I demonstrated this by reading the entire book of 1 Thessalonians–out loud–and had Lilly Ramsey time me. It only took slightly more than ten minutes to do that, and it would have taken less if I had read it silently. Some were astonished at how quickly it was done!
Next, I outlined a new plan for reading the Bible. The idea is to read the Bible using the same method as when we read any other book: If our reading takes us to Matthew 13 today, then tomorrow I merely begin with Matthew 14, and I read for as much time as I have. There are several advantages to this system.
One, there are no lists to check off. We are not following a schedule, so there is no such thing as falling behind. When we read a novel, we don’t use a check list, do we? We merely open up to where we left off the time before, and we don’t worry about “falling behind.”
Two, since we can’t fall behind, there is no guilt.
Three, with no guilt, there is no discouragement. That may be the number one reason why many who start out to read the Bible give up. They fall behind the artificial schedule of a checklist, realize that it would take hours to catch up, so they just stop. This method eliminates that altogether.
Four, with no schedule, you can start anytime, so you don’t have to worry because we’re already halfway through the month of January.
Five, you can start anywhere. Intimidated by Leviticus? Then start with the Gospels. Enjoy the Psalms? Throw in a psalm or two as you go along. Don’t understand something in Genesis? Come back to it later. There are portions of the Scriptures which are a little difficult to understand, but that does not lessen their importance or their authenticity. This time is just for reading–no highlighting, note taking, etc.
And six, if you don’t finish reading the Bible before December 31, 2019, so what? This isn’t a competition. Celebrate the portion you did read, and keep going. If it takes you eighteen months or two years to read the Bible, that's fine. The important thing is that you read it!
Who knows what God has in store for us as we devote ourselves to reading God’s Word consistently and faithfully?
Who’s in?
–Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com