Weekly Challenge: the B-I-B-L-E

Remember when I said that I had another plan for writing in detail about everything on the 100 Ways to Start Living Your Faith list?

Well, this is it! Every week I will present a new challenge from one of the things on the list and post some thoughts about it. Each Friday I will check in and update you on how the challenge is going for me.

The Challenge
#1: Read your Bible every day. Study it, talk about it, and ask God to help it come alive.

This week's challenge is to read your Bible for at least 15 minutes every day. And don't just read mindlessly; really study it.

You can jot notes in the Bible itself or use a separate notebook for the purpose. You can study it in detail, write down a few thoughts, or simply choose one verse from your reading to focus in on. It doesn't matter what you do, just do something to be engaged with the passage.

It doesn't matter where you read, either. Start in Genesis. Start in Matthew. Start in Psalms or Romans or Esther or even Revelation. Just read something every day.

Further Reading

• 4 Tips for Daily Bible Reading
• Feeding Our Hungry Souls
• Ten Reasons to Read the Bible
• Practical Helps for Bible Reading

Leave me a comment if you plan to take the challenge! What will you read? How will you study the passage?

How I Enjoyed Reading Deuteronomy

A little while back, I decided that I wanted to read through the whole Bible. No schedule, no obligation, no finishing date, just me reading straight through, as much or as little as I wanted, finishing when I wanted.

I started in Genesis, and was happily reading along. Then I hit the middle of Exodus and things started to get rough.

It must have taken me several months to get through Leviticus and Numbers. I struggled, often simply skimming the tedious passages of Hebrew law just for the sake of having "read" them so I could move on.

And then, as I began Deuteronomy, I decided to try and find passages that I could apply to my life, even when it seemed like there was nothing. And guess what? I found tons of them! Little tiny nuggets of truth that could mean something to me.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Guess what? This verse applies to all of Scripture, not just the things that seem like they directly apply to us. These verses apply to Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy too.

There will always be something to learn from the Bible, but you have to be actively engaged in reading, looking for the connections and lessons. You can't just skim.

Something that has helped me with this is starting to write in my Bible, underlining things and jotting my thoughts in the margins. I love going back and looking at things I've written, and it helps me to stay focused on reading.

So, don't give up on the hard passages of Jewish law. Just because they're challenging doesn't mean they aren't worth reading. There's always more to learn! And when you find those things that apply to your life, you will discover that the reading is much more enjoyable.

Your Biblical Roadmap

Let's be honest: the Bible is huge. It contains book after book of stories, poetry, and instructions for living. So it can be overwhelming when you sit down to read. Where in the world do you start?

To help with this, here is an overview of the major book categories in the Bible to help you get the big picture of what this amazing book holds.

The Old Testament

1. The Pentateuch: This section contains the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). They tell the story of the creation and God's establishment of his covenant people beginning with Abraham. After Genesis, they are mostly made up of God's law for the Jews, so they can be hard to get through if you are just starting out reading the Bible.
2. History: This contains the next twelve Old Testament books, from Joshua to Esther. These books continue the history of Israel begun in the Pentateuch, telling of the judges and then the kings. This would be a good section for you if you like reading history or nonfiction.
3. Poetry and Wisdom: This includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. These books contain poetry in praise and petition to God or wisdom for living. If you like reading poems, this is a good section for you.
4. Prophets: This makes up the rest of the Old Testament. Prophetic books can be hard to understand if you are just starting out, but are something you should definitely read at some point.

The New Testament

1. The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is a very good place to start if you are new to Christianity or just like a good story. They tell the story of Jesus' birth, life, and death, recorded by four different authors.
2. History: The book of Acts is the only other history book in the New Testament. It was written by Luke to continue his gospel, telling of the work of the apostles after Christ ascended into heaven. Definitely a good thing to read if you're looking for a story.
3. Letters: These make up the bulk of the New Testament. Many of them were written by Paul, some by other apostles. These provide the basic guidelines for Christian living.
4. Prophecy: The book of Revelation, prophesying the age to come, is definitely a confusing book and not where you want to start if you are new to the Bible, but don't be afraid of reading it at some point!

