I personally believe if something isn’t pointing you to Jesus, it’s pointing you away from Jesus.

 

Therefore, look up specific verses according to your needs, or when you come across a passage that speaks to you, write it down on an index card and start to memorize it. Place it where you will see it frequently, like the mirror, on the refrigerator, over the kitchen sink, over the changing table, or anywhere that would benefit you and help you to focus on the scripture you are trying to memorize.

 

One of the best ways to help you memorize scripture without even trying is to listen to music. A few resources that I have grown to love are Verses: The Melody of God’s Word and Seeds Family Worship. I like to listen to them while I do chores at home or run errands. It’s amazing how fast you can memorize scripture this way and quickly and effectively get the word planted in your heart.

 

Therefore, to have the word planted in your heart, first plant yourself in God’s word. Reading the Bible is one of the most crucial parts of our life (along with prayer) and we all have more time for it than we realize. The important thing in a garden is to start small with something you can manage and build from there as your knowledge and skills develop. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. As you grow in this spiritual discipline, use resources that don’t distract you from the Bible, but that help enrich your knowledge of the Bible and deepen your relationship with God. Ultimately, God wants us to know him and love him and the way we do that is by reading and studying his word.

 

 

*This article has been updated with links and resources 11/10/2023