READING THE BIBLE
If you're like most people, you probably read a chapter here, tomorrow one there, and so on. Or if you follow a Bible reading plan, you probably have a few chapters from different books of the Bible – usually some from the Old Testament, some from the New Testament, and some from the Psalms – and if you keep going, you will eventually read the whole Bible.
But will that give you a picture of the whole flow of the Bible through thousands of years of human history? Or simpler, does that give you an understanding of a Bible book as a whole, it's flow, the history covered, the arguments developed, etc.? Most probably not. You would probably end up viewing the Bible as a book that's difficult to understand.
If we read any other book like we read the Bible, we will be very frustrated very soon! It will be impossible to follow the plot of the story, or get a proper view of the subject matter of a non-fiction book, and we'll end up in total confusion.
So why read the Bible like that?
One of the main reasons, in my opinion, is that we have forgotten what the Bible really is. It's not just a collection of sayings and stories, which we can read in any order; it is a proper book with a beginning, a developing theme or story, and an end – which might be news to a lot of people!
In a nutshell, the Bible brings us the history of God's dealings with humanity. There's a lot contained in this sentence, but the bottom line is that it is the story of God and humans. And if we want to understand that story, we have to read it like it happened, and was written down: from beginning to end
The best Bible reading plan is to start at the beginning, and just keep on reading. If this seems like a daunting task, here is how I do it – a chapter a day. Sometimes more, but at least a chapter a day.
I started at the beginning of the New Testament, Matthew Chapter 1 Verse 1, and just kept reading. In 28 days I was through Matthew, 16 days later I finished Mark. Eventually I finished the New Testament with a new appreciating and understanding – sure, there was a lot I didn't understand, but that was OK.
Why The New Testament first? Well, I figured it was the better known part, and I feared getting into the laws of Leviticus and the numbers of Numbers before getting into a steady habit might derail the whole process!
But after I finished the New Testament I went to the beginning, Genesis 1, and started reading. When I finished the Old Testament I dived straight into the New Testament, and by the time I finished that, I was well and truly hooked. Suddenly so much made sense, and I understood so much more, having read the whole sequence of events. Still a lot I didn't understand, so I started at Genesis 1 agin, and kept reading...
I think you get the idea.
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. Stat with the New Testament to get into the habit, and then start again at Genesis, and just keep going. Trust me, that will be the beginning of one of the great adventures of your life!
I intend to use this site to post stuff to help you, like background info on the various books, etc., but the most important thing is to start reading. And don't worry if you can't remember everything – just the mere reading of the Bible will change you, your views on life and everything, and bring you to a new understanding of God and his dealings with us.
Yes, there will be lots you don't understand, especially at the beginning. That's OK. The more you read, the more you will get the bigger picture, and the more things will start making sense to you. Just read, and trust God to use his Word to change you.