So, here is the order I would suggest reading the books in if you are new to the Bible:

1. Read the Gospels first. They aren't as hard to interpret and also explain the fundamental beliefs about Christ behind Christianity.
2. Read Genesis next.
3. Now read the Old Testament history and Acts.
4. Read the New Testament letters.
5. Read Old Testament poetry now.
6. Then Old Testament prophets.
7. Now, go back to the Pentateuch and read Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
8. Finish with Revelation once you are better equipped to understand it through reading the rest of the Bible.

Of course, there are many ways you could go about it, based on what you like reading personally. And if you've already been reading your Bible, hopefully this helped with the big picture and helped you see the parts you need to go back and focus on more in-depth.

Happy reading!

What do you think? Have you read all of your Bible? What parts do you need to go back and reread? If you haven't read the Bible before, where will you start?

Great Bible Stories: Moses, part 4 (Exodus 11 and 12)

When we last left our friend Moses, God was raining plagues down on the Egyptians because the Pharaoh wouldn't let the Israelites leave. So far there has been frogs, gnats, flies, locusts, and other terrible things.

But God has one more left.

The Biggest Plague
"So Moses said, 'Thus says the Lord: About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die..." (Exodus 11:4-5a)

This plague will be the biggest, most terrible plague of all. God is planning to kill the firstborn of every Egyptian. Pharaoh's stubborn resistance to God will now end in disaster not only for him, but for all of his people as well.

But so that the Israelites will be passed over in this terrible plague, God tells them to sacrifice a lamb and paint the blood on the doorpost. In this way, the lives of their children will be spared.

This is wonderful foreshadowing to the Lamb of God, the one who will be sacrificed to spare the children of God from death.

The Passover Arrives, and the Israelites Leave
And so, at midnight the Lord passes through and kills all of the firstborn of the Egyptians.

And it works. Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and says, "Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said." (Exodus 12:31)

The Egyptians that did not want the Israelites to go now want them to get out as quickly as possible, afraid that they will all die. So the Israelites leave, free at last.

This is also where Jews get their celebration of Passover; God instituted it after the Israelites left Egypt.

And this concludes the story of Moses that we will be looking at. I hope you enjoyed it!

Lessons Learned

• God will achieve his plan no matter what. He can get past any obstacles to do what He wills in our lives. As we saw last week and continued to see this week, opposing Him is definitely not a good move.
• Your sin can also affect the people around you. Pharaoh's stubbornness in letting the Israelites leave caused not only the death of his child, but much other death as well. Our sin can have a negative affect on the lives of those around us as well as our own.

 What do you think? Do you like this story? Do you agree with the lessons I have drawn from it? What other stories do you think I should do? Tell me in the comments below!

What Is the Bible? What Is It For?

The Bible gives us a lot of instructions, guidance, and encouragement on many topics, and one of these is the topic of what, exactly, the Bible itself is and is for. There are several verses, some of which are probably very familiar to you, which address this topic.

I want to look at four of these today:

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness..."
-2 Timothy 3:16

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
-Romans 15:4

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
-Psalm 119:105

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
-James 1:22

What Exactly is the Bible, Anyway?
The Bible, as we learn in 2 Timothy 3:16, is of God's making, "breathed out by Him". It was written by human authors, but another translation of this verse reads "All Scripture is inspired by God". He used humans to write it down, but told them what to say.

So what does this mean? This makes everything in the Bible true, right, and holy. It would have to be, otherwise what would that say about God?

How We Use It
The Bible has many purposes: it can be used for instruction, encouragement, and guidance.

• Instruction (2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 15:4) tells us how God wants us to live our lives and gives us the examples of Godly people of the past.
• Encouragement (Romans 15:4) gives us hope in the face of our daily struggles and temptations.
• Guidance (Psalm 119:105) helps us when we have hard decisions to make or don't know what to do.

Don't Be Passive!
James tells us that we are not to be "hearers" of the word only, but also "doers". In other words, it's not enough to listen to the passage at church and read your Bible at home, even if you are super-engaged with each passage and gain immediate understanding of everything being said.

Because the Bible isn't like that. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword..." The Bible is ready to work in your life, but you have to be willing to let it make that change. It can't do anything if you listen to it passively and wait for something magical to happen.

So apply the Bible's teachings to your life; be a "doer" and not a "hearer"!

What do you think? Do you like these verses? What other topics would you like to see an article about?

