Toongabbie Anglican Church Blog

Mission

Me & Bible Reading

Friday 7 January, 2005 · Posted by Neil Atwood

We frequently seek to encourage people in their Bible reading at TAC, but I'm not sure that Philip or I have ever explained what and how we read the Bible. I can't speak for Philip, but here's a couple of reflections on my recent Bible reading experiences:

I've just finished reading through the whole Bible in two years. Many of you have heard me speak of using Don Carson's 'For the love of God' books. These two volumes take Robert M'Cheyne's Bible Reading breakdown (over two year, two chapters a day). Don Carson then writes a one page reflection on one of those chapters. In fact, over the two years, you read the O.T. once, the N.T. and Psalms twice.

Overall it was a great experience to read through the scriptures systematically. I had done something similar years ago, but it is amazing how much is forgotten in the intervening years! So much so, that I would suggest everyone should read through the whole Bible at least once every ten years.

But I admit, sometimes, it became a bit of a chore. There's no doubt that some parts of the Bible are less riveting than others! But, the discipline of reading each and every day (and having to catch up if days are missed) is a great thing.

It's all too easy to have our Bible reading and prayer times pushed out by things that appear more important at the time. Frequently God humbled me by speaking profoundly through passages that, at the time, I didn't want to read, and perhaps that is really at the core of all this. Our natural desire is to not want God directing our lives. We much prefer to run things our way, and finding excuses not to read the Bible is a good example. One way we can help combat this tendency is to have a reading partner. It might be your spouse or a Christian friend from church or elsewhere. But having someone else to gently hold you accountable can be a great thing.

So whether you use Carson/M'Cheyne, or some other system, my hearty recommendation is to kick this new year off by planning your Bible reading, and working hard at sticking to it, even when you feel like not doing so.

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