Hands up if you don’t read your Bible…
I love reading. I read (on average) one to two books per month and almost every day I read a bucket load of news and opinion across the internet. My most recent book was Lou Gerstner’s Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance and I am currently reading In the Plex by Stephen Levy. On the theological side, I have just discovered that you can own the complete works of AW Tozer via Logos and I would love to continue my journey into the works of one of the great 20th century Christian authors. On the audio side, I am currently working through the iTunes podcasts on Tim Keller. But there’s just one problem. You can see that reading is a big part of my life but what about the Bible? Yes – just the Bible by itself without a dive into the exegetical notes or a sidestep onto the 9Marks Blog.
While thinking about this imbalance, a friend brought to light a Bible reading plan developed by Grant Horner (a Professor at Master’s College in California). He shares this anecdote from his first meeting with John MacArthur:
“Sometime later, I was flown out by Masters College for a 3-day interview/grilling process. The culmination was, of course, being ushered in to Dr. MacArthur’s private study, which is where he asked me one question: “Can I see your Bible?” I thought he would be horrified, because it looked like it had been through a typhoon — it looked unloved and neglected. Something from a dumpster. It was unbound, with stringy mess and paper debris hanging out. I was so embarrassed. I thought he would chastise me and recommend I get a new study Bible if I was serious about the Word. However he flipped through it and handed it to his wife and a said, “If your Bible is falling apart, you probably aren’t.” And I was basically hired on the spot.”
I have decided to give this plan a go for one month commencing on Easter Friday. I would love it if someone would join me. Think about it – how much do you read the Bible by itself and in what proportion is reading the Bible to other works?
You can download the Bible reading plan here.
~ Jeremy
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Thanks Jeremy. I’m going to try it.
By the way, YouVersion has this reading plan ( http://www.youversion.com/ ), and it coordinates your progress with the online and iPhone/iPad apps.
Nice!
Great post and very true. I know I have been guilty of this so many times. I can be reading loads of books that are great books but they are not The Bible and therefore should only be secondary. I think because I’ve already read the Bible many times it can become less attractive compared to new books that I’ve not yet read. However in reality each time you re-read scripture God continues to speak truth and reveal Himself. Therefore it is crucial to keep The Bible the main thing we read.