Making Bible Reading a Priority
by Abraham Smith
In earlier articles, we studied scriptures which show us that we are obligated to read the Bible regularly. This includes the idea of reading the whole Bible. After all, Jesus said, “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God...” (Matt. 4:4). Those who truly love God and desire truth will read the Bible daily with a view toward reading it in its entirety on a regular basis.
Still, many among us who agree about the obligation find it difficult to set aside some of our time for daily Bible reading. Here are some suggestions which will help to achieve our goal:
Make Bible reading a priority
When something is important enough to us, we will make sure it is done first. If we give Bible reading first place, we will schedule the necessary time needed.
Eliminate whatever might get in the way
“Ask yourself what one thing is most likely to get in the way of your Bible reading. It might be television or video games or whatever. For me, it was light fiction. When I first got serious about reading the Bible every day, I decided to quit all light reading for a month. When the month was over, I found that I wasn't that interested in reading fiction. I wanted the truth. I think this will be most people's experience. If people will make time for the Bible and read it regularly they will love it. I would strongly encourage anyone who is beginning a daily Bible reading program to eliminate whatever they feel might get in the way.” (Sid Latham, evangelist)
Build-in accountability
In support of this point, Sid said the following. “Back in December (2005) I did a couple of lessons that strongly encouraged people to read their Bibles every day. One of the guys here came to me and said that he was going to find some other people to do it with him. He set up a web blog. There are eight of us who report every week. If someone doesn't read we try to encourage them. Obviously you wouldn't have to do this on the Internet. We have a lot of people here who work with computers and it works for us. The important thing is that Christians encourage one another on a regular basis. Most of us will try harder if we know someone is going to ask” us about our effort.
Pray to God for help
Ask Him to help YOU, and ask Him to also help others to attain this goal of daily Bible reading. He has promised to help those who ask for it!
Reading the Bible at least twice a year is a small investment of time for something so important. May I encourage you to print out the "180 Day Bible Reading Schedule." Begin today a never-ending journey of reading the Bible in its entirety at least twice a year. All readings should be completed in one sitting. In order to obtain the maximum benefit from your efforts, read out loud, and read every day!
“The Bible is compared to food–the spiritual man will starve without it. The Bible is compared with nourishment – we will wither without it (Acts 20:32; I Peter 2:2). The Bible, the word of God, is the seed of spiritual life. No Bible, no life (Luke 8:11; James 1:18; I Corinthians 4:15). We can't answer for our hope without it --I Peter 3:15; Acts 17:11. We can't be approved of God without it -- II Timothy 2:15. Its doctrine will save those who hear it --I Timothy 4:16" (Larry Hafley).
Finally, my friends-- we listen to those we love. If we are not interested in listening to God (reading the Bible), then we simply do not love God!
