Excuses, Excuses...

In Taking Back The Good Book, Woodrow Kroll shares with his readers a top ten list of excuses people give for NOT reading the Bible. Do you agree that these are all-too-familiar excuses? Are there any excuses you'd add to the list?

Reason 10: I Don't Know Where To Start
Reason 9: I Can't Find What I Want In the Bible
Reason 8: The Bible Doesn't Confirm What I Believe
Reason 7: I Hear the Bible at Church, So Why Do I Need To Read It for Myself?
Reason 6: The Language of the Bible Doesn't Make Sense to Me
Reason 5: The Bible is Such a Big Book, I Could Never Read It All
Reason 4: The Bible Isn't Relevant to My Life
Reason 3: The Bible is Boring and Wasn't Written to Me Anyway
Reason 2: Reading the Bible isn't a Priority in My Life
Reason 1: I Don't Have Time to Read the Bible

Woodrow Kroll has responses to all ten excuses. Here is his response to the number one reason:

The most common excuse for not reading the Bible is our busy lives. We don't seem to have time to do the things we need to do. There's work and school, running to the store, soccer practice, dinner--life is just a bit harried. Who has time to sit and read?

You do. Here's why: time is a set quantity. It's not elastic. We all have sixty seconds in every minute, sixty minutes in every hour, twenty-four hours in every day. Time may fly, but it doesn't change. You have 1,440 golden minutes in every day and so do I.

The issue is never about time; it's always about what we choose to do get done in the time we have. Is reading God's Word, meditating and benefiting from it, something you wish to take the time to do or not? If not, the convenient but pathetic excuse is to say, "I don't have time."

A couple of years ago, I took a stopwatch with me everywhere I flew. I would read my Bible while in flight and time how long it took to read each book of the Bible. Once when I was returning from Frankfurt on a flight to Chicago, a flight attendant saw the stopwatch and asked, "Are you timing our service?" I chuckled and said, "No, I'm timing how long it takes me to read my Bible." Puzzled, she asked why someone would want to do that. I said, "Because everybody tells me they would read their Bible but they don't have time. I want to know how much time they don't have."
Did you know that you can read half the books of the Bible in less than thirty minutes each? You can read twenty-six of them in less than fifteen minutes. The whole Bible, cover to cover, can be read by an average reader in less than seventy-two hours.
Maybe it's time we rethink our reasons for not reading the Bible and just call them what they are--excuses. Take another look at these "Top Ten." How many of them have you used with God as an excuse for not reading his Word? If you can see through the excuses so quickly, imagine how easily he can see through them.
The Bible is read by people who choose to read it. Bible reading is neglected by people who choose to neglect it. It's just that simple. No excuses. Just honesty. (76-77)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Giving Thanks #30 Wycliffe New Testament

A few years ago, I read and loved (really, really, really loved) the Wycliffe New Testament which was first published in 1388. The edition I read was "The Wycliffe New Testament 1388. transcribed by W.R. Cooper Into Modern Spelling." It is published by The British Library in association with The Tyndale Society. It is a translation of the Latin Vulgate into English. It wasn't that influential in terms of other English translations (Tyndale, Geneva Bible, King James Version) but it was an early English translation. 

From Matthew 1:

But the generation of Christ was thus. When Mary, the mother of Jesus, was spoused to Joseph, before they came together she was found having of the Holy Ghost in the womb. And Joseph, her husband, for he was rightful and would not publish her, he would privily have left her. But while he thought these things, lo, the angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to him and said, Joseph, the son of David, nil thou dread to take Mary, thy wife, for that thing that is born in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bear a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus, for He shall make His people safe from their sins. For all this thing was done that it should be fulfilled that was said of the Lord by a prophet, saying, Lo, a virgin shall have in womb, and she shal bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, that is to say, God with us. And Joseph rose from sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary his wife. And he knew her not till she had borne her first begotten son, and called His name Jesus.

