READING THROUGH THE BIBLE
Imagine I buy a new book. When I get at home, I read Chapter 15, then Chapter 9, and then the second half of Chapter 21. I'll be thoroughly confused. But then to say that it's a bad book, or that the author refers to important story elements that I know nothing about, or that he is contradicting himself.... That would be ridiculous! And yet that's exactly what we do with the Bible.
So how should we read the Bible? The way it was put together by the Author: from beginning to end. And it could actually be very easy to do that. Unfortunately, to most people it seems like such a daunting endeavour, and where to start? As a result, most don't start, or start and stop rather quickly.
To be honest, most Christians I know, and a lot of non-Christians, would dearly like to read throught the Bible. But before we get to how to do it, we should first ask why we would want to read through the Bible. Having a good reason also add to your motivation to keep going.
To try and read through the Bible just for the sake of doing it, or to try and keep up with the (Christian) Joneses, might be the worst reason possible, and will lead to certain failure! I think most of us want to read the whole Bible, because we know a lot about the Bible, but not a lot about its content, apart from the few well-known stories. And you're not alone in this – I'm often surprised at how little devoted Christains know about what's in the Bible.
So the very first reason should be because we want to know what the Bible says to us. At the deepest level, if you take the Bible as God's Word to us, we read it because we want to hear what He wants to say to us.
The second reason, flowing from the first: knowing what's really in the Bible protects you against falling for shady teachings and lies. If you know what the Bible says about a certain topic, nobody is going to lead you astray. And the more you know, the better protected you will be. Remember, the Holy Spirit really cannot remind you of something you have never read!
Let's clarify, we are not talking about studying the Bible – that's a totally different topic – we are talking about simply reading the book, giving attention to what we're reading. It's not about trying to concoct doctrines or teachings, it's about getting a view of the whole Bible, and the flow of its narrative.
So, I'd like to introduce you to my programme, which is so simple, I can state it in one sentence:
Take the Bible, start reading one chapter a day, and just keep going!
This programme makes reading the Bible fairly easy, because it is the ultimate personalised programme:
¤ You read a chapter every day (more if you have the time),
¤ at a time that fits you;
¤ and if you fall behind for some or other reason, there's no rush to catch up –
¤ just pick up where you've left off, and carry on.
Most importantly, you get to read the Bible in the way it should be read: as a whole. The various books make a lot more sense when you read it from beginning to end, and the Bible itself makes more sense when you read it that way. Eventually you'll begin to understand the flow of the whole Bible, and how it all fits together. Trust me, you'll never look at the Bible the same old way, ever again.
So here's my challenge to you: Start reading the Bible, a chapter a day, more if you have time, but at least a chapter a day.
To get into the habit, start with the New Testament: it's also the easier, and most familiar, part for most people. Start at Mathhew chapter 1, and keep reading.
When you get to the end of the New Testament (Revelation 22), start right at the start of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, and just keep going. It will be the beginning of one of the greatest adventures of your life!
As you go along, use the information in the Bible backround notes to give you a better understanding of each Bible book.
(If you're new to the program: for the "howto", click here. For my reasoning behind this method, click here.)