Articles From Our Bulletins
Making Reading The Bible A Priority
Jesus said, “man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). Those who truly love God and desire truth will read the Bible daily with a view toward reading its entirety on a regular basis. Still, many among us who agree about the obligation find it difficult to set aside some time for daily Bible reading. Here are some suggestions that will help to achieve our goal:
1. Make Bible reading a priority: When something is important enough to us, we will make sure it is done first. If we give Bible reading first place, we will schedule the necessary time needed.
2. Eliminate whatever might get in the way: Ask yourself what one thing is most likely to get in the way of your Bible reading. It might be television or video games or whatever. For me it was light fiction. When I first got serious about reading the Bible every day, I decided to quit all light reading for a month. When the month was over, I found that I wasn’t that interested in reading fiction. I wanted truth. I think this will be most people’s experience. If people will make time for the Bible and read it regularly they will love it. I would strongly encourage anyone who is beginning a daily Bible reading program to eliminate whatever they feel might get in the way.”
3. Build in accountability: Back in December 2005 I did a couple of lessons that strongly encouraged people to read their Bibles every day. One guy came to me and said he was going to find some other people to do it with him. He set up an account on Blogger.com. Eight of us report in every week. If someone doesn’t read we try to encourage them. Obviously you wouldn’t have to do this on the internet. The important thing is that Christians encourage one another on a regular basis. Most of us will try harder if we know someone is going to ask us about our effort.
4. Pray to God for help: Ask Him to help YOU, and ask Him to also help others to attain this goal of daily Bible reading. He has promised to help those who ask for it! The Bible is compared to food–the spiritual man will starve without it. The Bible is compared with nourishment – we will wither without it (Acts 20:32; 1 Peter 2:2). The Bible, the word of God, is the seed of spiritual life. No Bible, no life (Luke 8:11; James 1:18; 1 Corinthians 4:15). We can’t answer for our hope without it – 1 Peter 3:15; Acts 17:11. We can’t be approved of God without it – 2 Timothy 2:15. Its doctrine will save those who hear it – 1 Timothy 4:16.
Reading the Bible is a small investment of time for something so important. Begin today a never-ending journey of reading the Bible in its entirety each year. To obtain the maximum benefit from you efforts, read out loud, and read every day!
