Last week we looked at the curious fact that although the resurrection of Jesus Christ represents God’s greatest work in human history, it impresses few people. They don’t believe it.
By itself, the resurrection won’t convince people to turn from their sins and acknowledge Jesus as Lord. They need the testimony of Scripture if they’re to understand what Christ did for them and how the resurrection fits within the plan of God for their salvation.
So if you doubt the risen Savior, read the Bible! If you want to beef up your faith, read His Word. If you aim to bolster your confidence in God’s miracle-working power, spend time in the Scriptures.
How often should you read the Bible and how much should you read? And how do you begin?
You can adopt a plan. There are many good ones to choose from.
- Read through the Bible in a year. You’ll read around four chapters a day.
- Follow the lectionary and read through most of the Bible in three years. The lectionary is a plan that some denominations use to organize their worship services. You’ll skip some chapters (like genealogies) and repeat other sections (like the Gospels and the Psalms). But you’ll cover the bulk of the Scriptures in three years. And since the selections from the Old Testament, Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles are related thematically, it won’t be difficult to grasp what what you’re reading.
You can try the opposite approach. Instead of striving to read ever larger chunks of God’s Word, read less.
- Adopt the lectio divina, a Latin phrase meaning “divine reading.” This refers to a four-step method to the Scriptures: reading, thinking or meditating, praying, and contemplating. The pace is unhurried; the goal is to draw close to God, not to hit a reading target.
- Work through a translation of the Bible in a foreign language, even in the original Hebrew and Greek! It’ll force you to slow down so you’re not skimming through the verses and you can get more out of them.
Consider listening to the Bible, too. Many of the versions and translations in the YouVersion app have an audio feature, so take advantage of that option.
But how much is enough and how often should you read the Bible?
Take in God’s Word every day. Treat it like spiritual food; you need it to grow.
“When Your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name, Lord God Almighty.” – Jeremiah 15:16 (NIV)
“Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” – 1 Peter 2:2
When you read the Bible regularly, you’ll discover its purpose.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” – John 5:39-40 (NASB)
Jesus is the heart of the Bible; the Word points to Him.
“Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” – Luke 24:27 (NASB)
“Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’” – Luke 24:44 (NASB)
Not only is the Bible all about Jesus; Christ Himself is the Word.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . 14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:1, 14 (NASB)
How much of the Bible should you read? Enough to recognize Jesus, to get close to Him, and to see Him within the pages of Scripture. Whatever Bible reading plan you adopt, make Christ your aim.
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