To start this year I committed to a big task. I was going to read/listen to the Bible in 30 days. I’ve done it in 90 days once and 45 days once. I’ve read it through in a yer multiple times. I listen to a lot of podcasts as I’m training for a marathon so I decide for the month of January I would put them on hold and replace them with listening to the Bible in addition to my reading time. What I wound up doing is finishing the entire Bible in only ten days.
You may say, “Well thats great Jason but you can’t get anything from the Bible by reading it that fast.” To that I ask “Have you ever tried it?” What reading the entire Bible in a short time frame does for me is help me see the overarching themes and story of God’s redemption. It helps me to see how the beginning and the end fit together. It reminds me of how short life is and how eternal God is. It reminds me that I have a part in the story He continues to tell. It reminds me of how small I am and how vast He is. It reminds me of how good God is and how sinful our nature is.
Theres something about seeing it all laid out from beginning to end that helps me keep the right perspective. You can see God’s hand and work to redeem His people from the beginning. You can see how rules fail us again and again. You can see how leaders fail us again and again. You can see how human wisdom and planning fails us again and again. But God never fails us.
I love breaking the Bible down verse by verse. Typically I read the Bible in the S.O.A.P. method: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. In fact right now after finishing my read through the Bible I’ve decided to break down the book of Galatians verse by verse. I’ve already read many different plans and commentaries on Galatians. I will continue to cherish many different methods and approaches to God’s Word. What are some of your favorite plans and methods of approaching scripture?