If you follow this ministry, one thing you realize rather quickly is our focus on the importance of the Bible and reading God’s Word.
I was looking over a recommended reading list the other day that was put together by a Christian author. It had hundreds of titles, including Christian books, his own books, books by false teachers, and books by non-believers. And sadly, the one book he did not include on his list was the Bible!
Yesterday, I was looking at another list where a guy posted the 40 books that had changed his life. When I read the list, one book was nominally Christian and that was it. How did this man make it through all his years in life without reading and/or thinking the Bible deserves to be in the number one slot on his list? The most influential book that has impacted more lives than any other book in the history of the world, and it didn’t even make someone’s top 40 list? We are living in strange days.
But since you do follow the ministry, you know that one thing you should be doing, this year and every year, is reading the Bible front to back. Taking in God’s Word continually will build a good, strong foundation that can withstand the headwinds of the world that come at us on a regular basis.
There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible. That means you only have to read approximately 3 and ½ chapters a day to finish it in one year! It is really that simple. That is only about 2,200 words a day. I met a guy recently who tries to read 100,000 words a day!! I have got to pick the pace up! So this means you bring your Bible to work, and read it during your fifteen-minute break. You take it to school, and read it before practice. You read it on the train while going to work. You shut your TV off for 15 minutes a night, and have a family reading time. Always remember, if we do not carve out the fifteen or twenty minutes a day to do this, the time will never carve itself out.
Joshua 1:8:
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
Nehemiah 8:3:
“And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.”
Romans 10:17:
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Psalm 19: 8-11:
“The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
So start today. Don’t get too far behind. And you will see how easy it really is to get through the Bible in one year. Once I started doing that, I made it a yearly habit. It will be a good habit for you and your family to be in before you meet the Author of the Book.
As one of my friends in Heaven always said, “Read and heed. Simple, yet profound. Have a blast reading God’s Word this year and applying it to your life! Have a blessed and bold New Year for the Lord planting many seeds with the lost!!
Until the nets are full,
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