P.S. Read Bible reading tips here.

As a reminder, all of the Bible verses in any of my posts come from the ESV version of the Bible.

Great Bible Stories: Moses, part 3 (Exodus 5-10)

We last left Moses after an intense conversation with God in a burning bush. Now he is returning to Egypt to try and convince the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.

But the first time, it doesn't go well at all!

Bricks Without Straw
Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and ask for him to let the Israelites go.

This is how he replies: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go." (Exodus 5:2)

Ouch. And to make matters worse, he then takes away the straw given to the Israelites to make bricks with and tells them to gather straw for themselves, while still making the same number of bricks in a day. The Israelites are mad at Moses and Aaron and things are not looking good.

The Plagues
Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh again, and this time they perform a miracle that God had given them: Aaron's staff turns into a serpent. But somehow Pharaoh's magicians are able to recreate the trick and Pharaoh still will not let Israel go.

So God sends nine awful plagues on Egypt.

• Water turns into blood
• Frogs
• Gnats
• Flies
• Animals die
• Boils (sores) all over men and animals
• Hail
• Locusts
• Constant darkness

Each time, Pharaoh repents, tells Moses that the Israelites may leave, and when the plague is taken away he changes his mind.

But God has yet another plan in mind...(for next week!)

Lessons Learned:

• When we try to achieve something without God, it won't work: The first time they met with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron relied on their own words instead of the miracles God would work. We can see that that was not a good strategy!
• Opposing God will never go as planned: Pharaoh thinks he can just dismiss them and refuse to let God's people go; unfortunately for Egypt, things will not go well if you oppose God's will.

What do you think? Do you like this story and the lesson's I've drawn from it? Are there other lessons you would add?

 P.S. Read parts 1 and 2 of Moses' story here and here.

Great Bible Stories: Moses, part 2 (Exodus 2:11-4:17)

When we last left our friend Moses, he was being raised as the adopted son of the pharaoh's daughter. Even better, his own mother was being paid to be his nurse. Things are going beautifully for Moses.

But not for long...

Goodbye, Egypt
One day, once Moses is grown up (although the Bible doesn't say how old he is at this point), he goes out and he notices that his own people are being persecuted by the Egyptians. Specifically, he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Exodus says, "He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand." (Exodus 2:12)

So now Moses has killed a man, but he thinks that no one knows about it, until he tries to stop two Hebrews from fighting and one of them asks him "...Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" (Exodus 2:14b)

So now Moses realizes that people know about what he did to the Egyptian man, and he has to flee Egypt. He goes to Midian, where he finds refuge with a group of shepherds and marries one of their daughters.

Moses is Called
So now, it's time for God to call Moses to action...with a burning bush!

While Moses is pasturing the flocks of his father-in-law, a bush bursts into flame. And then God speaks to him, telling him that he has heard Israel's suffering and is sending Moses to rescue them.

Now, Moses doesn't believe this right away. He protests, "...they will not believe me or listen to my voice (Exodus 4:1)". So God gives him powerful signs to use to convince the Egyptians: a staff turning into a snake, Moses' hand turning leprous, and Nile water turning to blood.

And then...Moses has one more complaint. He is worried that he is not eloquent and can't convince the Egyptians. God provides Aaron, Moses' brother, to do the speaking for him.

It looks as if everything is falling into place!

What We Can Learn

• God will tell you where you need to be and what you need to do. He will always be there to guide you according to His plan, just like He did for Moses. So He will guide you...
• ...But you can't be totally passive! Trust is vital. God is not going to magically get you where He wants you if you just float along waiting for Him to do things in your life. You have to actively listen for His voice and trust that He knows best for you.

Part 3 will be coming soon!

What do you think? Do you like the lessons I've drawn from this part of the story? Are there any that you would add?

Great Bible Stories: Moses, part 1 (Exodus 1-2:10)

Remember Joseph? Today I want to talk about another Bible story that flows straight from that one.

By Genesis 50, things are looking pretty good. The Israelites are settled in Egypt, thanks to Joseph. Joseph has forgiven his brothers and everyone is thriving.

