Bible reading revisited

How are you doing with your Bible reading this year?

Like all New Years resolutions, we tend to fade out come February! Take heart, you (and I) are not alone in this! Keep at it; you will reap the benefits if you faint not (AV). Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (ESV)

My wife, God bless her, is listening her way through the Bible. Because she drives such distances for her work, I think this is working out better for her than just reading, though she is doing some reading of the New Testament too. Because she is listening so much, I think she is actually ahead of me in this endeavor.

I have an English Standard Bible, an update of the much maligned Revised Standard Version, which I am marking up as I read it. I hope this Bible will go to one of my grandchildren someday, should we be blessed with grandchildren. The ESV is the translation that John Piper says he hopes will become the accepted and generally used translation in homes and churches in the English speaking world.

I have seen plans that say that if we will just spend 30-45 minutes a day reading our Bibles that we could actually get all the way through it in about a month? Any takers? I thought not. Still, that should challenge us to spend at least a minimum of time with God in Bible reading, so He can speak to our hearts directly from His word. How else can we possibly know the voice of God if we never listen (as I speak, my TV is turned off)?

How about throwing in some Bible memorization to boot? I have some verses memorized, but I can do more; I just know I can. To help you with this, the Navigators have a Bible Memory kit with perforated cards that have keys verses on them, and a card pack to keep them in. They are available from Christian Book Distributor’s website www.Christianbook.com

I recommend it! I have it, and I use it.