mrwil65
Active member
It really is amazing how God moves in mysterious ways. I don’t do this too often, I was in the Lincoln Library on Monday, and was heading to the far back of the room to the table with my Chromebook, Bible & notebook in hand, thinking of the next DEVO. All of a sudden, this teenager walked up to me, and very politely asked me if she could share the table with me. I agreed. Her name was Autumn (no joke) and she happened to be reading the Bible as I approached her coming back to the table. I asked how her bible reading was coming along. She quickly told me she had a Bible app that produced the reading for the day. She excitedly declared that she followed this quite well.
Now keep in mind that most teenagers, especially Autumn’s age range, skim quickly on their phones or tablets without paying attention to the Scripture. They just glance at it and go to something else. Then I surprised her with the question whether the passages produced were in some sense in chronological order or helping to read the Bible in one year or other plan specific features. She allowed me to look at the app from her phone. It was then I discovered to my amazement that it was producing chapters of the Bible from various books in an uncoordinated form.
Let me explain. I will be the first to admit that reading like this is better than not reading your Bible at all; such exercise will ultimately produce little value for the investment. This will not help you adequately grasp the basic understanding of the Bible as a whole.
It must not be taken for granted that it is absolutely essential to read the Bible cover to cover as many times as possible.
Here are some reasons why it is essential to read the whole Bible cover to cover :
#1 To give you the comprehensive view of who God is
#2 To get you acquainted with the central themes of the Bible and how it fits with a whole book
#3 To truly know what God has done for you
#4 To understand why Jesus had to come, died and resurrect for us
#5 To realize the limitations of Man and our need for a Savior
#6 To be able to defend your faith
#7 So that the Holy Spirit can bring to your remembrance what is needed at every point in time
#8 So that you can teach others the word of God
#9 To understand the Eternal story told by the Eternal God
#10 To realize how verses fit with the whole picture of the Bible
#11 To be persuaded of the validity of the scriptures
#12 To understand how human beings behave and why they behave the way they do
#13 To assess whether you are walking in the will of God
#14 It is a command to study to show yourself approved of God a workman that need not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of Truth - 2 Timothy 2:15
#15 To frequently receive new revelations from the word of God
#16 To save you from confusing the old covenant scriptures with the New Testament Grace
Here are just a few reasons why you should read the Bible cover to cover. I really hope it inspires you to pick up your Bible - start reading it and become the type that studies the scriptures.
Bible Reading Plan Made Easy:
There are 1189 chapters in the Bible and if you read one chapter a day you will read the whole Bible in about 3 years. If you read two chapters a day you read the whole Bible in 1 and a half years and if you spend 15 minutes listening to the audio and following along with your paper Bible; you ‘ll probably read the whole Bible in under a year.
If you become serious and you want to spend half an hour or an hour a day; you can read the Bible - the whole Bible in 3 months.
I asked Autumn if she read a Bible other than reading on an electronic device. She stated, "I really don't own a Bible." She then choked up in tears and told me that she didn't really go to Church because her parents are Atheists. I quietly asked her "Autumn, would you like to receive the Lord in your life right now? Would you be willing to pray with me and ask Him to come into your life." She said that she would. So, I gently took her by the hand and said, "Father, Autumn, knows that You are her personal savior and that You are always watching over her. I pray to You to give her the grace and knowledge to accept the love of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. May she be mature enough to handle the challenges the evil world throws at her. Amen." Autumn thanked me for the talk, and the prayer. She felt a lot better. After speaking with Autumn, I left the library to get a bite to eat at Subway Restaurant. After the meal, I thought about going to the bookstore to see if they carried any Word search puzzles. Upon entering the store, I went to the area, and who do you think I saw? It was Autumn. I told her "I was surprised to bump into you here." She said that she was in there to try to find an inexpensive Bible so that it would help her more than the Cellphone or Tablet. The bookstore Downtown is fairly cheap. I helped her look as well. She looked at one that caught her eye, rushed right over to the counter and told the Clerk she wanted to purchase that Bible. The clerk told her it would be $10.50. Tears started streaming down her face. She only carried $1.85. I walked up to Autumn, took a $20 out of my pocket & said, "Take this new Bible home with you." Autumn cried uncontrollably & then hugged me. I then explained to her that I write daily DEVOs and share them either by text or E-mails. She wanted a copy of this DEVO I worked on. She is also now on my DEVO E-mailing list.