We then get to Exodus. We learn that the Israelites have multiplied greatly in Egypt, and then we learn that there is a new pharaoh, one who wasn't around at the same time as Joseph and is afraid that the Israelites will become too powerful. He commands that all male Israelite children shall be put to death so they will no longer be able to multiply and spread.

A New Baby
And then, there is a specific Israelite woman who gives birth to a son. She manages to hide him for three months, and then she finds another solution:

"When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank." (Exodus 2:3)

At first glance this seems crazy. Who puts their baby in a basket and floats them away down the river? But this woman knew that it was either this or let her child be slaughtered by the Egyptians. At least this way, he had a chance of survival, slim though it may have been.

And then we see that God was working.

The daughter of Pharaoh happens to come down to the river to bathe. She finds the basket, guesses that the baby is an Israelite, takes pity on it, and decides that she wants to keep it.

And that's not even the best part, because now she needs a nurse for the baby. And Miriam, Moses' sister who was watching from a distance, offers to find a nurse. She gets her mother, so Moses' mother gets to keep her baby after all, and get paid for raising him. It doesn't get much better than that.

What We Can Learn

• God has a plan. No matter how crazy what he is asking you to do may seem, there is always a reason for it and he will work everything to fulfill his plans for you.
• God will always remember his people. Even if it seems that he has forgotten you in a time of trial, he will always be there for you and help you.
• God is protecting you. In dangerous situations, he will watch over you and bring you to safety if it fits his purposes.

I will hopefully continue with this series next week or the week after and we will learn more from the story of Moses, which is so jam-packed with amazing miracles and truths about God that we can't cover it all in one post!

What do you think? Do you like this story? What other lessons do you think can be drawn from it? What other stories would you like to see?

Great Bible Stories: Joseph (Genesis 37-50)

Ah, Joseph and his coat of many colors. This is another one of those Bible stories that we hear all our lives and eventually stop thinking about the implications and lessons we can get from it.

The actual story spans twelve chapters at the end of Genesis (chapter 38 is a side story involving Joseph's brother Judah). That's a lot! And there is so much truth about God's love and purposes packed into those twelve chapters.

The Story

"Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more..." (Genesis 37:5). 

Joseph is seventeen when the story starts. He is the son of Jacob, or Israel as he is now named, along with eleven others from various wives. Joseph is the son of Rebekah, Israel's favorite wife, and he is Israel's favorite son.

Israel gives Joseph a coat of many colors, making his brothers jealous. It is now obvious that their father loves Joseph more. To make matters worse, Joseph has dreams of his brothers bowing down to him and tells his brothers about these dreams (seriously, not the smartest move). 

Their jealousy drives them to throw him into a pit, intending to leave him there. They were originally going to kill them, but Reuben, the oldest, convinces them otherwise. Handily, a caravan comes along on their way to Egypt. Judah, the ringleader of this cruel plot, hastily sells Joseph to them in order to get rid of him. 

Then they go home and convince their father that Joseph has been killed by wild animals.

Welcome to Egypt!

Joseph is now a slave to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officers. It seems that things could not get any worse, but then they do. Potiphar's wife gets Joseph arrested for something he didn't do, and he ends up in prison for two years.

While in prison, he successfully interprets the dreams of two fellow prisoners. This leads one of them to remember him when Pharaoh has a dream that no one can interpret. Joseph is released from prison and successfully interprets the dream to mean that there are seven years of plenty coming followed by seven years of famine.

So now everything is looking up: Joseph is elevated to a status only lower than Pharaoh himself and told to oversee the storing of food for the years of famine. He is given a daughter of a priest to marry and fine clothing and jewelry. 

The Brothers Return

With the famine ravaging the land, Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to get food to take home. Joseph recognizes them, but they do not recognize him. After fooling with them a bit, accusing them of being spies and stealing from Egypt (he is human, after all, and probably can't resist the opportunity), he finally reveals himself to them.

Oh, and one of the things he does to test them is threaten to keep Benjamin (his father's other favorite) in custody in Egypt. Guess who offers to stay in his place? Judah, the same one who had the idea to sell Joseph in the first place. He has obviously had a major change of heart. (Genesis 44:18-34)

When he reveals himself to them, they are obviously incredibly scared. I mean, here is the brother who they sold into slavery, in a position to make their life absolutely miserable. But Joseph shows incredible grace and mercy by not being angry with them at all, simply happy to see them, and asking them to move their families to Egypt. 

