Tag bible reading program

WHEN YOU READ…

The Preacher 1 Comment

…ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ [Eph 3:4]. The beginning of a year is a great time to press reset, and to evaluate how our year went and to plan for the next. James reminds us that our plans should first be aligned with God’s [James 4:12-16]. The only way to know the will of the Lord is through a continual study of His word.

As we’re making our resolutions, let us include the reading of God’s word. There are several reading programs available. Whichever one you choose, here are a few suggestions…

Tips on Reading the Bible Daily

1 – Start today — there is no better time. This time next year will you be wishing you had started today?

2 – Schedule it. Find a time that works best for you. I like reading in the morning, but you decide what’s best. A friend of mine cannot read the bible at night, as the things he learns excites his mind preventing sleep. Others might find that it calms the mind, allowing God’s word to comfort. Whatever time you pick, just do it. Nothing ever gets done until a deadline is set.

3 – Read for the sake of understanding, instead of just trying to plow through that days reading. Before you begin, say a prayer, asking God for wisdom [Jas 1:5]. Then read, allowing His wisdom to grow inside of you.

4 – Keep a Bible handy, EVERYWHERE. We have bibles placed throughout the house, in our cars and on our phones. This does two things. First, they act as reading reminders as we go about our day. Second, having the bible within reach allows us to pick it up during those moments of waiting. It’s amazing how much time we spend in waiting rooms, or simply waiting for someone else.

4.5 – Replace some of your Facebook time. The average person has five social media accounts and spends around 1 hour and 40 minutes browsing these networks every day. This 100 minutes is accumulated over the course of the entire day. Reading at pulpit pace, aloud, not too quickly, it only takes 960 minutes to read the entire New Testament. This means that you can read the NT in just 10 days using our social media time. I’m not telling you to give up Facebook, but what if you just used SOME of your social media time to read the bible on your phone? You’re already looking at your phone anyway.

Whatever system you decide, let the word of God dwell in your hearts.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [Eph 6:17]

You got a minute?

The Preacher Leave a comment

One man asked another, “What are you doing?”

The man replied, “I’m sawing this tree down.”

The first asked, “Isn’t that hard work?”

“Oh, yes,” replied the sawyer, wiping his brow.

“Then why don’t you stop long enough to sharpen your saw?”

“Can’t,” retorted the sawyer. “Don’t have the time!”

THERE ARE A TON of things that take up our time. You’re a busy person, I am too. Kid activities, work, personal care, errands and the list goes on and on. With all of these things demanding your attention, do you ever have time for yourself? As an employee once said to me, “I could get something done if it weren’t for all the customers.”

SHARPEN THE SAW

You all know that I’m an advocate for keeping yourselves busy with the activities of helping others. However, sometimes, you have to help yourselves. You need to prepare yourself for service. You need to sharpen the saw. As the Boy Scouts teach, “Be Prepared.”

One way to prepare yourself for service is by studying God’s word on a regular basis. The Apostle Paul taught Timothy, “give attendance to reading,” [1Timothy 4:13]. He also taught, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God,” [2Timothy 2:15]. And lest we forget, our Savior warned, “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures,” [Matthew 22:29].

At the beginning of this New Year, as we resolve to improve ourselves, I encourage you to include a plan to read your bibles. Private study of God’s word is a way to “sharpen the saw.”

This year, rather than the typical Bible reading programs where you feel you have to take on large chunks of scripture, let’s take a timed approach.

10 MINUTES A DAY

Do you have just 10 minutes every day? I’m sure all of us can squeak out just 10 minutes. It doesn’t seem like much, but over a year, that 10 minutes adds up to 3,650 minutes! If you have more time, great, but let’s see what can be accomplished in just 10 minutes every day.

Reading at pulpit pace, aloud, not too quickly, it only takes 960 minutes to read the entire New Testament. This means that you can read the NT nearly 4 times this year alone!!!

It only takes 3,360 minutes to read the entire Old Testament, which means it only takes one year to read the OT in one year taking just 10 minutes a day.

