Be The Fruit

Is the Bible on your Reading List?

by Bill Blair on 21/10/08 at 6:29 am

One thing I learned very quickly about seminary is that there is lots and lots of required reading.  It is interesting because before I began seminary I was not much of a reader, but now I find myself going over and above the required reading because I come across books and topics that I want to learn more about on my own.  It is similar to exercise, the more you work out the more you want to work out.  With books, the more I read, the more I want to read.

One problem with all this reading is that it had gotten in the way of my reading of Scripture.  I would dive into my books first because they were required for class then I would dive into other books I wanted to read while I had time because I knew more required reading was coming.  All the while, the Bible was not being read.  I was using the Bible, reading a lot about the Bible, learning about the Bible, but I was not reading the Bible consistently.  

I decided a few weeks ago to change this and began to follow a Bible reading plan.  I picked a healthy block of Scripture that I wanted to read through the end of the year then set my Logos software to generate a daily reading.  Each day a few chapters are listed and I read through them.  I really like using the software because the plan is customized and it only gives me my scheduled reading for the day which keeps me accountable. Now my Bible reading takes precedent over my book reading on a given day.

The neat thing about following the plan is that it has helped me in my classes because the knowledge of the Scripture is fresh in my mind.  It helps me follow the Scripture references in books as well as in class.  It has also helped me with writing papers because I can remember pertinent passages instead of searching for them.  It also keeps the examples and stories in context when I think about them so I am not just searching for proof texts, but thinking about them as they stand within the grand narrative.

Above all, reading the Bible consistently helps me to become more godly.  Reading books sometimes can only build up my knowledge, but reading the Bible always seems to build up my character.  I might even say that my books tend to help me know things about God, but the Bible helps me to know God.  Reading the Bible is just a totally different personal interaction.  I see it transforming me as a person.

If you are not reading the Bible consistently, I suggest you begin today.  I promise that you will not regret it. The important thing to remember is that it is the Bible that is the Word of God not our other books, commentaries, or study notes; therefore, it might do us well to set our reading of God’s word first. 

I know there are all kinds of reading plans out there, but I really liked customizing mine.  If anyone knows of a website or other inexpensive way to customize a reading plan on the computer, please leave a link or a referral to how it can be done without Logos.  I would like to pass it along to others.