From Matthew 7:

Nil ye deem, that ye be not deemed. For in what doom ye deem, ye shall be deemed, and in what measure ye mete, it shall be meted again to you. But what see thou a little mote in the eye of thy brother, and see not a beam in thine own eye? Or how say thou to thy brother, Brother, suffer I shall do out a mote from thine eye, and lo, a beam is in thine own eye? Hypocrite! Do thou out first the beam of thine eye, and then thou shall see to do out the mote of the eye of thy brother. Nil ye give holy things to hounds, neither cast ye your margarites before swine, lest peradventure they defoul them with their feet and are turned and all to-tear you. Ask ye, and it shall be given to you. Seek ye, and ye shall find. Knock ye, and it shall be opened to you. For each that asks, takes; and he that seeks, finds; and it shall be opened to him that knocks.

From Luke 2:

And shepherds were in the same country, waking and keeping the watches of the night on their flock. And lo, the angel of the Lord stood beside them, and the clearness of God shone about them, and they dreaded with great dread. And the angel said to them, Nil ye dread, for lo, I preach to you a great joy that shall be to all people. For a Savior is born today to you that is Christ the Lord in the city of David. And this is a token to you, ye shall find a young child lapped in clothes and laid in a cratche. And suddenly there was made with the angel a multitude of heavenly knighthood, herying God and saying, Glory be in the highest things to God, and in earth peace to men of good will. And it was done, as the angels passed away from them into heaven, the shepherds spoke together and said, Go we over to Bethlehem and see we this word that is made, which the Lord has made and shown to us.

From John 6:

Therefore Jesus answered and said to them, Nil ye grouch together. No man may come to Me but if the Father that sent Me draw him, and I shall again-raise him in the last day.

From John 14:

Be not your heart afeared, nor dread it. Ye believe in God, and believe ye in Me. In the house of My Father are many dwellings. If anything less, I had said to you, for I go to make ready to you a place. And if I go and make ready to you a place, eftsoons I come, and I shall take you to Myself, that where I am, ye are. And whither I go, ye wit, and ye wit the way.

From John 15:

I am a very vine, and My Father is an earth-tiller. Each branch in Me that bears not fruit, He shall take away it. And each that bears fruit, He shall purge it that it bear the more fruit. Now ye are clean for the word that I have spoken to you. Dwell ye in Me and I in you. As a branch may not make fruit of itself but it dwell in the vine, so neither ye, but ye dwell in Me. I am a vine, ye are the branches.

From Hebrews 4 in the Wycliffe Bible:

For the word of God is quick and speedy in working, and more able to pierce than any twain-edged sword, and stretches forth to the departing of the soul and of the spirit, and of the jointures and marrows, and deemer of thoughts and of intents and hearts. And no creatures is unvisible in the sight of God. For all things are naked and open to His eyes, to whom a word to us. Therefore we that have a great Bishop that pierced heavens, Jesus the Son of God, hold we the acknowledging of our hope. For we have not a bishop that may not have compassion on our infirmities, but was tempted by all things by likeness--without sin. Therefore go we with trust to the throne of His grace, that we get mercy and find grace in covenable help.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Giving Thanks #29 Bible Promises

From How To Find God in the Bible by Woodrow Kroll:

There is much about God that you would never know apart from His Word. Sure, you may become convinced that God exists by what you see in the world. You may even philosophically come to the conclusion that the order in our universe demands an almighty Creator to bring it about. But if the Bible had never been written, think about all the things you would never know about God.

Without a Bible, you would never know that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)

Without a Bible, you would never know that God "will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3, NKJV)

Without a Bible, you would never know that "the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him" (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Without a Bible you would never know that "those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31)

Without a Bible, you would never know that God takes no pleasure in punishing sinners: "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23)

Without a Bible, you would never hear Jesus' invitation: "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Without a Bible, you would never realize that "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved," but the name Jesus (Acts 4:12).

Without a Bible, you would never know that "there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men" (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

Without a Bible, you would not have God's promise that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28, NKJV)

Without a Bible, you would not appreciate that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Without a Bible, you would not recognize the fact that "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)

Without a Bible, you would never guess that a day is coming when God "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4)

Without a Bible, you would not be encouraged, "Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:12-13) 

Without a Bible, you would know very little about God, His character, His promises and plans for you, or what awaits you in the future. All this and more is revealed only through the pages of His Word. If you want to encounter God and His truth, becoming one with nature just isn't enough. (28-30)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Happy Thanksgiving!

