[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
Bible Study Title: How To Read Through the Bible in 1 Year The unfortunate truth in Christendom today is that the majority of Christians are not Bible readers. Take a moment and really consider that statement. Christians, who have direct revelation from God concerning all matters of faith and practice revealed in the Scriptures, fail to even open the cover of the book. We have the Apostle Paul exhorting us to study the Word: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) As Christians Paul exhorts us to study in order to show ourselves approved unto God, not unto men. This is a verse that is often quoted in Christian churches all over the world today, but how often is it truly put into practice? Ask yourself an honest question right now: how often do you read your Bible? Friend, if the answer is less than once per day, you are not feeding on the Scripture enough. Here's another question: did you eat today? Rarely do we forget to feed our physical bodies, but more often than not we're forgetting to feed our spiritual nature that has been given by God. The result of this neglect in Christendom is quite horrific. False doctrine prevails due to "orthodox" teaching - teaching that has been wrong for centuries if not millenia, because of the failure to believe the Word of God over the tradition of man. Many Christians will tell you "I believe" or "My pastor says" or "at our church we teach" but how often do we hear "thus saith the Lord" or "it is written?" Furthermore, how will you know false doctrine when you hear it? Will you know if you hear it when it comes from the very pastor you hold so dear? Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.Acts 5:29 "But," you say to me, "I read my Bible." Wonderful, but do you read ALL of your Bible, or just your pet passages and books? How many of you out there only read the Psalms and what you hear on Sundays? Stick only to the Gospels? Read only the Pauline letters? All these roads lead to the unbalanced Christian. Again we have a Scriptural exhortation regarding this issue: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Notice the "all scripture," meaning the whole of the revealed Word of God. He doesn't say some, or your favorite parts, but all. And read what it is good for: "doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" all scripture is good for all those things, with a goal in mind, no less! The goal being "That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." Do you want to be perfect (complete), fully equipped to perform good works for God? And not because He might give you something for it, but because he has already given you everything? Then that means we must read all of our Bibles, cover to cover, for it is all given by inspiration of God and is profitable. Yes, even the lists of names, geneologies of who begat who! It's all there for a reason, and it all reveals God's truth for our lives of faith. Have you noticed I haven't told you how to read through the Bible in one year yet? Because that is the easy part. The part that comes before that is understanding why we need to be Bible readers, and now I hope you have a better understanding of that fact. It isn't so you can become a preacher, Bible reading isn't just for "pastors." It's isn't to be a missionary or a theologian. It's because God has instructed us that to be knowledgeable and effective in His service, we must know His Word. It's really that simple. You can do great work for the Lord as an individual if you know your Bible, no matter who you are! Ok, now we know why to read our Bible through the year, here is how you accomplish that task. 1. Choose a time of day when you will read your Bible, and stay consistent. It is best to give a half hour of time, but slightly less may do if you happen to be a fast reader - but you should not rush through your reading! Every day you will sit down in a quiet place and read for that half hour. 2. Take your Bible and find out the total number of pages, not including maps, etc. Divide that number by 365. It will depend on how big the pages and the print is in your Bible. Example: Let's say I have 1800 pages in my Bible. 1800/365 = 4.93. Rounded up that's 5 pages a day. Friend, anyone can read 5 pages a day! The truth is, often you will find yourself reading beyond that when you want to know more. 3. Read that 5 (or whatever yours turns out to be) pages a day for the next year starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation, and viola! You have read the whole Bible, cover to cover. 4. Do it again next year. And the next. And the next. Don't ever stop! Did you think you were going to be an expert the first or second time through? A brother who has since passed away who really knew his Bible used to have a wonderful saying: "I've studied this book my whole life," he started (he was 90 years old), "and I feel as though I have barely dusted off the cover." Have you decided at some point to stop eating food during your lifetime? Of course not! Then why would you stop feeding your more important nature, the spiritual one? 5. Rejoice in and share your knowledge with other Christians, living by what you read. Does this mean you can never read any other books in the Bible out of order? Of course not. Do as much extra reading as you like! But avoid skipping your daily reading. You will find that once you begin, you will enjoy it, and you will want to read more. And not only will you be doing yourself a favor in becoming a Bible reader, you'll be doing the whole Body of Christ a favor. Christendom needs spiritually mature people that are rooted in the Word of God to help stem the tide of apostasy in the church. False doctrine has done horrific damage to the cause of Christ, and continues to do so. Become a Bible reader and become a workman approved by God, throughly furnished unto all good works. Have you read your Bible today?
Poster Comment: I need to do this.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|