I have recently been thinking a lot about something Jeremy Kingsley said at church many weeks ago. He said, "We don't read the Bible to finish. We read the Bible to change." If we read the Bible and it's not changing us, then what are we doing. This has been on my mind because I have always wanted to read the Bible in one year. I felt like if I couldn't do that, then I wasn't really "in the Word". I have tried reading the Bible from beginning to end, but I start to get a little bored reading from the same book of the Bible every day. So, this summer, I started a reading plan that I really like. It is four readings a day from four different books a day. This is perfect for me because I like to read different things at the same time. However, I was starting to realize that by the time I hit the fourth reading of the day, I had no idea what I had read in the previous passages. I'm not saying that God hasn't changed me at all through the reading of His Word but, it's difficult to meditate on what He is doing in me if I'm reading several different passages a day.
So, I started thinking, "who cares if I don't read the Bible in a year?" Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to do this? If the point of reading the Bible is for God to change us, do we really need a time table that might put so much pressure on us that we feel like utter failures if we can't do it? I think not! So, I have started reading just one of the four passages a day from my reading plan. This way I can meditate on it much better and focus on what God is trying to teach me from that passage. Also, I still get the variety of passages that I like to have.
My point is not to condemn reading the Bible in a year. It may work for you and may keep your focus where it should be. For me, I get so wrapped up in the schedule of it all, that I can easily forget why I am doing it in the first place. I am so grateful for this "new" perspective! God is changing me and that is the whole point! So, I encourage you to read the Bible to change, not just to finish!