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!"

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

For you are, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Scriptures from: Philippians 4:4, Psalm 63:4, Psalm 68: 19, Psalm 70:4, Psalm 73:25, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 92:1-2, Psalm 95:1-2,

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Giving Thanks #28 KJV Dramatized Bible

I have always wanted to find an audio bible to love. Always. But I've had problems in the past. Either I loved the Bible translation and really really really did not like the narration. Or. I liked the narration just fine, but did not really care for the translation. So when I discovered that Bible Gateway had audio bibles, I was curious--very, very curious. I ended up LOVING, absolutely LOVING the KJV Dramatized Audio Bible. So far I've listened to

Genesis
Exodus
Psalms 130-150
Luke
John
1 Corinthians
Philippians
Colossians

So I think it's fair to say it is LOVE.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Giving Thanks # 27: J. Vernon McGee

From the Thru The Bible Commentary, "Guidelines for Bible Study"

Sir Walter Scott, on his deathbed, asked Lockhart to read to him. Puzzled, as he scanned the shelf of books that Walter Scott had written, he asked, “What book shall I read?” And Sir Walter replied, “Why do you ask that question? There is but one book; bring the Bible.” There is only one Book for any man who is dying, but it is also the Book for any man who is living. A great many folk do not get interested in the Bible until they get to the end of their lives or until they get into a great deal of difficulty. While it is wonderful to have a Book in which you can find comfort in a time like that, it is also a Book for you to live—in the full vigor of life. It is a Book to face life with today, and it’s the Book which furnishes the only sure route through this world and on into the next world. It is the only Book that can enable us to meet the emergencies and cushion the shocks that come to us in life. The Bible is different from any other book. 

The Bible is a corridor between two eternities down which walks the Christ of God; His invisible steps echo through the Old Testament, but we meet Him face to face in the throne room of the New; and it is through that Christ alone, crucified for me, that I have found forgiveness for sins and life eternal. The Old Testament is summed up in the word Christ; the New Testament is summed up in the word Jesus; and the summary of the whole Bible is that Jesus is the Christ.

This Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is given you in life and will be opened in the judgment and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

There are certain guidelines that each of us should follow relative to the Word of God. I guarantee that if you will follow these guidelines, blessing will come to your heart and life. Certainly there should be these directions in the study of Scripture. Today a bottle of medicine, no matter how simple it might be, has directions for the use of it. And any little gadget that you buy in a five-and-ten-cent store has with it directions for its operation. If that is true of the things of this world, certainly the all-important Word of God should have a few directions and instructions on the study of it. I want to mention seven very simple, yet basic, preliminary steps that will be a guide for the study of the Word of God. 1. Begin with prayer. 2. Read the Bible. 3. Study the Bible. 4. Meditate on the Bible. 5. Read what others have written on the Bible. 6. Obey the Bible. 7. Pass it on to others. You may want to add to these, but I believe these are basic and primary. Someone has put it in a very brief, cogent manner: “The Bible—know it in your head; stow it in your heart; show it in your life; sow it in the world.” That is another way of saying some of the things we are going to present here.

I find that the people who are more ignorant of the Bible than anyone else are church members. They simply do not know the Word of God. And it has been years since it has been taught in the average church. We need to read the Bible. We need to get into the Word of God—not just reading a few favorite verses, but reading the entire Word of God. That is the only way we are going to know it, friend. That is God’s method.

You have to study the Word of God. You ought to read it when you can give time to it. And if you can’t find time, you ought to make time. Set apart thirty minutes or an hour. Or if you do things haphazardly like I do, read thirty minutes one day, perhaps only five minutes the next day, and two or three hours the next day, however it fits into your program.

Not only read the Bible, not only study the Bible, not only meditate on the Bible, and not only read what others have written about it, but pass it on to others. That is what we all should do. You will reach a saturation point in the study of the Word unless you do share it with others. God won’t let you withdraw yourself from mankind and become some sort of a walking Bible encyclopedia, knowing everything, while the rest of us remain ignorant.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Looking To Read A Book ABOUT the Bible

A few years ago, I compiled a list of recommended books. It's time to update that list!

