Reading Through The Bible In One Year
The apostle Paul wrote two letters to his friend and student Timothy. Paul was in prison when he wrote these letters and he wanted to pass his baton of ministry to Timothy, just before Paul was martyred for his faith. We read from his second letter, chapter 3 verses 16 and 17. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be adequate and equipped for every good work.”
If we take Paul’s words to heart, we should know our Scriptures. So this is the year I’m going to read the entire Bible! I’m going to read from the Old Testament starting in Genesis. I’m going to read a Proverb and a Psalm, and then I’ll begin reading from the New Testament starting in Matthew. I’m going to skim through all the names, most I cannot even pronounce, and then make sure I don’t fall behind. In my Bible there are 1,336 pages in the Old Testament and 635 pages in the New Testament totaling 1,996 pages. Think about it, almost 2,000 pages to read. Yet I know I can get it done, I know I can plow through. Only 6 pages each day. And if I skip a day, it’s only 12 to catch up, if I skip a week I only have to read another 40 or 50 pages. Not too bad. Victor Hugo’s book “Les Miserables” only has 1,780 pages and Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” has only 1,400 pages. I can do this if I get to work!
Whew!
Some of my friends have studied the Bible and have read all the books and I want to say I have done the same. And actually the Old Testament really doesn’t count, after all it’s ancient history. It’s really not important how the nation of Israel was formed, not very interesting to know who Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, and Esther were. Or when the temple in Jerusalem was built, destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again. It doesn’t matter that I read the accounts of Ezra, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Daniel and the rest of the Major and Minor Prophets. So I can skip all that. I’m just going to concentrate on the New Testament, the stuff that really matters. And if I do, it’s only 2 pages a day and I’ll be done by the end of the year! Then I can say I’ve read the important parts of the Bible.
This year I’m going to do it. All I have to do is find my old Bible or I may buy a new one. We were talking to a friend last week who owns a Christian Bookstore. He told us that many of the people who come into the store to buy a Bible have no idea what they are buying. A Bible is a Bible, hard cover or soft, it doesn’t matter, they just want to buy a Bible. And don’t sell me one of those new fangled updated translations in today’s words. I want the original, you know, the English one.
OK stop. Just thinking about all of this makes me tired. Reading through the Bible is a great expectation for the New Year and there are many good books that will help you do this, but what will you really gain? A lot of words, a lot of pages, but perhaps not a lot of true understanding.
I heard about a Bible class where a young Christian was just kind of stumbling his way along. He said to the teacher, “I’m having some struggles with Genesis.” So the teacher immediately went off. He said, “You know the authorship of Genesis and the JEDP theory which stands for Jawist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, Priestly writer and higher criticism that has come over from the Wellhausen theory and on and on.” And the guy, when the teacher was finally finished said, “Well, I appreciate that, but I’m having trouble finding Genesis.”
I am one of those weird people who have read the Bible many times now, and not because it’s my job! In doing so, I have been enriched in studying it as I have read it. Not plowing through, instead savoring the words, stories and teachings. Do you know that we have had an all church Bible Study every Wednesday evening since November of 2002 when we read the first words of Genesis? Currently we are just about to finish the words of the Minor Prophet Hosea. By the way, the only difference between a Major and Minor Prophet are the number of words. In their books, the Major Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel have 183 chapters combined while the twelve Minor Prophets have a total of only 67 chapters.
So by the end of this year, we will have completed the study of the Old Testament. 39 books. Nine years. We’ll start the New Testament with a total of 27 books and we’ll let you know when we do. We’ll start with Genesis again in 2018. Our study of the Old Testament has been inspiring. Often we remark that we have forgotten more than we have learned, but that’s really not true. The Old Testament gives us the early beginnings when God created the earth, the accounts of Noah and the flood, the rainbow and God’s promise to be with His people forever, finding Abraham and Sarah, and learning about how the twelve tribes stemming from Jacob formed the nation of Israel today. Israel is God’s chosen nation founded 4,000 years ago and God’s story is amazing. It’s His story, It is History.
So our topic is reading through the Bible in a year. And by now I think you know my thoughts. I would rather you choose only 12 books this year to read and study. One book a month.
