5. Did you complete the Bible reading for this week? PART 2

Small Group Life Blog

May 21, 2009

Hi [FIRSTNAME],

Question #5 in our weekly Life Transformation Group is:

Did you complete the Bible reading for this week?

Ok, hopefully last week I convinced you that daily time in God’s Word is a good idea. Basically, nothing is more important than a daily appointment with your Lord and the best friend you ever have had or will have.

So, a little advice on how to read God’s Word.

But first, for those who would rather listen. Go here for some free downloads of the New Testament. For the Old, you can go here. We also have some copies of the NT available at the church. If you need help with this, please ask.

The rest is for those who are reading their Bible.

One thing that keeps hitting home to me is that each person is unique. What works for one person is not going to work for another person. And that’s ok. Keep testing and growing in God’s Word as you find a method that works for you. I will try to share some basics. If what I’m saying doesn’t help, don’t worry about, but do let me know.

1.      Start with prayer. Mine is usually, “Lord, let me know You and hear Your voice.” You may certainly add more, like praying against the devil, the world, and your old nature.

2.      The Bible is made of 66 books. Each of those individual books is a unified whole, to be read and studied as a whole. I strongly encourage you to pick a book, and read it over and over. I’ve noticed that reading about four chapters a day (or 25-30 chapters per week) really helps me dig deep. In my group, we generally stay with a book 4-6 weeks. So we’ll read a Gospel six times before moving on, but we’ll read Philippians 28 times. It’s awesome! I love it. (I’ve read the entire Bible 19 times. But I was simply skimming the surface until I started this business of reading four chapters a day of the same book over and over. It’s awesome.)

3.      I print out the book we’re reading. While I don’t mind marking up my Bible, I prefer the freedom of marking up a fresh copy. Of course, I often develop a color key, and then mark it up with 10 different colors. But that’s crazy. Others just mark passages that have special meaning for them, where they hear God speaking especially to them. I will happily print out a copy for you. The ESV has graciously given me permission.

4.      Having an LTG buddy really helps. Discussing God’s Word with a friend is a blast. And my buddies also encourage me to continue to read every day.

5.      Which books should you read? Here’s what we do: One Gospel, two New Testament books, one Old Testament book. Repeat. I like the balance that gives. I strongly believe that the four Gospels are foundational and of utmost importance. The rest of the New Testament is important. And reading the Old Testament is kind of like learning my wife’s history before I met her. The OT is the story of God’s love for His people. So don’t neglect it, but also don’t get bogged down in lists and rules and boring. The story-line is of most importance. (Funnily enough, I gave Hosea to my LTG buddies. After week 1, they were bored to tears. By week 3, they were loving it and couldn’t get enough. But Hosea is awesome!)

6.      What to look for as you read? Here are some suggestions:

a.       What does this reveal about God? Who is He? What kind of character does God have? What is God doing?

b.      What does this reveal about fallen, sinful human nature?

c.       What does this reveal about what God has done to rescue us from our predicament? That is, what does it say about Jesus?

d.      What does this reveal about what God is re-making me to be in Christ? What is God doing in and through me as His re-born child? How is God calling me to grow in His image? What does God say about who I am as a disciple (despite what appearances may indicate)?

e.       Most of all, be open to what God is revealing to you as you read, not what me or another human has to say. Remember! Remember! The Holy Spirit is the primary teacher!

Feel free to email with questions you have about what you’re reading. And let me know about your reading plan and what works or doesn’t work for you. Just hit Reply.

In Christ,
Pastor Steve

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