Bible reading tips and encouragement

Hello Everybody,

For those who are attempting to read their Bibles in one year let's be encouraged !!

To read 1189 chapters in one year you will need to read a little more than 3 chapters a day.

3 chapters per day = ONE year
6 chapters per day = Six months
12 chapters per day = Three months

If you are a monk, a hermit, a nun, a priest or have a lot of time for Spiritual pursuits then you could read 100 chapters per day and complete the Bible in about 12 days...but that's not for the faint of heart and probably not to be recommended to most people because we don't want to develop a distaste for the Bible.

If you have set out for a 3 chapter a day goal then I estimate that you are finishing or have finished Exodus. Those are exciting sections to read, so much going on. As you go into Leviticus do not despair of the reading. I know you are not a Hebrew priest and the Hebrew priests are the target audience here in this book. Just read it anyway and know that you will finish it in about 10 days at the 3 chpts. per day rate.

Also know that there will NOT be a test and for any "fuzziness" in comprehensive will be helped by the fact that right after Numbers Deuteronomy will repeat the data in Leviticus only this time the target audience is on the people, the laity, instead of the priests.

Once you get beyond Deut. and into Joshua you are back to what I call "story time" not that the accounts are fiction---no, no, no, they are factual but the reading is more story like as you go through the histories.

In case I get too busy to encourage you later or in case you have been more at a 6 month plan then allow me to say that you don't have to despair of I and II Kings and I and II Chronicles. I was dreading them this year ( I read the whole Bible most every year ) and as I got there I was thrilled---it was fantastic, so don't set yourself up with expectations either way and you'll be gliding through and understanding the Kings and the ways of the people including the punishments for turning away from God and turning toward idol worship.

It is well worth reading.

Any time you get a little "extra" time to read ahead of the 3 chapters a day plan -- DO IT.

Why?

Because some time in 2011 you will get sick or busy or some distraction will pop up and then you'll be glad you are a little bit ahead of schedule.

Another reason is that the size of the chapters varies A LOT. Some of the Psalms are tiny and some the chapters in the gospels are very long.

I pray for your Bible reading. I want you to be encouraged. I want you to know that YOU can do it and how happy YOU will be later this year when YOU finish.

I posted my log not to be discouraging -- no, no, no. Quite the opposite. I am average and am still raising children. I have to cook and clean and have many responsibilities. If I can read the whole Bible in 1 month then surely you can in 1 year. It is perfectly do-able and each and every year I hear from several people who had not yet read their Bibles and then they do. They are happy about it too. One of these happy people was an older man who had been a Christian leader for most of his life. He was extremely happy when he completed the entire Bible.

The Lord Jesus is the Word, the Living Word, amen?
We want to know Jesus, amen?
To know the Word of God (the Bible) is helpful to know the Word of God (Jesus).

Make sense?

One other good thing that comes from reading the whole Bible is how many cultural lies each of us has concerning the Lord God. Many Christians have a "Santa Claus" type of God that is made up. They have been influenced by everything other than the Bible and they find that when they read the WHOLE Bible that they get to know God, the real God Almighty ... not a false image they created from movies and songs and other people.

God speaks in the first person a lot in the Old Testament. You can get to know Him by what He has to say.

To get a good idea of this read Isaiah and highlight every time the Lord God is speaking. You will have a lot of highlighted sections after you finish the 66 chapters. Isaiah, if you didn't know, is sometimes called a Bible within the Bible.

I have so much more to say but I wanted to get this out before the big storm hits. Many of us will lose power so my hope and prayer is that this gets read and then you will be reading by candle light.

So many blessings await you...go in peace and be diligent to read and pray.