The regular exercise of Bible reading promotes spiritual health. Simply reading the Bible is fresh air for the soul. Do we have a plan in place for our personal intact of God’s Word? There are several possibilities: Reading through the Bible, cover-to-cover, with a one-year or two-year plan. Reading one specific Book of the Bible many times over during a set period of months will allow the truths of that one of the sixty-six Books of the Bible to sink deeper into our minds and hearts. A plan to read all of the New Testament through in three months is another way to stay acquainted with what God says through the Scriptures.
Also the Bible has been translated into hundreds of global languages making reading in one’s native tongue much more heartfelt. So, if Bible reading has not yet become part of your life, there is no time like the present to begin.
Paul instructed Timothy to “focus on reading the Scriptures to the church.” (1 Timothy 4:13). Many in those days were unable to read, so public reading of Scripture was essential. “Philip heard the Ethiopian reading (aloud) from the prophet Isaiah.” (Acts 8:30). As a result the Ethiopian came to know Christ and was baptized. “Ezra, the scribe stood on a high wooden platform (and read aloud the Book of the Law –Genesis to Deuteronomy) from early morning until noon to everyone who could understand.” Nehemiah 8:2-3.
In this day when the Bible is readily available to many in both “hard copy” and electronically, we really have no excuse as to reading the Word of God. There is a continuum of opportunities from the versions that follow more word-by-word the ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts to the more free-flowing versions that lend themselves to fluid reading in the English language of today. Also the Bible has been translated into hundreds of global languages making reading in one’s native tongue much more heartfelt. So, if Bible reading has not yet become part of your life, there is no time like the present to begin. Google or get a plan in place – and make it part of your regular exercise. The Bible is the best-selling book in the world! We have – let’s read it.