GOD is good all the time.
Now keep in mind that most teenagers, especially Autumn’s age range, skim quickly on their phones or tablets without paying attention to the Scripture. They just glance at it and go to something else. Then I surprised her with the question whether the passages produced were in some sense in chronological order or helping to read the Bible in one year or other plan specific features. She allowed me to look at the app from her phone. It was then I discovered to my amazement that it was producing chapters of the Bible from various books in an uncoordinated form.
Let me explain. I will be the first to admit that reading like this is better than not reading your Bible at all; such exercise will ultimately produce little value for the investment. This will not help you adequately grasp the basic understanding of the Bible as a whole.
It must not be taken for granted that it is absolutely essential to read the Bible cover to cover as many times as possible.
Here are some reasons why it is essential to read the whole Bible cover to cover :
#1 To give you the comprehensive view of who God is
#2 To get you acquainted with the central themes of the Bible and how it fits with a whole book
#3 To truly know what God has done for you
#4 To understand why Jesus had to come, died and resurrect for us
#5 To realize the limitations of Man and our need for a Savior
#6 To be able to defend your faith
#7 So that the Holy Spirit can bring to your remembrance what is needed at every point in time
#8 So that you can teach others the word of God
#9 To understand the Eternal story told by the Eternal God
#10 To realize how verses fit with the whole picture of the Bible
#11 To be persuaded of the validity of the scriptures
#12 To understand how human beings behave and why they behave the way they do
#13 To assess whether you are walking in the will of God
#14 It is a command to study to show yourself approved of God a workman that need not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of Truth - 2 Timothy 2:15
#15 To frequently receive new revelations from the word of God
#16 To save you from confusing the old covenant scriptures with the New Testament Grace
Here are just a few reasons why you should read the Bible cover to cover. I really hope it inspires you to pick up your Bible - start reading it and become the type that studies the scriptures.
Bible Reading Plan Made Easy:
There are 1189 chapters in the Bible and if you read one chapter a day you will read the whole Bible in about 3 years. If you read two chapters a day you read the whole Bible in 1 and a half years and if you spend 15 minutes listening to the audio and following along with your paper Bible; you ‘ll probably read the whole Bible in under a year.
If you become serious and you want to spend half an hour or an hour a day; you can read the Bible - the whole Bible in 3 months.
I asked Autumn if she read a Bible other than reading on an electronic device. She stated, "I really don't own a Bible." She then choked up in tears and told me that she didn't really go to Church because her parents are Atheists. I quietly asked her "Autumn, would you like to receive the Lord in your life right now? Would you be willing to pray with me and ask Him to come into your life." She said that she would. So, I gently took her by the hand and said, "Father, Autumn, knows that You are her personal savior and that You are always watching over her. I pray to You to give her the grace and knowledge to accept the love of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. May she be mature enough to handle the challenges the evil world throws at her. Amen." Autumn thanked me for the talk, and the prayer. She felt a lot better. After speaking with Autumn, I left the library to get a bite to eat at Subway Restaurant. After the meal, I thought about going to the bookstore to see if they carried any Word search puzzles. Upon entering the store, I went to the area, and who do you think I saw? It was Autumn. I told her "I was surprised to bump into you here." She said that she was in there to try to find an inexpensive Bible so that it would help her more than the Cellphone or Tablet. The bookstore Downtown is fairly cheap. I helped her look as well. She looked at one that caught her eye, rushed right over to the counter and told the Clerk she wanted to purchase that Bible. The clerk told her it would be $10.50. Tears started streaming down her face. She only carried $1.85. I walked up to Autumn, took a $20 out of my pocket & said, "Take this new Bible home with you." Autumn cried uncontrollably & then hugged me. I then explained to her that I write daily DEVOs and share them either by text or E-mails. She wanted a copy of this DEVO I worked on. She is also now on my DEVO E-mailing list.
GOD is good all the time.