Read the Book
One reason I love summer is that it usually enables me to do more reading than during the school year. This summer reading opportunities have been bountiful with my time working here in the fitness center. Two books I’ve been working on so far this summer are When People are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch and Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp. Both are exceptional.
As I have read these books, I have been encouraged to read another book more—the Bible. By reading the Bible more, I do not mean simply reading for five more minutes everyday. I mean reading the Bible more systematically, reading the whole of the Bible, not neglecting the Old Testament for the New or vice versa.
In my case, I feel that I often neglect the Old Testament. But anyone who neglects the OT is certainly missing out. The things we learn from the OT are endless. We learn about the character of God and the faith of great men like David and Daniel. From the Old Testament we see all the signs point to Christ. Even these few points do not begin to explore the depths of the richness of the Bible.
You cannot put the Bible into a box. You cannot treat the Bible as an encyclopedia and simply use a concordance or topical index whenever you have a problem. Paul Tripp says, “If I handle Scripture topically, I will miss the overarching themes at the heart of everything else God wants me to say to me.” (pg. 27)
Edward T. Welch talks about how these overarching themes apply to combating the fear of man: “Since the entire Bible teaches that the Holy One of Israel reigns, the entire Bible is a textbook on the fear of the Lord, whether it uses that particular expression or not.” (pg. 103) He then shows how we can learn the fear of the Lord through reading about creation and the examples of the patriarchs and the Exodus.
Read the Bible. Read it cover-to-cover. Read it everyday. Even if you slow down in order to focus on one passage or book, still try to be reading through some part of the Bible at a quicker pace.
Many reading programs exist to aid systematic Bible reading. The Disciple Journal puts out a reading schedule that is very useful. You read from four places each day, and it only schedules 25 days a month to help avoid the seemingly inevitable times we fall behind. Maybe you’re having trouble finding a program that you like. Check out this site, where you can download a program you can use to create your own plan.
"Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."
-Jeremiah 15:16
As I have read these books, I have been encouraged to read another book more—the Bible. By reading the Bible more, I do not mean simply reading for five more minutes everyday. I mean reading the Bible more systematically, reading the whole of the Bible, not neglecting the Old Testament for the New or vice versa.
In my case, I feel that I often neglect the Old Testament. But anyone who neglects the OT is certainly missing out. The things we learn from the OT are endless. We learn about the character of God and the faith of great men like David and Daniel. From the Old Testament we see all the signs point to Christ. Even these few points do not begin to explore the depths of the richness of the Bible.
You cannot put the Bible into a box. You cannot treat the Bible as an encyclopedia and simply use a concordance or topical index whenever you have a problem. Paul Tripp says, “If I handle Scripture topically, I will miss the overarching themes at the heart of everything else God wants me to say to me.” (pg. 27)
Edward T. Welch talks about how these overarching themes apply to combating the fear of man: “Since the entire Bible teaches that the Holy One of Israel reigns, the entire Bible is a textbook on the fear of the Lord, whether it uses that particular expression or not.” (pg. 103) He then shows how we can learn the fear of the Lord through reading about creation and the examples of the patriarchs and the Exodus.
Read the Bible. Read it cover-to-cover. Read it everyday. Even if you slow down in order to focus on one passage or book, still try to be reading through some part of the Bible at a quicker pace.
Many reading programs exist to aid systematic Bible reading. The Disciple Journal puts out a reading schedule that is very useful. You read from four places each day, and it only schedules 25 days a month to help avoid the seemingly inevitable times we fall behind. Maybe you’re having trouble finding a program that you like. Check out this site, where you can download a program you can use to create your own plan.
"Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."
-Jeremiah 15:16
posted by Ben Blakey at 7:10 AM
3 Comments:
Yo Bro,
Thanks for the encouragement to read the Bible! I have been on a daily reading schedule and it is a great blessing to my entire life!
Thanks for the encouraging post! Your comments have caused me to re-think my Bible reading method.
Ben,
True words indeed. We should all heed Rick Holland's cry to "Read your Bible more!" The best things I've learned at seminary have been those I've picked up from just reading through the Old Testament time and again for my survey classes. There really is no substitute for the Bible if you want to learn about the Bible, you know?
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