A Challenge to Read the Entire Bible Every Year!
In 2008, I decided to read the entire Bible in one year. Although I had read the entire Bible many times, I had never read the entire Bible in one year. It seemed unattainable. But by God's grace I have done it almost every year since and have been so blessed and encouraged. So, I challenge you to join me in reading the entire Bible this year! There are many reasons why we should read the Bible systematically. We are in an age of Biblical illiteracy. 15% of those who claim to be Bible believing Christians regularly read the book they claim to believe. 35% never read it and the other 50% occasionally read it. Where are you in this picture?
Dr.Stephen Prothero makes his living studying the American religious scene. He said in a television interview: “Among Evangelicals there’s been a shift over time- from Bible reading to feeling-from knowing what Jesus actually had to say to having a ‘relationship’ with a Jesus that they know little or nothing about-from actually reading the Bible to merely revering the Bible, and going back to certain proof-texts over and over again that don’t necessarily give you a sense of what the whole Bible has to say.”
I have heard a story about a communist country that boasted about having a Bible. When shown the Bible, it was in the church building, in a special room, on a special table that was to be revered, but never to be touched! Interesting!
Dr. Paul M. Elliott, President of Teaching The Word Ministries. www.teachingtheword.org gives many convincing reasons why we should read the entire Bible every year.
Dr. Elliott said he has actually known men who were respected as experts on the Bible who had never read the entire Bible even once! It is so easy to get into a rut of just reading parts you are comfortable with. Dr. Elliott says cherry -picking the Word produces Christians who are weak and shallow, parents who are unable to instruct their children in the truth of the faith, Christians who are overdeveloped in some areas of truth and underdeveloped in others, and soldiers who stand unarmored and unarmed for spiritual battle. All of scripture is inspired, profitable, and needed. When you read the whole Bible, you get a whole picture and see how one part relates to another.
2 Tim 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Did you know that every major Bible doctrine has its beginnings in the book of beginnings, Genesis?
You can never outgrow God’s Word. Here is a story from Dr. Elliott’s pamphlet, Why Should You Read the Entire Bible Every Year?
“Some Christians have a 'been there, done that' attitude toward reading the Bible, and so they turn to other books and other pursuits more suited, so they think, to their level of spiritual and intellectual attainment. But the fact is, as soon as you stop reading the Word of God, you begin to forget who God is, and who you are in God’s sight. You create a spiritual vacuum into which Satan is only too ready to introduce unspiritual thoughts. The story is told of an advance Marine patrol that landed on a Pacific island during World War Two. When the patrol came to a village, a man who turned out to be a native pastor who spoke English met them. He proudly showed them his Bible, which had been translated into the local language by American missionaries before the war. One of the soldiers scoffed, “Oh, in America we’ve outgrown that sort of thing.” The native pastor replied, “It’s good for you that we haven’t. We were once cannibals. If it weren’t for this Book, you men would have been our next meal!”
Tim Tomlinson, the first President of Bethlehem College and Seminary, where John Piper is the Chancellor and several of my children and son in laws went to school, wrote the following in a prayer letter.
“One of the best things I've initiated in my life in recent years has been the annual discipline of reading through the Bible in its entirety. What started out as a desire to simply be more structured in my Bible-reading habits has become for me an amazing blessing and something I plan to do until my dying day. While it's commendable and vital to study portions of the Bible and individual books of the Bible in deep detail, it is equally crucial to understand the "whole counsel of God" by knowing how it all fits together from beginning to end. Reading through the Bible every year has given me a clearer and deeper understanding of the "whole counsel of God" than I have ever had before.
The benefits of this discipline in my life have been manifold. I encourage you, if you're not already doing this, to consider adding it to your Bible reading regimen. As I've done this, the Lord has brought to my mind the words of Psalm 19:
"The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure;
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward" (Psalm 19:7-11).
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