Today we started a study called “How to read your Bible…and get it!”. I have read my Bible cover to cover so many times I really don’t remember how many. I read to say that I had read my Bible every day (you know so I could say in Bible class that I was a “DAILYBIBLEREADER”). Or to say that I had read the whole Bible in a year. Whatever goal I wanted to accomplish..but sadly the goal was never to understand or to hear what God was saying to me. Until the last couple of years…when the pain of my past was overwhelming me and I had no other comfort except the Lord. Only then did I really “GET” some of what God was saying.
Last year we read through the Bible…kind of a guided tour…with Rex (My Daily Bread) and that was such a great experience. Getting the chance to read the comments of what others had picked up on and find things that I had never seen before was priceless! It was so good for my faith.
I have to admit that I have been a little lax and aimless in my reading this year. I have not committed to a particular goal and have not read as much as I intended. I have made excuses like “I’m just so busy” or “I’m too tired to read tonight…I’ll make it up tomorrow”. So I think this study will really give me some motivation and some direction. I am really looking forward to learning how to get more out of God’s word.
Today we talked about finding our own pace…finding our own time and place…to pick up the Word. Just because morning works for someone, doesn’t mean it will be the best time for you. Just because some people can read 100 pages in a day, doesn’t mean that is the pace for you. Pick your place, pick your time, and pick your pace. Good advice!
What have you discovered about your Bible reading lately?
This morning’s lesson has been on my mind all day. Last year’s “My Daily Bread” was the first time I’ve ever read the whole Bible. It was really a big deal for me … and I got so much out of the reading. Like you said, it helped to have all the comments to look at. I found verses I never knew existed and learned so much about the nature of God … and man.
After this morning I was frustrated with myself for not reading more this year. I had planned to do the “My Daily Bread” blog again … but just never started back. So this morning I decided that I needed to do something different. After church I went and got a New Living Translation Chronological Bible. I thought it might be a little easier to understand on my own and it will help me to read it as the story that it is.
So far I’ve been reading back through all that we’ve studied on Saturday’s. It feels good to really know what’s going on. I am so blessed to be in a place where we read the Word. Where we learn about what is written … not just someone’s opinion.
I want to be a DAILYBIBLEREADER because of what it does for my heart … not in order to get some star on a chart. I am developing a hunger for the Word. My appetite fluctuates here and there … but once I get a taste … the cravings come back full force.
I thought that I would go back thru the Daily Bread again as well….but I just never got rolling on it. I am going to try to be better about reading. I have been very sporadic.
I am totally loving the Saturday morning study because I think it is so important to understand that foundation of the Story. God has written this love letter to us..to help us understand Him…to help us understand ourselves. It is an incredible blessing to have a teacher that knows so much and can teach in such a way that we see it and enjoy learning it.
For the rest of this year, I’m aiming for DailyBibleReader/understander!
I have always struggled to be a daily bible reader, or even a DAILYBIBLEREADER. I go through spurts. I can relate to what you are saying about getting to the end of the day and thinking I’m too tired or I’ll catch up. Then I think that I need to get up a little earlier and read/pray, but when I get to morning all I can think is “I’m too tired!” It’s a sad excuse. God desires me to grow in my faith AND knowledge. Surely I can get past the tiredness and devote the amount of time it takes to read a few chapters a day. I am struggling to do better this year, although I am terribly behind what my goal was for this year.
Sherry, you and Paige inspire me to better myself. Your examples of faithfulness, struggle, and devotion to God and his word make me want the same things. I’m sure, knowing you both, that you never considered yourselves trailblazers in the faith. I assure you, I am getting a clear picture of what it means to follow Jesus as I follow your lead.
Love you bunches and bunches!
THANK YOU SARAH. I WISH THAT I WAS A “TRAILBLAZER” BUT I’M MORE OF ONE THAT IS JUST LIMPING ALONG. I SPENT WAY TOO MANY YEARS AWAY FROM GOD AND I FEEL LIKE I’VE GOT A LOT OF GROUND TO MAKE UP. I WASTED TOO MUCH OF WHAT GOD HAD BLESSED ME WITH AND I DON’T WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN.
I’M SO GLAD WE HAVE EACH OTHER TO WALK WITH AND LEAN ON…GOD DOES GOOD STUFF!
Dear Sherry,
I’m so glad you found your computer again (smile). I was missing hearing from your heart.
I read this from someone whose name I don’t recall…they said, “The only way to fail in prayer is to not show up.” It seems to me that a similar line of reasoning applies to our reading of the Word. In the final analysis, it doesn’t so much matter how you go about it as long as you go about it. Setting a reading schedule sometimes feels a little forced. To feel that you’ve got to get through so many chapters can certainly end up causing us to miss the point. I have so often approached Bible reading, and even studying, arrogantly. I am ashamed to admit it…being a preacher and all. But over the course of my life, it has been rare that I have even bothered to ask Father God to help me understand what I was about to read and/or study. Shame on me. I am trying to do better with that. I don’t know for sure how many times I have read the Bible through (not enough though-whatever that amount would be), but I know this, God keeps surprising me as I read. He allows me to discover treasures I have missed or to see a connection I hadn’t made before. He rewards our search when we come hungry and thirsty for Him and for His will.
There’s so much advice to offer others on Bible reading…what time of day, where, how much, what version, what other tools, and etc. I say listen to all the advice, then do what works best for you. If you read in the morning, your mind can become very busy with the day’s planned events and you discover that you are letting your eyes scan the black letters on white pages without getting any meaning at all. If you read at night, you may be too tired to focus. So what? So read in the morning, or read at night, or read during the day, because even if your mind doesn’t get it all for one reason or another, you will still get more than if you were not reading at all. Don’t let Bible reading slip to the level of a new year’s resolution where, when you fail, you chuck the whole thing. When you fail, get back to it. If you miss a day…a week…a month…a quarter…okay, you’ll have regret and guilt…BUT…just get back to it. Pick up the book and have another go…and another…and another. The only way ultimately to fail in Bible reading is to give it up.
Good reminder, Sherry…Pick YOUR place, pick YOUR time, and pick YOUR pace. And when you drop the ball…pick it up again!
RECENTLY SOMEONE WHO HAS JUST STARTED LEARNING THINGS ABOUT THE BIBLE ASKED ME IF THERE WAS A POINT WHEN YOU KNEW IT ALL AND JUST DIDN’T WANT TO STUDY ANYMORE. I TOLD HER “ABSOLUTELY NOT! NOT ANYONE I KNOW AT LEAST. I AM LEARNING NEW THINGS EVERY TIME I OPEN THE BOOK.” I THINK IT IS ONE OF THE GIFTS FROM GOD…THAT WE CAN READ THE SAME WORDS AND SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I KNOW THAT FOR ME, DEPENDING ON WHERE MY HEART IS AT THE TIME, CERTAIN PASSAGES HAVE SO MUCH MORE MEANING. THAT IS THE GIFT FROM GOD…I THINK HE GIVES US THE THINGS OUR HEARTS NEED. WE JUST HAVE TO OPEN THE BOOK, READ IT AND LET HIM SPEAK TO US!