This is where the classic lesson of Joseph is mentioned: "So it was not you who sent me here, but God (45:8a)". 

What We Can Learn

• God works everything, even evil, for good. Yes, this is the oft-repeated lesson of Joseph, but it is incredibly important to remember when you are going through a hard time. God is ultimately in control.
• You are exactly where you are supposed to be. Whether it seems like it or not, there is a reason for you to be where you are at this exact moment, something that God wants you to do. 
• Forgiveness is a beautiful thing. Think about how much more suffering and unhappiness there could have been if Joseph had decided to be bitter and get revenge. Forgiveness is ultimately the simpler, easier choice.

What do you think? Do you like the story of Joseph? Do you agree with the lessons I have drawn from it? What other stories would you like to see discussed? Tell me in the comments! 

Great Bible Stories: Noah and the Flood (Genesis 6-9)

Noah and the flood is one of those classic Bible stories that you hear about from the beginning of your life. Noah's Ark toys, puzzles, and books abound in Sunday School nurseries. I think this inclines us not to take this story really seriously, but this is a mistake.

Have you ever actually read the story in the Bible? Like many, when you read the actual story it's not all of the happiness and butterflies they make it out to be in Sunday school. The real story of Noah is a story of God's righteous anger on the world and the way he destroyed it, completely, saving only one man and his family.

The Story
Genesis 6:5 says, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth...and the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth..."

The story begins in a bad place. Man has multiplied on earth, and God's people are marrying into the families of unbelievers. There is great wickedness, and God is preparing to wipe out the whole world.

But there is one man, Noah, who is righteous (Genesis 6:9), and God spares him, instructing him to build an ark. Keep in mind that this is the middle of the desert; there would have been no reason to build a boat. Noah was probably ridiculed by his neighbors, but he kept steadily on in spite of this.

God spares Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives, and two of every animal on the land. And then the floods come.

"The flood continued forty days on the earth...and all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind."

This is a horrific scene: everyone and everything, drowning in this terrible flood of judgement that God sent.

The Good News
At last, the flood subsides, and Noah is able to send out birds from his ship to find land. Once on land, he builds an altar to the Lord and makes a burnt offering. God promises that He will never again curse the land with such destruction.

"I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."

And this is part we all know: God sends the first rainbow as a sign of His promise to Noah.

What We Can Learn 
So what can we learn from this incredible story?

• God is just. He will punish the wicked, but He will always spare the righteous, like He spared Noah. His judgement is perfect, unlike the flawed judgement of human government and law. 
• God is faithful. Genesis 8:1 says, "But God remembered Noah and all the beasts...that were with Him in the ark." God will never leave us. He guides us everywhere, at all times, and He always keeps His promises. 
• Evil will ultimately be destroyed. Satan can never prevail against God. Evil will always be destroyed in the end, and truth and right will prevail.
• Do what God tells you to even if you are ridiculed for it. Sometimes what God commands will seem crazy, like building a boat in the middle of the desert, but there is always a good reason for it. You may be made fun of, but never, ever stop believing what he tells you.

What do you think? Do you like the story of Noah? Have you ever read it in the actual Bible? What do you think of the lessons I've drawn from the story? Tell me in the comments below! 

Advent Bible Reading Plan

With the end of Thanksgiving and the last few days of November comes the Advent season, a season for reflecting on Christ's birth and the salvation it brought.

To encourage you to focus on the real meaning of the season, I have put together a Bible reading plan for December. If you don't want to read all of that, that's okay. Pick and choose the passages you want to read, or do the whole thing just as written.