I would like you to read Moses’ account of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Read the book of Psalms, David the King wrote half of them including the Psalm Maurice read this morning. And read the book of Proverbs. King Solomon, David’s son wrote his proverbs in his wiser days. He wrote over 3,000 yet his book only includes a third of that. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, one for each day of the month. And Solomon ends his book with his words regarding a good wife. Wow! He was wise.
And then to the New Testament I would like you to read the Gospel account of Luke and John. Luke was a Doctor and wrote his words carefully. Precision and truth came from him. John was one of Christ’s disciples. He was with Jesus at the beginning when he was called, and he was with Jesus when he was crucified. John also was an eyewitness to Christ’s resurrection when he saw firsthand that Jesus’ grave was empty.
Next I would like you to read Luke’s words in the book of Acts. His account includes how the first century church was formed, Peter’s inspired message and Paul’s amazing conversion on his way to Damascus. Please read Paul’s letters to the Romans, his words to the church in Ephesus (Ephesians) and to the church in Philippi (Philippians.) And finally read the book of Hebrews. We’re not sure of the author, but his or her words are great. In this book we read about those who were faithful. You know the obvious. Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The unobvious are Rahab, Barak, Jephthah and others. You can read about them when you read this great, God inspired book.
So let’s count. Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms and Proverbs; Luke and John, Acts and Romans, Ephesians, Philippians and Hebrews. Oops, only eleven.
And I said twelve throughout this New Year. So where is the other book? It’s the one you will write. The Gospel, according to you and your actions this year. How will you serve, how will you answer the call from God helping those who are less fortunate? Remember Saint Francis of Assisi told us to preach the Gospel everywhere we go, but we are occasionally, only on occasion to use words. So how is your Gospel message doing?
Your service doesn’t have to be monumental. It can be small and can even go unnoticed. Your story is an amazing one. If you need help writing it, spend some time with me. I’ll be blessed to hear it once again. What you do for people are the things that count. You may serve the tired man on the street corner or the woman who cleans houses for a living. In serving God we need to serve people who are less fortunate than we are. Putting others first is exactly what Jesus taught in His short time here on earth. Perhaps we should have a few Bibles in our car so we can give one to someone who really needs it.
You were called to serve and we must answer that call. In the past nine years I have been blessed to be with a group of residents from Brighten Gardens, now called Emeritus. If you count the Tuesdays they are well past 450. And for the past two years I am with a group of residents from Atria San Juan Capistrano. After all of these years do you know what is most important? Not the stuff, the relationships. You should see us after our church service every Sunday at Emeritus. Cheryl can’t get away from all the hugs from all the people who love her. We have to tell them to go home now. They don’t want to leave. I can’t even describe how much these people mean to us. Yes, an example of serving but it doesn’t feel that way. Serving them is truly a joy, and that’s what serving is all about.
What will your Gospel message be this year? Who will you serve? If you think about it you can come up with a name or a person. Just serve. Jesus did, His disciples tried their best and God wants us to serve as well.
Two out of the four of the Gospel writers (Matthew and John) were eye witnesses to the life of Jesus. The other two were not, yet their words were inspired by God. You do not need to be an eyewitness to share the Gospel message. You can share it first hand, showing people how Christ changed your life. Most of all, people will watch how you live, what you say and what you do. They will see Christ in your actions and they’ll want to know more. You can direct them to the Old and New Testaments. You can direct then to the books you’ll study this year. But mostly, you can direct them to your lifestyle – a lifestyle that serves and loves unconditionally. A life inspired by the greatest teacher of all. One who knows that serving God through Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can do in our lives.
So let’s count once again. Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms and Proverbs; Luke and John, Acts and Romans, Ephesians, Philippians and Hebrews. Plus your Gospel.
That may be the greatest message your family, friends and neighbors will hear in their lifetime. And for that we praise God.
Don’t let another day pass you by. Your Gospel is amazing and people will be blessed because of your actions. They truly will be. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 35 and 36 Jesus said “For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. And He also said when we overlook or refuse to help those in need; we in essence are pushing God out of our lives as well. Don’t let that happen. God is looking for people who will serve others. That’s how it works. Be ready for God to use you in a powerful way.
