There are different ways of engaging with the Bible:
Reading the Bible: It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out. Deu 17:19
Listening to the Bible being read: So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon before the men and women and those children who could understand. All the people were eager to hear the book of the law. Neh 8:3
Hearing the Bible being preached: They read from the book of God's law, explaining it and imparting insight. Thus the people gained understanding from what was read. Neh 8:8
Meditation: O how I love your law! All day long I meditate on it. Psa 119:97
It is useful to develop a variety of ways of reading the Bible. And variety can help us to concentrate. Also, some parts of the Bible need a different approach; e.g. you can meditate on a psalm or Proverb, but trying to meditate on a verse from the story of Jacob may be a waste of time – you would really need to read the whole story.
Reading or listening through the Bible in a year, two years or three years is a good habit. Find a good reading plan. I use the Robert Murray McCheyne plan. It takes you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice in a year. You can download the plan from the net.
Why not read large chunks of the Bible in one go. Try reading a whole book – it takes 2 hours to read the Gospel of mark. Reading whole books is very useful to getting the big picture.
Asking questions of the text you are reading is always good. Three questions to ask when you’re reading the Bible are:
- What is the passage saying
- Why is it saying it
- Why is it saying it here
On top of this we should also set aside time to study the Bible.
A minister once heard a famous preacher preach and was so impressed he went to the preacher and asked how he managed to teach so well. The preacher said “You really don’t want to know.” The minister said, “I do, really, please tell me.” The preacher said “Before I study a passage I read the book 25 times.”
13 comments:
i like it. where can i find that reading plan?
-drew
This is great, I'm sad that I had to miss ReGenerate. =(
You can download the plan at http://www.pesdirect.com/calendar.pdf
This is just one webiste - google Robert Murray M'Cheyne reading plan. :)
Andy
pretty cool.
question: would you definately suggest having a reading plan or, for ex- if you just say, hey I want to read romans, and when you're done with that you say hey, I want to read John?-
this is pretty awesome stuff...i'm going to have to get the reading plan!
Wesley,
A plan would get you through the Bible in an orderly manner. Your thought of reading through an epistle, then a gospel, etc is also a great way to engage in scripture. If you have a study bible, it helps particularly in choosing what to read through because you can read the overview at the start and know what you are getting in to. Don't forget the Old Testament!
A reading plan would be so helpful. I love organization (that's a Catholic school for ya'!) I need more stability in my Bible reading. Thanks, Dave! Sally
this is great, i foun a website, biblegateway.com it is an online bible with reading plans and all kinds of helpful info about the bible with my world becoming increaseingly digital and hectic it is so easy to go from writeing a paper and just pulling up the bible and i can take notes and save them on the computer, i find it really helpful
This was cool.....I'm about to go check out some of those plans right now!
-Hope everybody has a Merry Christmas!!
good stuff. i might try one of those plans.
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to wish you all a very happy Christmas...thats what they say in England.
I also wanted to wish Chris and Lindsay a wonderful 16th birthday!!! (Sorry it was kinda late Chris)
*Lauren
pretty cool... i've heard of the plan James said. Some of my friends have used it and they say it's a pretty good one.
I think that this sounds awesome! it's really easy to get superficial when you're reading the Bible because you do it the same way...day after day....but when you mix things up, it's a lot easier to concentrate and go deeper! I really love listening to praise and worship songs during my quiet time too!!
<>< anna
Post a Comment