National Bible Week

With January comes Goal Setting and New Year’s Resolutions.  Many people set goals in different areas, financial goals, spiritual goals, physical goals, social goals, career goals, and family goals.  I know it is not quite January but it's never too early to start thinking about some of your goals.  Also November 23rd through the 30th is National Bible week, which is why I want to talk about reading through the bible.

If you have made it goal to read through the bible in times past and haven’t reached that goal, I encourage you to try again.  I became a Christian when I was fifteen years old but I did not read through the entire bible cover to cover until I was 18 years old.  Don’t wait till January start early on this goal, research and find what bible version you are going to read, if you have already read through the bible in a version, pick a new version to read through this year.  Find an accountability partner to read with you and keep you accountable.  

November 23rd through November 30th is National Bible Week a week devoted to encouraging people to read the Bible, in the belief that it will arouse a positive spiritual force in a world plagued with problems. National Bible Week is promoted by the National Bible Association (originally the Laymen's National Committee), a non-denominational group of businessmen founded in 1940 and devoted to the application of the Golden Rule in daily life. A huge audience listened to the NBC radio program that was broadcast to kick off the first National Bible Week scheduled for December 8-14, 1941; Pearl Harbor had been bombed just hours before.  For more information check out National Bible Association, www.nationalbible.org. 

The church I attend provides an annual bible readers program, which will enable you to read through the entire bible Genesis through Revelation in one year with as little as 15 minutes a day.  Our church reading program consists of one Proverb, five Psalms, and three chapters of the bible.

Here is a link for my church standard bible reading program: http://goo.gl/8t7veH

I have also read through the Chronological bible, the bible broken up into date order of when things took place.  Some people love reading this, I personally don’t really enjoy the Chronological bible probably because I am just so used to reading each book I don’t really like all of it mixed I know it’s more of a mental thing for me, I like the books together.

Here is a link for the chronological reading program:  http://goo.gl/XhMHO

I have also read through the bible in 90 days, with the help of the 90 day bible reading program, I find it took me 45 minutes a day to complete this reading.  I also found for the beginning books of the bible, it was easy to read 45 minutes straight, but when it came to books like Leviticus, Numbers and Ezequiel, it worked better for me to break it up into more increments, sometimes 15 minutes each, and then do something and then come back and read more.  

Here is a link for the 90 Day Bible Reading Plan: http://goo.gl/qLWLS

Find what will work for you and get started.  Go to www.BibleGateway.com you can look up scriptures in a variety of versions, which can help you choose which one you enjoy reading more.  If you fall off the wagon and miss some days don’t beat yourself up just pick up from where you left off and keep plugging along, say you start the 90 day Bible Reading plan but it takes you 120 days it’s better than not reading at all.   

Pray to God and ask for the grace and a greater hunger and desire for the Word of God.  I know sometimes in reading the bible it can seem dry or there are some things you do not understand.  I have found when I do not give up and ask God for Him to stir up in me a greater desire for the Word it has worked.   Also pray before you read and ask God to open your eyes and to speak to you through His Word, a scripture or passage will stand out to you and will come alive in a new way, many times things you have read numerous times, but by the grace and spirit of God they stand out to you in a different way, they speak to your very soul and situation you are experiencing in life at that very moment.

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