My top pick:

Taking Back the Good Book by Woodrow Kroll

A huge disconnect exists between owning a Bible and reading it. Simply put, the number of people who claim to read the Bible isn't supported by their knowledge of the Bible (66).

Some people choose not to read the Bible because they're afraid it will contradict what they've already made up their mind to do. But the Bible isn't a dialogue between God and us. It's a revelation from him to us. The Bible should be our guide to life, not a sometimes-support for our pre-existing belief system. (71)

The Bible is read by people who choose to read it. Bible reading is neglected by people who choose to neglect it. It's just that simple. No excuses. Just honesty. (77)

When you win the battle for Bible literacy in your own life, you not only discover the joy of God, you are the joy of God. He delights in our getting to know him, and the most direct way to make that happen is by reading what he has revealed about himself in his Word (145).

If you don't take the Book in your life and read it consistently, you are saying to its Author, "I don't care enough about you or your Book to read it." That's what Bible literacy means to God. It means you love him, and you show it. It means you worship him, and you show it. It means you thirst for him, and you show it. Isn't it time we did some serious thinking about just how Bible-literate we are? Isn't it time for you to do some thinking? (151)

The full list:

God's Power For Your Life: How the Holy Spirit Transforms You Through God's Word. A.W. Tozer. Edited by James L. Snyder. 2013. 224 pages.

The ESV and the English Bible Legacy. Leland Ryken. 2011. Crossway. 183 pages.

Pleasure and Profit in Bible Study. D.L. Moody. 167 pages. [Source: Bought] 

Is The Bible True...Really? Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett. 2011. Moody. 144 pages. [Source: Bought]  

Reliable Truth: The Validity of the Bible in an Age of Skepticism. Richard E. Simmons III. 2012. Union Hill. 192 pages. [Source: Review Copy]
Understanding English Bible Translation: The Case for an Essentially Literal Approach. Leland Ryken. 2009. Crossway Books. 208 pages.

The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential English Translation. Leland Ryken. 2011. Crossway. 272 pages.

Which Bible Translation Should I Use? A Comparison of 4 Major Recent Versions. Andreas J. Kostenberger, ed. 2012. B&H. 224 pages. [Source: Bought]

Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible. Edited by Wayne Grudem, C. John Collins, Thomas R. Schreiner. Contributors: Vern S. Poythress, C. John Collins, Gordon Wenham, David Howard, David Reimer, Paul House, J. Julius Scott, Jr., David Chapman, John Delhousaye, Thomas R. Schreiner, Darrell Bock, Dennis Johnson. 2012. Crossway. 160 pages.

The Scriptures Testify About Me: Jesus and the Gospel In the Old Testament. Edited by D.A. Carson. Featuring essays by R. Albert Mohler Jr., Tim Keller, Alistair Begg, James MacDonald, Conrad Mbewe, Matt Chandler, Mike Bullmore, and D.A. Carson. 2013. Crossway. 188 pages.

Dig Deeper: Tools for Understanding God's Word. By Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach.

Knowing Scripture. R.C. Sproul. 1977/2009. IVP. 152 pages.

 How To Get The Most From God's Word. John MacArthur. 1997. Thomas Nelson. 168 pages.

Discovering Jesus: Why Four Gospels to Portray One Person?T.D. Alexander. 2010. Crossway Publishers. 144 pages.

How To Study The Bible. R.A. Torrey. 1896. Hendrickson Publishers. 90 pages.

Read Your Bible One Book At A Time: A Refreshing Way To Read God's Word with New Insight and Meaning. Woodrow Kroll. 2002. Gospel Light Publications. 150 pages.

How to Find God in the Bible: A Personal Plan For the Encounter of Your Life. Woodrow Kroll. 2004. Multnomah. 204 pages.

Taking Back the Good Book: How America Forgot the Bible and Why It Matters To You by Woodrow Kroll, 2007. (Crossway).


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

But how?!

Is it possible for a person to make a serious commitment (to start a good habit) without becoming legalistic?  Can a person in love with grace also be in love with discipline? What would that even look like?

