Reading Through the Bible in One Year

 

I've grown up in a Christian home and heard Godly preaching on a regular basis. One of the things pastors, and teachers encouraged us to do was read the Bible for ourselves. If you could just dedicate 15 min. per day in God's Word it would change your life! It would give clarity to what you're hearing and being taught. It will give you direction for your life. You will find out more about the God you say you love.

Martin Luther (during the Reformation period) was a living example of how, when he read the Bible for himself, found out that salvation is by faith and grace, not by any works that we could do. That's what started the whole "protestant" departure from the church of England. And from there we have many demoninations that take what they believe from God's Word and start their own churches. I digress; that's a discussion for another time.

So, while growing up, I knew of only a handful of people who actually read through the entire Bible multiple times. (Perhaps there were many, but they kept it hidden from me.) Many years in my teens, I made a worthy attempt at setting this resolution on January 1st, only to find several weeks later, I was so far behind I didn't try any longer. Occasionally I would get a new zeal, knowing I didn't have to start on January 1st, but it too would not last long.

Fast forward several decades... I now have a true desire for God's Word. Establishing that daily habit of finding out what God has for me TODAY is truly encouraging. Yes, there are times (especially in the Old Testament historical books) where it seems a little dry; but I also supplement my reading God's Word with other devotional books. It's amazing how something as simple as someone posting a Bible verse on Facebook strikes a chord with something I recently read in God's Word and gets my attention.

So now I decided to go public! Because I realize there must be others like me (young and old alike) who truly WANT to read God's Word but struggle with consistency or lack accountability. I remember as a teen being embarrassed to ask someone to ask me every week if I read my Bible.

It took me a few days to find room in my schedule and figure out how to get back into my blog site. But I did post on my personal Facebook profile, October 1st, that I finished the Old Testament and would be starting the New Testament. If anyone wants to join me in a small accountability group, I would gladly welcome you - no judgement here.

I want to unashamedly proclaim Christ, but writing daily on Facebook "Look what I did!" seemed a little bragadocious. Last year I had created a separate Facebook page and invite people to see my encouraging Bible posts there. https://www.facebook.com/people/Women-of-God/100082269180395/ Feel free to like & follow me there.