Christian Concepts

What is on your 2019 reading list?

Early last Friday morning I completed my fifty-third reading of the Scriptures. Monday, December 17, 2018, I will begin reading through them again. Some may wonder why I discipline myself to read through the Bible each year. Here are a few of my reasons.
One cannot read about the life of Christ without realizing the Scriptures were important to Him, and if they were important to the Son of God they should be important to me as His follower. I have never cared for someone telling me what to believe; I prefer to know for myself what I believe about the important issues of life and think through why I believe them.
Although written by about forty human authors over a period of around 1,600 years, the Bible has a wonderful unity and needs to be read and understood from this perspective. Reading it over again reminds me of this truth, spares me from being isolated on favorite passages, and prevents my memory of what they say from being supplanted by my imagination of what I think they say.
Constantly pouring over the Scriptures I see things I missed before, but have become clearer as I mature in Christ. Reading the Word of God is one of the disciplines that aids in that maturation. The Book of books enjoins us to renew our minds so that we begin to see life from God’s perspective.
Focusing on His perspective helps prevent us from being blinded by the confusion of current events that can overwhelm the thinking of the best of us. We see events through the lens of time, God sees the same events through the lens of eternity, and we are in constant need of His eternal perspective so that we do not lose our way in time.
I have said the first four words of the first chapter of Rick Warren’s bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life, are the most important in the whole book, “It’s not about you.” If you believe as I do that God created us then He created us to fulfill His plan and purpose, not ours. The Father has revealed His will to us in His Word.
If you are searching for the true meaning of life this is the only Book that has it. The ancients worshiped objects as gods, often idols, the sculpted creations of men. Why not gaze on the written Word that reveals to us in grand detail the One who created and sculpted us?
I have a very simple reading plan; I begin with Genesis 1:1 and read about five chapters a day, Monday through Friday. I keep a journal and post my thoughts on some portion of what I have read on my Facebook page, “Christian Concepts” Monday through Friday.
If you have never read through the Bible here’s your chance, consider adding the Bible to your 2019 reading list, and if you would like to, join me on Facebook and read along with us.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever,” (Isaiah 40:8).