So, here goes:

December 1 to 5: Jesus Created
December 1: John 1:1-5
December 2: Genesis 1:1-13
December 3: Genesis 1:14-25
December 4: Genesis 2:4-9
December 5: Genesis 2: 18-23

December 6 to 8: Jesus was Needed
December 6: Genesis 3:1-13
December 7: Genesis 3:14-15
December 8: Romans 3:23-25

December 9 to 14: Jesus was Prophesied
December 9: Isaiah 7:10-14
December 10: Isaiah 9:6-7
December 11: Isaiah 40:1-5
December 12: Micah 5:2-5
December 13: John 1:9-13
December 14: John 1:14-18

December 15 to 18: Jesus was Prepared For
December 15: Luke 1:26-38
December 16: Luke 1:46-55
December 17: Luke 1:57-66
December 18: Luke 1:67-79

December 19 and 20: Jesus was Born
December 19: Matthew 1:18-25
December 20: Luke 2:1-7

December 21 to 25: Jesus was Worshiped
December 21: Luke 2:8-14
December 22: Luke 2:15-20
December 23: Matthew 2:1-12
December 24: Luke 2:22-35
December 25: Luke 2:36-38

What do you think? Will you follow this plan? Do you have a different plan you follow that you could share? What is your favorite part of Advent?

6 Tips for Memorizing Scripture

Continuing with last week’s theme of reading the Bible, today I’m going to talk about another essential part of your spiritual life: memorizing Scripture!

If you have God’s word hidden in your heart, it won’t matter if you have a Bible with you or not. Whenever you get into a frightening situation, it will be there to comfort you.

Here are some tips:

• Try working on Scripture memory right after you read your Bible so you don’t forget.
•  For ideas on what to memorize, try looking at the Bible studies I do every Monday for some of my favorite verses. You can also use a concordance to find verses on a specific topic, or check out a devotional book that might have featured verses every day.
• Try memorizing the reference, i.e. 1 Timothy 4:12, first. Then learn the rest of the verse a little at a time. Take as many days as you need on one verse; there’s no rush!
• When you first start memorizing a verse, write it out and put it somewhere you look every day, such as your mirror or somewhere on your phone. Whenever you see it, take the time to read over it silently.  
•  Say the verse over to yourself in bed, in the car, or whenever you’re sitting and doing nothing. 
• As you get better at learning short verses, try out longer and longer passages so you can better see the context behind some of the verses you are memorizing. Don’t always limit yourself to one verse at a time!

The work will pay off when you begin to remember and bring up Scriptures in everyday conversation and have them with you if you’re scared or upset!

Next Steps: Take a few minutes after you read your Bible to memorize a favorite Scripture passage. Experiment with different techniques to find what works for you.

What do you think? Do you already make Scripture memory a regular part of your routine? If you don’t, do you think it would benefit you to try? How has having Scripture memorized blessed your life?

4 Tips for Daily Bible Reading

Reading your Bible every day is one of the most important things you can do for the enrichment of your life as a Christian.

I know. You plan to read it when you get up, but when the alarm clock goes off at whatever unseemly hour you are expected to get up for school, all you can think about is the fact that if you skip your Bible reading you get fifteen more minutes of sleep. I have this problem too.

But reading your Bible is so important for spiritual health. It equips you for the battles that you face in the world every day and encourages you in realizing that you are not alone. It calls you to walk the walk of faith anew every day.

 

Here are some tips for reading your Bible:

1. Find a time that works. If reading it in the morning isn't working, rethink your plan. Could you read it right when you get home from school, at the beginning of your homework time? Before bed? Find a time when you won’t be tempted to skip, and commit to reading every day.
2. Don’t worry about studying the passage. If you are crunched for time, you often don’t want to get out a notebook and thoroughly dissect a verse. Simply reading can be just as good if your mind is engaged. Maybe on Sunday afternoons you could devote some time to Bible study, and just focus on immersing yourself in the Word of God the rest of the time.
3. Read what you enjoy. If you are just starting out in reading the Bible, some of it is definitely easier to understand and enjoy then others. Eventually you will want to read all of it, but at first find the things that you like. This will differ from person to person; my personal favorite for when I’m in the mood for a story is the book of Esther. Experiment and find your favorite places to go when you just want a quiet moment to read.
4. Pray that God would speak to you through the reading. Before you read, pray that God would use your reading time to teach you something about himself or his world. Be actively searching for what God wants you to learn. 

Even if the Bible seems boring now, in time we can come to love reading it just as much as our favorite novels!
 
Next Steps: Get a Bible, if you don’t have one already, in a version you will be able to understand. Find a time and plan to read it every day. Spend at least ten minutes reading.
 

h   What do you think?

•         Do you read your Bible every day already, or is this something you need to work on?
•         What Bible reading strategies have worked for you in the past?
•         Where are your favorite places in the Bible to read?