Why yes, a glass of red (preferably French) goes quite well with scripture in the evening 🙂
I love to read the bible but admittedly I don’t follow a “plan.” I’ve tried. Really I have. I’ve tried bible study guides, 1 year plans, following the daily readings given at church and reading through a book at a time as I see fit. Usually reading one book at a time works ok but I sometimes get bogged down when the story seems to be coming to life in my daily existence. Hello Job? (I never finished that one…)
My church holds a weekly bible study that I like to attend and we are going through 1&2 Peter right now. Great stuff. I take notes and try to remember what we talked about. Mostly I fail. Whenever I get asked a question later on I am the proverbial deer in headlights. I am one of the worlds worst historians. Ever. (My college career can attest to this. I’m not exaggerating…)
Then there is guilt. Maybe it’s a carryover from being raised Catholic but I always have this cloud of guilt hanging over me about I am “supposed” to do as a Christian, the most important of which is reading your bible. But what good does guilt do? Didn’t Jesus erase that? Nothing I can ever do will save me. Only the one thing Jesus did can. So why get all worked up about “supposed to’s?”
Over 5 years ago I bought a Chronological Bible* and thought I would read through it while I was home waiting for the birth of my twins. Well I don’t remember what I was doing besides napping but I didn’t even get all the way through Genesis. Epic fail. Again.
Going through my books recently I came upon the Chronological Bible * again and was going to give it away. Then it dawned on me or maybe God breathed it but I realized that it is the perfect way to read through the bible in a way that might make more sense to me. The timeline integrates the books of the bible in order of occurrence, something I don’t always catch onto when reading scripture. I’m dense like that. This makes it easy and easy is good.
The version I have is ensconced in a lovely burgundy faux leather cover and looks nice left out on the table. Usually, just like the picture, I leave it open which reminds and entices me to pick it up and begin reading. It may only be a chapter or two but I’m making progress. And I think that’s all that really counts.
Scripture is how God speaks to us. It’s how he tells is who he is. And how we should try to be. It has all the wisdom we could ever need and is the only life instruction manual that will never be outdated. He is eternal after all. But if we don’t ever read it we won’t ever know the truth. It’s easy to listen to what other people, often passionately, say about the bible and what it says but it’s another thing to read it for yourself. If you don’t believe it will likely sound like rubbish, but for believers it is the very bread of life. But don’t take my word for it, read it for yourself. 😉
This* is how I am finding it easy and convenient to remember to read scripture in a way and form that makes sense and gives some back ground. Something else might work for you. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Make it easy for yourself. And leave the guilt behind. It just clutters your mind anyway.
I hope you have a blessed day!
Liz
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