If you are new to the Bible it can look pretty intimidating at first glance – all those thin and crinkly pages, odd looking two-column text, unpronounceable people and place names, old English word forms, and the uncertainty of where to begin.
Here’s something many folk find quite helpful…
The chart shows where the prophetic, poetic and other books fit into the timeline of the historical books of the Old Testament. The New Testament is much more straightforward: four accounts of The life of the incarnate Christ, one book on the activities of the early church, then a collection of letters written to various churches by various authors. The last is the book of Revelation wherein John relates the mysterious vision Christ unveiled to him regarding the end times and the kingdom to come.
The Bible is food for our souls; it is also both a tool and a weapon…
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Pet. 2:2)
“…Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29).
“Take… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17)
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)
Every believer should grow and train in it daily.
Paul charged Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)
And eventually dig deeper… “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Heb. 5:13, 14, see also Heb. 6:1-3)
Don’t let the size of it put you off. You don’t go to the grocery store to try and eat everything in it at once. You go to take what good nourishment you need, and you go often.
“How long does it take to read the Bible?”
A person can read the Bible aloud at a normal speaking pace (or silently) in less than 72 hours: 70 hours and 40 minutes to be exact. That’s 52 hours and 20 minutes to read the Old Testament, and 18 hours and 20 minutes to read the New Testament. The entire Bible can be read in one year in less than 12 minutes a day!
That sounds to me like a very good new year resolution! Why not swap 12 minutes of Facebook time for 12 minutes of Face-to-Face time with God revealed in His Word? Open that Bible, download it to your device, or as an audio file to listen to as you commute.
Why not make that commitment to yourself today? Start experimenting now, to the end of the year. See what method, medium, translation and time slot works best for you. Developing a daily habit of feeding on the Word is essential to your discipleship in Christ.
Press on…
Are you interested in being discipled one-on-one in the fundamentals of new life in Christ?
Or, perhaps you would you like to know how to begin this journey and take the very first of the First Steps by turning from your current path and committing your path to Christ? — Use the Contact page and we’ll get you started.
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