My father gifted me a Bible with a black leather covering many years ago. The binding was separating from the pages and the cover was falling off.
He placed the Bible in my hands and I could feel the emotion in his voice. He began to relive his youth as a minister by saying, “If this Bible could speak …”.” He said that this was the first Bible he had used to preach.
The book was used frequently because of its loose pages. The margins were filled with notes and underlined verses that represented hours of Bible study.
While some people have a deep respect for the Word of God and wouldn’t touch its pages, others feel that they should mark important passages that speak to them. This is what made my dad’s Bible so special to me: being able to see the verses that mattered most to him.
Have you ever felt the Bible speak to you? Did you ever find yourself reading one of the 1,189 chapters and suddenly, a passage of Scripture leapt off the page into your heart. Dwight L. Moody once said, “We should open the Holy Book like we would enter a sanctuary where our heavenly Father is sure to meet us face-to-face, and hear His voice.”
Even avid readers may find the 1,500+ pages of the Bible daunting at first glance. Although it may seem difficult to believe, many people read the entire Bible each year, reading an average of three chapters per day.
There are many ways to read the Bible. You can begin in Genesis, and then go on to Revelation. It is easy to get lost in the begats. It’s easier for me to start with Matthew, finish the New Testament first and then go back to the beginning.
A Bible-reading plan suggests reading a few chapters from both the Old and New Testaments every day along with one Psalm, and a few verses from Proverbs. Many have suggested reading and rereading Proverbs with its 31 chapters for each day.
Here is more. Ask God for help as you open your Bible to study. He gave us the words to write. One of these writers stated, “The word God is active and living…and judges the thoughts or attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 NAV).
According to A.W. Tozer, pastor and author, “The Holy Scriptures reveal what we can never learn any other method: They tell us who we are, what we have done, how we got here and why we are here, as well as what we must do while we’re here.” Tozer. Tozer.
At least once in your life, read the greatest book ever written. It’s a great time to get started. Every day, let the Bible speak to your heart.
Jan White has collected a selection of her columns in her book “Everyday Faith for Daily Life”.
The first The Andalusia star-news article was Read through The Bible in the Coming Year.