If you read for 10 minutes in the morning, or over lunch, and 10 minutes at night before bed, one could read the entire Bible this year, and the New Testament would have been read 4 times!! As NT Christians, what a wonderfully easy way to learn God’s word.

Adults in the US will spend an average of 5 hours, 31 minutes watching videos each day this year, according to new figures from eMarketer. For all of those spreadsheet people, here is a breakdown of how long it takes  to read aloud each book of the Bible. I think we all can find 10 minutes today.

OLD TESTAMENT

Books – # of chapters – Reading Time

1. Genesis- 50           3hrs. 46min.

2. Exodus- 40           2hrs. 40min.

3. Leviticus- 27         2hrs. 16min.

4. Numbers- 36         2hrs. 55min.

5. Deut.- 34              2hrs. 32min.

6. Joshua- 24            01hr. 50min.

7. Judges- 21            01hr. 37min.

8. Ruth- 04               0hrs. 12min.

9. I Samuel- 31         2hrs. 00min.

10. II Samuel- 24      01hr. 59min.

11. I Kings- 22          2hrs. 13min.

12. II Kings- 25         2hrs. 13min.

13. I Chronicles- 29   2hrs. 18min.

14. II Chronicles- 36 2hrs. 20min.

15. Ezra- 10              0hrs. 40min.

16. Nehemiah-13       01hr. 04min.

17. Esther- 10           0hrs. 30min.

18. Job- 42               01hr. 33min.

19. Psalms- 150         4hrs. 02min.

20. Proverbs- 31        01hr. 30min.

21. Eccles.- 12          0hrs. 31min.

22. Song Sol- 08       0hrs. 16min.

23. Isaiah- 66            3hrs. 37min.

24. Jeremiah- 52        3hrs. 54min.

25. Lamentations- 05 0hrs. 18min.

26. Ezekiel- 48          3hrs. 24min.

27. Daniel- 12           1hr. 08min.

28. Hosea- 14           0hrs. 30min.

29. Joel- 03               0hrs. 10min.

30. Amos- 09            0hrs. 23min.

31. Obadiah- 01        0hrs. 02min.

32. Jonah- 04            0hrs. 07min.

33. Micah- 07           0hrs. 15min.

34. Nahum- 03          0hrs. 07min.

35. Habakkuk- 03      0hrs. 09min.

36. Zephaniah-03      0hrs. 09min.

37. Haggai- 02- 0hrs. 06min.

38. Zechariah- 14- 0hrs. 33min.

39. Malachi- 04- 0hrs. 08min.

Total Old Testament 55hrs. 57min.
 

NEW TESTAMENT

Books – # of chapters – Reading Time

1. Matthew- 28          1hr. 56min.

2. Mark- 16              1hr. 16min.

3. Luke- 24               2hrs. 18min.

4. John- 21               01hr. 44min.

5. Acts- 28                2hrs. 10min.

6. Romans- 16           0hrs. 47min.

7. I Corinthians- 16    0hrs. 41min.

8. II Corinthians-13   0hrs. 35min.

9. Galatians- 06         0hrs. 20min.

10. Ephesians- 06      0hrs. 17min.

11. Philippians-04     0hrs. 10min.

12. Colossians-04      0hrs. 10min.

13. I Thessalonians-   05 -0hrs. 09min.

14. II Thessalonians  03- 0hrs. 06min.

15. I Timothy- 06-     0hrs. 14min.

16. II Timothy-04-     0hrs. 11min.

17. Titus- 03- 0hrs.    06min.

18. Philemon- 01-      0hrs. 01min.

19. Hebrews- 13       0hrs. 45min.

20. James- 05           0hrs. 13min.

21. I Peter- 05           0hrs. 17min.

22. II Peter- 03          0hrs. 10min.

23. I John- 05           0hrs. 11min.

24. II John- 01          0hrs. 01min.

25. III John- 01         0hrs. 01min.

26. Jude- 01              0hrs. 04min.

27. Revelation-22      01hr. 03min.

 

Total New Testament 15hrs. 56min.

Total reading time:

almost 72 hours