For those of us who participated in “Reading the Entire New Testament in the Summer of 2011” we’ll be finishing Revelation this month, unless you have already finished it as some have. I finished a few weeks ago and went back to read the rest of Jeremiah, which I had started before the New Testament reading plan. I just read the last chapter of Jeremiah today, and I’m ready to get a head start on Psalms, one of my favorite books of the Bible.
I normally read my Bible every morning as part of my quiet time, but I didn’t usually follow any specific outline or reading plan. Even though many of the New Testament passages are very familiar from previously reading, it has been a wonderful experience to read through from Matthew to Revelation as a daily reading plan. God has so much to say to us if we just take time to read His Word and be quiet and listen for His still, small voice.
The summer reading plan for the New Testament was designed and promoted by The Timothy Report author, who noted that more than 600 people had responded to read through the New Testament the summer of 2011. That’s incredible! And that’s just the ones who responded to be counted, and doesn’t count the numbers from churches or Bible study groups who participated. But it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the idea of getting into the habit of reading the Bible. It’s about God’s people determining that we want to know what He has to say to us, we want to know Him better, and we want to live our lives to please Him.
Just as our bodies could not stay healthy if we only ate snacks, our spiritual health suffers when we only read bits and pieces of Scripture, just “snacking” on God’s Word. Most people take time to sit down to eat a meal at least once a day, if not two or three times a day, depending on their lifestyle. Taking time to sit down once a day with our Bible and reading a chapter or two, or at least several passages will give us much more spiritual nourishment than the “snack” of a verse or two.
If you’re not comfortable following a Bible reading plan that someone else designed, make up your own. Choose a book of the Bible and set a goal for reading every day until it’s finished. The next group Bible reading is to read the Psalms during the month of September. There isn’t a specific reading plan for this, just to read it at your own pace.
If you have a church ministry or host a Bible study, you can use the graphic below to promote reading the Psalms during the month of September in your church or Bible Study group.
For best and original graphics quality, download directly from The Timothy Report website.
(Graphic is from http://www.timothyreport.com)
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