I'd like to argue that there is not a conflict between grace and discipline. That one shouldn't let the fear of wrongly trusting in forms and disciplines stop them from growing in grace and truth through time-tested disciplines or methods. The Bible is meant to be read, to be studied, to be loved and beloved. It is to be meditated upon, embraced. The Bible is to be known. We are called to be people of THE BOOK.

I don't deny that there are legalists out there, that there are believers who allow their devotions to be the thermometer of their faith. If they've prayed and read the bible, then all is well, and all is good, and reconciled they be. If they've not prayed or read the Bible, then, all is off. For how can God love them if they haven't done their part today?

I don't deny that legalism can creep into the lives of men and women who know better or who should know better. Sometimes people can say all the right words, repeat the right creeds, know all the right doctrines…and still act and behave in such a way that they reveal their weaknesses. They are trusting in Jesus and trusting in their continued faithfulness--doing all the right things for all the right reasons. Do you think of Christianity as a do religion or as a DONE religion?

My advice

• Don't wait. Don't wait for a new week, a new month, a new year. Begin today. January 1 isn't the only day of the year you can start a new habit!
• Find a time that works for you. Have realistic expectations of yourself ALL THE WHILE holding yourself accountable. I let the excuse of "I'm not a morning person" keep me from reading the Bible for a ridiculous number of years. True, some people read the Bible in the morning, some people find it the absolute best time of day for Bible reading. But all hours of the day work! Some people are morning people: happy, cheerful, alert, ready to go. Other people may get up early--if they have to--but they'll never be "happy" about it. Some people make things overly difficult for themselves because they're trying to copy others. Imagine this: a person who normally wakes up between 9 and 10 who decides that they "have" to wake up between 5 and 6 to have daily devotions just because some bestselling book told them to! Would that new habit be likely to stick? There isn't one hour of the day that is the "right" hour, the "only" acceptable hour for meeting the Lord! Be flexible if you need to be flexible. If you missed your "set" time for the day, then schedule it in somewhere else. 
• Start small, but be prepared to GROW, GROW, GROW! Don't set your goals so high that they're impossible. Let's say you're new, a beginner. You've not been in the habit of reading the Bible. You've not done anything that qualifies as "quiet time" or "daily devotions." You know that some people recommend twenty minutes or thirty minutes or even an hour. But you don't know how you would ever fill that time, what you would do with yourself, what it would look like, how you could keep your focus, how you could fit that large a space into your busy life. It seems hard--too hard. Start small, but, don't stay small. You might start by giving the Bible three to five minutes here, five to six minutes there. Do you check your email more than seven times a day? Try trading one of those times for a few minutes in the Word. Do you watch a lot of TV? Try muting the TV and reading the Bible during the commercials. Always keep pressing forward. Week by week, month by month, year by year. Don't be content to read ONE CHAPTER a day year after year after year your whole life through! Don't stay small! Don't be afraid to grow past your beginnings! Plan to neglect things if you must!
• Pray, pray, pray. Perhaps this should have been listed first! Pray before, during, after. Pray to the Author! Pray for understanding, pray for wisdom, pray for wisdom, pray for guidance. Don't try to be eloquent. Don't try to copy others. Keep it simple, keep it honest, speak from your heart. Wrestle with God if you must, but be open. Don't put on a happy face if you're weighed down with worry or grief. Just open yourself to listening to God speak to you in His Word. Let His Words speak to you in your situation, in your life. Let His Words resonate with you--haunt you if they must. The Bible is powerful and transforming. Expect much from God! 
