Reading My Bible

When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I have always felt the hunger to read God's Word. I wanted to read my Bible. But since I was very young at that time, I don't know where to start. I bought "Our Daily Bread" and maybe once or twice a week, I was reading "Our Daily Bread" and sometimes my Bible. I was very inconsistent with my Bible reading.

Then, only 6 years ago, I found the New Living Translation (NLT) Bible. It was so easy to read and understand and I began to enjoy reading my Bible. Slowly, I began to understand many things about my Creator and my God, I began to learn how to live the Christian life and by daily reading God's Word, my life was changed.

Why do we really need to read the Bible? Tim LaHaye outlined in his book "How to Study the Bible for Yourself" the reasons why:
1. It will make you a strong Christian
2. It will assure you of salvation
3. It will give you confidence and power in prayer.
4. It will cleanse you from sin.
5. It will give you joy.
6. It will produce peace in your life.
7. It will guide you in making important decisions of life.
8. It will enable you to articulate your faith.
9. It will guarantee your success.

Unfortunately, many Christians think they are too busy to refresh their minds each day on the Word of God. What they don't realize is that a daily quiet time costs them nothing in the long run because the rest of their day will be more successful than if they had ignored their Bible. A brilliant nuerosurgeon in Atlanta claims, "The most important part of my day is the first 30 minutes after awaking, so I spend 20 minutes of it reading and studying the Word of God. It enriches the rest of my day." Try it - you'll like it.

Tim LaHaye says, "many Christians believe they can't understand the Bible without the interpretation of theologians or ministers. But the Bible was written to all people - including you - and everyone can understand its message! Even "little children" or brand-new Christians can undestand the Bible. This means that you can understand the Bible! You may not be able to go down into the depths of Bible truth the way the scholars do, and there will be a few things you won't fully understand, but you will find far more in Scripture that you can understand than what you cannot."

HOW TO READ THE BIBLE.
1. Read daily.
2. Set a regular reading time.
3. Set a regular place.
4. Read with a pencil at hand.
5. Read devotionally.
6. Keep a daily Spiritual diary.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR SPIRITUAL DIARY
1. God's message to you today.
2. A promise from God.
* Make sure they are universal promises
* Make sure they apply to you.
3. A command to keep.
4. A timeless principle.
5. How does this apply to my life.

THE THREE -YEAR BIBLE-READINGS SCHEDULE
First Year
Read...... First John seven times
* You should read this little five-chapter epistle every day for one week, making the
appropriate notations in your daily diary.

The Gospel of John twice - approximately 4 chapters a day

The Gospel of Mark twice - approximately 4 chapters a day

Galatians through Philemon - if possible try to read the entire epistle in one daily
period; however, Galatians, Ephesians and Timothy may take longer.

The gospel of Luke - approximately 3-4 chapters a day

The book of Acts - approximately 3-4 chapters a day

The book of Romans - approximately 3 chapters a day

The New Testament Twice - approximately 3 chapters a day

Second Year
Read .... A proverb every day for four months

Two wisdom literature chapters daily
(Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon)

Read repeatedly for one month the following:
First John
Ephesians
Philippians
First Thessalonians
James
Romans 5-8
John 14-17

Third year
Read ... One New Testament Chapter daily
Two Old Testament Chapter daily
Five Old Testament chapters each Sunday.

I suggest that you buy Tim LaHaye's book "How to Study the Bible for Yourself" for a complete guide to Bible reading. The time tested methods presented in the book will take you to a new levl of biblical understanding and knowledge - and help you become a dynamic witness for the Lord.