In talking to different women it seems they have gotten
caught up in trying to follow a schedule of reading the Bible through in 365
days because—no one has ever told them to just sit down and read the Bible. Again,
we like to make things complicated when God has made them very simplistic.
Just to see what’s out there, I googled, “reading the bible
through in one year” and wow, I hit the motherload of several different ways to
do it, but here are the 3 most popular.
- Immersion plan…you read the Old Testament once and the New Testament three times in a year. How does that work? You are reading a portion of both testaments each day.
- Chronological…in order of events. In other words, it has you are all over the place.
- Book order…from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.
One of the major problems with a reading schedule for completion
in 365 days is life unscripted! We
all experience it and none of us can get away from it. One little thing, and
your scheduled reading for a week can go down the drain.
Then what?
How do you catch up?
Most often you don’t and the whole thing falls by the
wayside.
Or are you one who is not disciplined in reading at all, but
you know you should so you take on reading the Bible through in one year. Problem is you can’t keep it up because of your lack of discipline and commitment.
You’re like a person who just learned the basic pearl stitch in knitting and
can barely read a pattern, yet you buy yarn to make one of the most elaborate
sweaters one could knit. You start out big, but it doesn’t take long before distractions
and excuses cause you to fall behind to the point you just give up!
Discipline is key to reading and studying the Bible. A characteristic
many of us have yet to develop. That’s the bad news, but the good news is—you can
start today to turn that around!
If you are one who maybe reads your bible once or twice a
week (if that), try setting aside 15 minutes a day for reading. Some might look
at that and say, “Only 15 minutes a day? That isn’t much!” But it is for
someone who doesn’t read at all. It is doable and will help you become
disciplined in reading every day. Your time and love for reading the Bible will
increase on its own…we all have to start somewhere.
Maybe you just have a desire to read the entire Bible
through, I say, “God for it!” But don’t try to follow a formula or time frame
of 365 days—just read it! Spend an hour a day reading and you will be through
the entire Bible faster than you think. Make sure to have highlighters, sticky
notes, a note book and pen. Why? So, you can make notes of things you want
to go back and study and can easily find things you want to meditate on. Take
10 weeks to read the Bible through, and then spend the next 42 weeks studying
and meditating on things you have read.
I don’t suggest reading a little of the OT and NT at the same
time because it really doesn’t make sense. Would you take a Terri
Blackstock mystery and read Chapter 1 and Chapter 30 at the same time? Of
course not.
It’s great to set goals in life, but they must be realistic
to our lifestyles. If you’re a mother of young children then more than likely
in the course of 365 days, someone is going to have a cold, virus or something.
And often those types of things run through the family. And when you are nursemaid to 3 or 4 people who are vomiting and pooping everywhere, usually the best you
can do is call on the Lord to help you make it through! ~Smile~ So after 10
days of this, you now find yourself 10 days behind and you still have 9 months
to go.
This is why a 365 day (scheduled portion) read of the Bible is not very
realistic for the average person, especially if you are chief bottle washer,
cook and maybe even work outside of the home.
There is freedom and joy in reading the Word of God. It is
the most fascinating read there is and ever will be. But when we start to put
limitations, and unrealistic expectations to it, we can easily find ourselves in
a bondage situation. And when we can’t keep up we often experience feelings of
failure and self-condemnation. This is
not what God desires for us. We are instructed to “study” and show ourselves
approved unto God. We are to “study” so that we can rightfully divide the truth
from fiction and not be lead astray. We are to "study" so when adversity shows up we are
able to stand and faint not. And we achieve this by spending time with God on a
daily bases—not a daily formula.
Did you know that the way God has designed our minds, (not
brains) that if we meditate on a scripture daily for at least 7 minutes a day
for 21 days—we renew our minds? I’m sure many of you didn’t know this. Only 7 minutes!
But that is God—simplistic!
Here’s a link to a video (about 25 minutes long) broadcast
of a recent BVOV (Believers Voice of Victory) Kenneth Copeland Ministry, with
Dr. Caroline Leaf. Now this is some great information on how our mind works and
how the Word of God renews it. If you don’t have the time to watch it now,
please do before the weekend is over. It will change your life. She was on for
2 weeks and you can go into their archives and watch them all—I did, and it is
life changing. How
meditation works in our mind (click)
Sisters, spending time getting to know the God who made you,
the God who saved you and the God who lives within you, is an exciting
experience. And it’s a must if you desire to live the good life of the Kingdom
of God. But it is not one of drudgery or obligation.
If you are one who has attempted to read the Bible through
in a year and failed…start over! Have a set time each day and read what you can
in that time frame. And if you have a day where “life unscripted” shows up…just
pick up where you left off! Amen!
Next Week: The
Bondages of Christendom, Part 6…( Being at church every time
the doors are open)
Until next week...
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