• Don't accept excuses for yourself, but, be forgiving! This one is oh-so-tricky. It is easy to find thousands of mediocre reasons why you just can't read the Bible today. Sometimes the excuses we try to use are incredibly flimsy. But sometimes there are very legitimate reasons. The key is to know the difference! Misplaced guilt over missed times is wrong. And sometimes guilt just keeps on multiplying. Sometimes people let guilt hold them back. That is why I personally do not like--and do not recommend--dated reading plans. Reading plans with a date attached can lead to guilt and shame--needlessly! It's hard to read a portion of Scripture designated January 20th on April 3rd. Read what you can, when you can. I think God has an easier time forgiving us than we do feeling forgiven. You might have spent years feeling discouraged and frustrated. I can't. I just can't. I can't make myself do it. I'm not consistent enough. I'm not organized enough. I'm not disciplined. If I can't be perfect, I don't want to try. I'm not good enough. I mess up. Again and again and again. I mess it up. I just can't focus. Why bother trying if I'm not going to be able to keep it up? DON'T believe it. DON'T listen to the negative talk. I spent decades with an on-again, off-again Bible-reading habit. A little over twenty years. There would be good times (reading the Bible all the way through in two months!) and bad times (NOT reading the Bible AT ALL for two or three years). I was all extremes; I was a mess. (A mess God graciously loved, but a mess). Anyone can become disciplined. (But remember, even disciplined people have messy bits!)
• Read for understanding, but, focus on the big picture perhaps instead of worrying and stressing over tiny details. If you've never read the Bible, if you're not sure what the Old Testament has to do with the New Testament…if you're not sure how the books fit together…but you know that somehow Jesus is in there somewhere…you might consider seeking out a few resources. A good free resource for the gospel message itself is viewthestory.com. But more will be needed, most likely. I recommend Sally Lloyd-Jones' Jesus Storybook Bible OR David Helm's The Big Picture Story Bible. Learn about Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, and David. You might be surprised how often the New Testament speaks of the Old! Want the Bible and nothing but the Bible? Try the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible OR the ESV Grow Bible. The NIV Student Bible or the ESV Student Study Bible are also good choices. Know this too, there are some passages in Scripture that don't clear up no matter how hard you try. For example, don't stress about Genesis 6:1-4! 
• See yourself as a learner, as someone who is seeking. There is a right framework and a wrong framework for reading. For example, the framework that says "I know better than God, and I'm a better judge of what is right and wrong, of what is fair or unfair, of what is good or bad." Don't read the book and judge the author! Don't try to rewrite it and make it better!  Realize that the text has meaning apart from what it means to you. Realize that much of the Bible speaks about sin, about the seriousness of sin, and that our disagreement--if there is disagreement--comes from us not getting how God truly feels about sin. Our indifference of sin, our tolerance for sin, our love of sin is a problem. Keep proper reverence for God, but, don't assume that all questions are bad questions. (The problem isn't that we are curious and wanting answers--demanding answers; the problem is sometimes that we're proud and arrogant and stubborn! Don't read the Bible as if you are personally the authority on it!) Remembering that God is God and that we are not is always key!
• Don't be ruled by feelings. Read when you're happy. Read when you're depressed. Read when you've got a cold. Read when you're feeling fine! Read when you're worried. Read when you're confident. Don't wait for that horrible, desperate, hopeless moment. You might not feel passionately in love with God; you might in fact feel cranky and MEAN. But READ. Read yourself out of that bad mood if you must! I've found that reading when angry usually means a humbling conviction, a revealing of my own weaknesses and flaws. Don't wait for that oh-so-magical, just-right feeling.  
• Don't be surprised if reading the Bible changes you. It's meant to. God's ways are not our ways. Our wills often clash with HIS will. We don't love the things we should love; we don't hate the things we should hate. We don't forgive as much as we should; we don't love as we should; we are quick to assume, quick to judge. With the Holy Spirit as our guide, with the Spirit revealing His Word to us, change will happen. Hearts are united. God will be our one thing. 

Chris Tomlin's Lay Me Down



© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Why Read Every Day?!

Yesterday, I stressed the fact that God does not love believers who read the Bible more than believers who do not read the Bible.  I want to revisit the topic again. God may not love US more if we read, but, I'd like to open up for consideration the idea that WE may love GOD more if we read the Bible. God's love for us may not increase or decrease based on what we do or don't do in our "daily devotions." But our love for God can certainly increase or decrease. Our desire for God can increase or decrease. God may be faithful and never-changing, but, our hearts and minds, well, they can be all over the place!

Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O LORD my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. (Psalm 86:11-12)

One thing have I asked of the LORD that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. (Psalm 73:25)

It is hard to love, truly love, a God you do not know. It is hard to desire more of a God you do not know. To know God is to want to know God more and more. One thing I can testify to: the more you read, the more you WANT to read. If you give yourself over to the reading of the Word, if you give yourself fully to THE WORD (the author!), you'll find that nothing else satisfies!

So you might be thinking, okay, it might be important to read the Bible…sometimes…but why every day?

The Word is our nourishment, it is our feed and drink; it feeds our growth (gives us what we need), but, it also satisfies our souls (brings pleasure). How often do we need to eat? Every day. (You might even argue, we need to eat three meals a day!) Does it matter what we eat? To a certain degree. To be healthy, we need a variety of foods, of nutrients. We can't live on marshmallows! There are 66 books in the Bible giving us everything we need for this life and helping to prepare us for eternity. Are you starving your soul? your spirit?

The Word refreshes, renews, cleanses. How often do we need to bathe? How silly to think that two baths a year would be enough! Yet how many people are there that are just 'refreshed' by the reading of the Word at Christmas or Easter?!

A.W. Tozer wrote in Knowledge of the Holy, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." Is your idea of God, your notion of God, drawn from the Bible or your imagination? What informs your knowledge? Tozer concludes, "That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us." If truth matters to you, the Bible will matter to you. It is easy to recreate God into your own image if you don't read His one true revelation.

Need more reasons?

• It keeps God 'real' in your heart and mind; it brings an awareness of God's presence
• It informs and reforms your prayers; it helps align your will to HIS will; 
• It establishes and grounds your faith and hope;
• It keeps you dependent, keeps you humble, keeps you thankful

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Giving Thanks #23 National Bible Week

It's not unusual for people to treat the Bible like it's the most boring book in the world, the most irrelevant. Like you'd have to be insane to want to read the Bible. It's not unusual for believers to treat Bible-reading like a chore or a duty. Something to put off as long as possible. The idea that someone could be excited about reading the Bible, could love the Bible passionately and wholeheartedly, well, it's a foreign concept. And in some ways that is just how it is. Because until God gives a person a new heart, until He fills a person with His Spirit, the Bible is something that is foreign to us, something we can't make sense of, something we can't comprehend or appreciate. (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). Still I worry about those who profess to be Christians who treat the Bible with indifference. 

I want to make one thing absolutely clear. God does not love Christians who read their Bibles MORE than Christians who do not read the Bible. God's love--His grace--is not something that can be earned, added to, or subtracted from. He cannot love you more; he cannot love you less. Read that again: He cannot love you more; He cannot love you less. You might be thinking... If Bible reading doesn't earn a person extra credit with God; if Bible reading doesn't take away God's anger or wrath, then why bother???

My answer is simple, I hope, and passionate. God has revealed himself to us in His Word. Think about it. God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. He wants to be sought. He wants to be known. He wants to be delighted in, loved, treasured. He wants our praise. He wants our hearts and minds. How do we come to know God? Through reading His revelation. Through reading His Word. The Bible reveals EVERYTHING we need to know about God. Not that it reveals everything about Him, not that it answers every single question for every single believer. But what needs to be known is clearly revealed in His Word. God is BIGGER than our Bibles. God is beyond our comprehension. He has given us enough for now; the Bible is not a book that can be outgrown during our lifetimes. But here's something else to consider: not only does the Bible tell us everything we need to know about God, the Bible tells us everything we need to know about ourselves. Far from being irrelevant, the Bible is the most relevant book imaginable. It speaks to the condition of every single man, woman, or child. It is a book for every one of us in every stage of our lives. The Bible speaks truth. The Bible may be unpopular because it speaks truth. But that doesn't make it irrelevant. It makes it convicting.

Do you want to know God? Do you want to want to know God? Are you scared of what knowing God will mean to your life? Take time to think, to consider. Don't be afraid to pause and reflect. Honesty is more important than mumbling through the "right" answer that you're "supposed" to say when you're put on the spot. Whether you want to know God or not, you can't run from the fact that you are known by God. There is only so long you can pretend things are fine, that you don't have to decide any time soon. 

National Bible Week has been 'celebrated' annually the week of Thanksgiving since 1941. I plan to have special posts all week long.  

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible