practical advice

Y'all know I believe in reading the Bible, every day, without fail?

RTBEDWF

;-)

Some of you have asked me where do ya start with something like that.


When I started in January, 2003, I included reading a Psalm every day. I'd heard Billy Graham does this. I figured if it was good enough for Billy, it was good enough for me! ;-)

So I read a psalm, sequentially - iow, I start in Psalm 1 & read the next one each day, until I get to the end - Psalm 150. Then I start all over again at Psalm 1.

Btw, Psalm 119 is LONG - like REALLY long - so I split it up & read it over about 4 or 5 days - just a thought...


Whenever I finish Psalms, I then add reading Proverbs 1 chapter a day, while restarting reading Psalms, until I finish that book. Did that explanation make sense? 


I also read through the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John), sequentially, one chapter a day.

If you're just starting out, I'd read them backward... 
John first - it's just a real introduction into the heart of Jesus.
Luke second - Luke is a good story teller.
Mark third - I think Mark was ADHD, because his gospel moves so fast.
Matthew last - by the time you get Matthew you'll be used to reading about Jesus & you'll be ready for all that Jewish perspective, prophesy, & law.


I also read a chapter a day in the rest of the New Testament epistles. I start in Acts & go straight through to Jude, 1 chapter a day - Acts, then Romans, the 1 Corinthians, then 2 Corinthians - you get the idea.


I only read Revelation once a year - it has so much prophetic writing I kinda get lost in all that imagery, prophesy, allegory, & other stuff. Just sayin'...


And I finally read a chapter a day sequentially in the Old Testament - iow, I start in Genesis, & read straight through to Malachi.

A word of warning: Leviticus at the beginning of the OT, Job in the middle, & the Minor Prophets at the end will just kill ya. Leviticus is all law. Job is SO depressing, & the Minor Prophets will kill ya with all their doom & gloom. Just letting ya know.


So there ya have it: That's just 4 chapters a day (5, when I reading Proverbs).

How long will that take?

45 minutes, maybe.

I advocate getting a notebook or a list on your phone or something to keep a record of what you read. I can never remember where I read the day before. Trust me on this - write it down in a space dedicated to keeping a list.

Also, underline in your Bible verses that stand out to you. Now, don't get all hicky with me about writing in a Bible - God will understand ;-)  And if a verse really speaks to you, maybe you could put a date by it. You'll be surprised how God will speak to you through a verse & then a few days later something will happen & you'll remember what God said to you about that kind of thing a few days earlier.

And you might want to write down in that notebook or phone document verses that God kinda nudges you to remember.


As I've said before, here's a word of warning...

If you start reading the Bible every day without fail GOD. WILL. MESS. WITH. YOU.

And He will start out messing with you in the very area or areas you do NOT want Him to touch.

And when He's through messing with you about those - iow, when you finally let Him do what He wants to do in those areas - He will move on to the NEXT TO LAST areas in your life you want Him to put His finger on.


But one thing will be for sure - if you RTBEDWF, God will speak to you.

Whenever I hear someone say they just can't seem to get God to talk to them or speak to them about a situation, I always wonder if they read the Bible every day without fail - sometimes I ask them - 9 times out of 10 they don't read every day.

Since I've started RTBEDWF, it seems I don't have any trouble getting God to clearly speak to me - I have trouble getting Him to shut up!  ;-)



So, there you have it - 4 chapters a day, write down where you read, keep notes.

Don't expect the heavens to open, heavenly light to shine down on you, angels start to sing, with violins playing in the background - it may take a couple or 3 weeks to kinda settle in. Keep. at. it.


Ready?

Brace yourself - the God of the universes is gonna take you on the wildest ride of your life.