Through the Bible in....

 

March is generally past the time of year when we think about the daunting task of reading through the bible. By now many people will be in one of three camps, right on track, starting to slip, or hopelessly behind. This year I fall into the second camp. I confess, I have a difficult time going from start to finish through the bible in one year. I will be the first to give an “amen” to all of those who read the bible through every year, I applaud your dedication, and know that it takes discipline to honestly read through the entire bible in one year.  For those of you who also find it difficult to complete the task I have a word of encouragement, don’t stop, and keep reading, it’s about relationship not conquering a challenge.  

This year I started with the Life Principles Daily Bible, it is a part of Charles Stanly’s ministry. For each day of the year you get Old Testament, a little Psalms and proverbs, and New Testament. It takes me about 25 minutes to read one day. Doing the math shows that 365 days times 25 minutes equals 9125 minutes or 152 hours, or 6.33 days. That means all that is required of me is to find six and a half days a year to give to reading the scriptures. That does not seem as daunting when you look at it like that does it? But it is kind of convicting to think that I have a hard time finding six and a half days a year to read Gods word.

So now is the time to put it into perspective. It is only the first of March. Counting this month there are ten months left. Guess what? We are not hopelessly behind. There are many methods out there for reading the scripture through. In my case all I need to do is read two passages a day for about two weeks and I will be caught up. If you have not started or have started and fallen off early there is hope for you as well. I feel very confident that in the ten months remaining you can find six and a half days to read Gods word. The real goal is to make the word of God part of your everyday life, and the ways to do that are countless. Use the imagination that God blessed you with and make time to spend with God. You will not regret it. Remember that seven days without the word of God makes one WEAK!